GNU Midnight Commander • Hacker News Board

Re: GNU Midnight Commander

#251

Post by TomaszZielinski » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 4:24 PM UTC

andyferris wrote: post #193

I used to use XTree Gold, which was... golden. I always heard of Midnight Commander but never really got around to using it. I should probably fix that. What I never got was why this style of TUI (MS edit.com, qbasic, etc) isn't really carried through in modern tradition? I really enjoyed these when when I was younger... yet even textual or ratatui apps don't really bring this interface to the terminal. (Or why scree…

Yes, I also have fond memories of quite a few TUI apps for DOS. Not sure if it’s pure nostalgia, it might be. But then it feels like dark magic that you could have 40kB .COM or 100kB .EXE doing so many things and looking so nicely..

Re: GNU Midnight Commander

#252

Post by iamnotagenius » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 4:25 PM UTC

abcd_f wrote: post #124

Klaster_1 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least in Russia, "orthodox" has an extra connotation that's not strictly coupled to church, akin more to "one true way", as in "orthodox way to learn a tech stack". With a negation, it becomes something like "wrong" or even "heretical", as in "pizza with pineapple".

This is incorrect. Ортодоксальный doesn't carry these connotations at all. If anything, it describes something that is stuck in old ways and/or pointlessly rigid.

православный is used in jargon for exactly that meaning. source: 45 years of native Russian speaking.

Re: GNU Midnight Commander

#253

Post by iLemming » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 4:29 PM UTC

internet_points wrote: post #129

vim-guru wrote: post #81

Nostalgia! However; dired (and wdired) is more powerful, so I won't be switching back any time soon.

you need a new username =P

Why? Vim is not just a concrete set of products. It's also an idea. One can perfectly remain a die-hard vimmer and use Emacs. That's a fundamental truth unrecognized only by those who misunderstand either Vim or Emacs, or both.

Re: GNU Midnight Commander

#254

Post by akagusu » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 4:35 PM UTC

pimeys wrote: post #43

kouteiheika wrote: post #15

I love Midnight Commander so much; I install it on every system I use. It's so much more efficient/pleasant when in comes to navigating the filesystem and doing basic operations, especially when you learn the shortcuts and learn how to use it along with other command-line tools (hint: if you press Ctrl+O in MC it will switch to a normal shell command prompt it the directory you're in, and you can press Ctrl+O again t…

I use it especially when moving files around in my NAS and it is awesome. For GUI file managers, I have to say you can't get better than Dolphin. It has an integrated shell for the current directory, and you can split the view. It can also directly open ssh and SFTP URLs. For local things the combination of Dolphin and it's shell is unbeatable.

Not only that, but if you want to move around a large number of files, Dolphin is the only that get you covered without crashes or slowing down

Re: GNU Midnight Commander

#255

Post by iLemming » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 4:36 PM UTC

vim-guru wrote: post #81

Nostalgia! However; dired (and wdired) is more powerful, so I won't be switching back any time soon.

Yup, only Dired allows you to edit your file structure tree like editing a wiki page and at the same time integrates well with source control. Where else can you mark some files and dirs and see the git log pertaining only marked items so easily? What else can easily integrate with your video player for quickly reviewing a bunch of vids? What else can you use to connect to a remote machine and keep the same worfklows as if the stuff is on your local?

Re: GNU Midnight Commander

#256

Post by thom » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 4:38 PM UTC

reaperducer wrote: post #224

thom wrote: post #85

I still have great affection for Midnight Commander, like Norton Commander before it. I used to use the latter to initiate a parallel cable connection to my brother's computer for Doom deathmatches, pretty cool for a file manager. For no good reason, here's a screenshot of both of them running side by side on an iPad, which is a thing you can apparently do these days: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GYRYTq6WUAAt_1t?forma…

9%[___) Dude, plug that thing in!

The world’s best portable Linux/DOS workstation!

Re: GNU Midnight Commander

#257

Post by unixhero » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 4:45 PM UTC

pantulis wrote: post #234

unixhero wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which menu is that? I never tried it. Been an MC user since 1997.

It is bound by default to F2, look at the "Edit Menu File" section here: https://source.midnight-commander.org/man/mc.html

Thanks!

Re: GNU Midnight Commander

#258

Post by lepicz » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 4:50 PM UTC

thendrill wrote: post #171

kouteiheika wrote: post #15

I love Midnight Commander so much; I install it on every system I use. It's so much more efficient/pleasant when in comes to navigating the filesystem and doing basic operations, especially when you learn the shortcuts and learn how to use it along with other command-line tools (hint: if you press Ctrl+O in MC it will switch to a normal shell command prompt it the directory you're in, and you can press Ctrl+O again t…

I have loved it since '99, when my friends used to tell me that to be a linux admin you have to stay up late because midnight commander works only after midnight ! Slackware 7 <3

it was not always named Midnight Commander, it was Mouseless Commander

it was renamed somewhere around 1995

Re: GNU Midnight Commander

#259

Post by javier_e06 » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 4:53 PM UTC

jwr wrote: post #104

Midnight commander is a great tool, although I think most younger users do not realize that we lost something along the way. Norton Commander was fantastically fast for common file operations not just because of the dual-pane design, but because of several things working together. Thoughtful design of software while thinking of hardware. To get the most out of it, you were supposed to use the numpad on your keyboard.…

Ah Norton Commander. It sure throws me back to the Intel Pentium days. Today for that left versus right birds eye view, just-do-it, operations I use beyond compare.

Re: GNU Midnight Commander

#260

Post by pimeys » Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 4:56 PM UTC

browningstreet wrote: post #246

kouteiheika wrote: post #15

I love Midnight Commander so much; I install it on every system I use. It's so much more efficient/pleasant when in comes to navigating the filesystem and doing basic operations, especially when you learn the shortcuts and learn how to use it along with other command-line tools (hint: if you press Ctrl+O in MC it will switch to a normal shell command prompt it the directory you're in, and you can press Ctrl+O again t…

Interestingly, the latest GNOME sorta supports something similar, as a new feature: > ..a “Ctrl + dot” keyboard shortcut for opening the current directory in the terminal https://9to5linux.com/gnome-49-brescia-desktop-environment-o...

Does it work the same as Dolphin where you get a terminal panel to the same window with the Konsole settings of yours, and it changes the directory together with Dolphin navigation?

Super nice especially when adding music to my library with Beets...