Yazi

Blazing fast terminal file manager written in Rust with async I/O, image preview, plugin system, and multi-tab support.

Installation

Package Managers

Command	Description
brew install yazi ffmpegthumbnailer unar jq poppler fd ripgrep fzf zoxide imagemagick	Full install on macOS with all preview dependencies
brew install yazi	Minimal install on macOS
cargo install --locked yazi-fm yazi-cli	Install from crates.io
pacman -S yazi ffmpegthumbnailer unarchiver jq poppler fd ripgrep fzf zoxide	Full install on Arch Linux
scoop install yazi	Install on Windows with Scoop
winget install sxyazi.yazi	Install on Windows with winget
nix-env -i yazi	Install on NixOS
snap install yazi --classic	Install on Ubuntu via Snap

Launch & Version

Command	Description
yazi	Launch Yazi in current directory
yazi /path/to/dir	Open Yazi in specific directory
yazi --version	Show installed version
ya --version	Show CLI helper version
yazi --cwd-file=/tmp/cwd	Save last directory on exit

Shell Wrapper (cd on exit)

# Bash/Zsh — add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
function y() {
  local tmp="$(mktemp -t "yazi-cwd.XXXXXX")" cwd
  yazi "$@" --cwd-file="$tmp"
  if cwd="$(command cat -- "$tmp")" && [ -n "$cwd" ] && [ "$cwd" != "$PWD" ]; then
    builtin cd -- "$cwd"
  done
  rm -f -- "$tmp"
}

# Fish — add to ~/.config/fish/config.fish
function y
  set tmp (mktemp -t "yazi-cwd.XXXXXX")
  yazi $argv --cwd-file="$tmp"
  if set cwd (command cat -- "$tmp"); and [ -n "$cwd" ]; and [ "$cwd" != "$PWD" ]
    builtin cd -- "$cwd"
  end
  rm -f -- "$tmp"
end

Navigation

Basic Movement

Command	Description
j or ↓	Move cursor down
k or ↑	Move cursor up
h or ←	Go to parent directory
l or → or Enter	Enter directory or open file
g g	Go to first item
G	Go to last item
~	Go to home directory
Backspace	Go to parent directory
Ctrl + u	Scroll half page up
Ctrl + d	Scroll half page down
Ctrl + b	Scroll full page up
Ctrl + f	Scroll full page down

Jump & History

Command	Description
z	Jump to directory with zoxide
Z	Jump with zoxide (interactive fzf)
-	Go to previous directory
Ctrl + o	Go back in navigation history
Ctrl + i	Go forward in navigation history

File Operations

Open & Execute

Command	Description
o	Open file with default program
O	Open file interactively (choose program)
Enter	Open file or enter directory
q	Quit Yazi
Q	Quit without writing cwd-file

Copy, Cut, Paste

Command	Description
y	Yank (copy) selected files
x	Cut selected files
p	Paste yanked/cut files
P	Paste with overwrite
Y or X	Cancel yank/cut
- then p	Paste as symlink (absolute)
_ then p	Paste as symlink (relative)
Ctrl + p	Paste as hardlink

Create, Delete, Rename

Command	Description
a	Create new file or directory (trailing / = dir)
r	Rename selected file
c	Rename with cursor at end
d	Trash selected files
D	Permanently delete selected files
.	Toggle hidden files visibility

File Operations Examples

Creating files and directories:
  a myfile.txt      → Creates a new file
  a mydir/          → Creates a new directory (trailing slash)
  a path/to/file    → Creates nested structure

Bulk rename:
  Select multiple files → r → Opens $EDITOR
  Each line = one filename, edit and save to rename all

Selection & Marks

Selection

Command	Description
Space	Toggle selection on current file
V	Enter visual (multi-select) mode
Ctrl + a	Select all files
Ctrl + r	Invert selection
Escape	Clear selection

Bookmarks

Command	Description
m	Save current directory as bookmark
'	Jump to a bookmark
"	Delete a bookmark

Tabs

Command	Description
t	Create new tab in current directory
Ctrl + c	Close current tab
1 - 9	Switch to tab by number
[	Switch to previous tab
]	Switch to next tab
{	Swap tab with previous
}	Swap tab with next

Search & Filter

Search

Command	Description
/	Search files in current directory
?	Search files backwards
n	Go to next search match
N	Go to previous search match

Filter & Find

Command	Description
f	Filter files (show only matching)
s	Search files using fd (recursive)
S	Search file contents using ripgrep
: then type command	Open command mode

Search Examples

File search with fd (press 's'):
  Recursively finds files by name pattern
  Uses fd under the hood for fast searching
  Results shown in picker — Enter to jump

Content search with ripgrep (press 'S'):
  Searches file contents recursively
  Uses ripgrep for fast text search
  Results show file + matching line

Preview System

Built-in Previews

Command	Description
Preview pane shows file contents	Automatic for supported types
Tab	Toggle preview pane visibility
Ctrl + Shift + =	Increase preview pane width
Ctrl + Shift + -	Decrease preview pane width

Supported Preview Types

Type	Requirement
Text files	Built-in with syntax highlighting
Images (PNG, JPG, GIF)	Kitty, iTerm2, or Sixel protocol
SVG files	ImageMagick
PDF documents	Poppler (pdftoppm)
Video thumbnails	ffmpegthumbnailer
Archives (zip, tar, etc.)	unar or 7z
Markdown	Built-in rendering
JSON/YAML	Built-in formatting
Directories	Built-in listing

Terminal Protocol Support

Image preview protocols (auto-detected):

Kitty    — Kitty terminal (best quality)
iTerm2   — iTerm2, WezTerm, Mintty
Sixel    — Many terminals (foot, mlterm, etc.)
X11/Wayland — Via ueberzugpp (fallback)

Set protocol manually in yazi.toml:
  [preview]
  image_quality = 75

Sorting & Layout

Command	Description
,m	Sort by modified time
,M	Sort by modified time (reversed)
,c	Sort by created time
,C	Sort by created time (reversed)
,e	Sort by extension
,E	Sort by extension (reversed)
,s	Sort by size
,S	Sort by size (reversed)
,n	Sort by name (natural)
,N	Sort by name (reversed)
,r	Random sort
w	Toggle tasks manager
T	Toggle layout (1/2/3 columns)

Configuration

Config File Locations

File	Purpose
~/.config/yazi/yazi.toml	Main configuration
~/.config/yazi/keymap.toml	Custom key bindings
~/.config/yazi/theme.toml	Color theme
~/.config/yazi/init.lua	Lua init script (plugins)

Main Configuration (yazi.toml)

# ~/.config/yazi/yazi.toml

[manager]
ratio = [1, 4, 3]          # Column ratios (parent, current, preview)
sort_by = "natural"         # natural, modified, created, extension, size
sort_sensitive = false       # Case-sensitive sorting
sort_reverse = false         # Reverse sort order
sort_dir_first = true        # Directories before files
linemode = "size"           # none, size, permissions, mtime
show_hidden = false          # Show hidden files
show_symlink = true          # Show symlink targets

[preview]
tab_size = 2                # Tab width in previews
max_width = 600             # Max preview width
max_height = 900            # Max preview height
image_quality = 75          # JPEG quality for image previews
sixel_fraction = 15         # Sixel resolution fraction

[opener]
edit = [
  { run = '${EDITOR:-vi} "$@"', block = true, for = "unix" },
  { run = 'code "%*"', orphan = true, for = "windows" },
]

[tasks]
micro_workers = 10          # Small file operations
macro_workers = 25          # Large file operations
bizarre_retry = 5           # Retry on error

Custom Key Bindings (keymap.toml)

# ~/.config/yazi/keymap.toml

[[manager.prepend_keymap]]
on = ["g", "d"]
run = "cd ~/Downloads"
desc = "Go to downloads"

[[manager.prepend_keymap]]
on = ["g", "p"]
run = "cd ~/projects"
desc = "Go to projects"

[[manager.prepend_keymap]]
on = ["g", "c"]
run = "cd ~/.config"
desc = "Go to config"

# Open terminal in current directory
[[manager.prepend_keymap]]
on = ["!"]
run = 'shell "$SHELL" --block'
desc = "Open terminal here"

# Compress selected files
[[manager.prepend_keymap]]
on = ["C"]
run = 'shell "zip -r archive.zip $@" --block'
desc = "Compress selection"

Theme Configuration (theme.toml)

# ~/.config/yazi/theme.toml

[filetype]
rules = [
  { name = "*/", fg = "#7aa2f7" },           # Directories
  { mime = "text/*", fg = "#c0caf5" },        # Text files
  { mime = "image/*", fg = "#bb9af7" },       # Images
  { mime = "video/*", fg = "#e0af68" },       # Videos
  { mime = "audio/*", fg = "#9ece6a" },       # Audio
  { name = "*.rs", fg = "#ff9e64" },          # Rust files
  { name = "*.py", fg = "#7aa2f7" },          # Python files
  { name = "*.md", fg = "#73daca" },          # Markdown
]

Plugins

Plugin Management

Command	Description
ya pack -a owner/plugin	Install a plugin
ya pack -i	Install all plugins from package.toml
ya pack -u	Update all installed plugins
ya pack -l	List installed plugins

Popular Plugins

Plugin	Description
yazi-rs/plugins:full-border	Full border around panes
yazi-rs/plugins:git	Git status indicators
yazi-rs/plugins:chmod	Change file permissions
yazi-rs/plugins:max-preview	Maximize preview pane
yazi-rs/plugins:jump-to-char	Vim-style jump to character
DreamMaoMao/searchjump.yazi	Search and jump to files

Plugin Setup Example

# ~/.config/yazi/package.toml
[plugin]
prepend_previewers = [
  { name = "*.md", run = "glow" },
]

# Install and activate
# ya pack -a yazi-rs/plugins:full-border
# ya pack -a yazi-rs/plugins:git
# ya pack -i

-- ~/.config/yazi/init.lua
-- Activate installed plugins
require("full-border"):setup()
require("git"):setup()

Best Practices

1. Install all preview dependencies — Install ffmpegthumbnailer, poppler, unar, jq, fd, ripgrep, and imagemagick for the full preview experience. Without them, many file types show raw text.

2. Use the shell wrapper — Set up the y function wrapper so you cd to the last directory when exiting Yazi, making it a true navigation tool instead of just a viewer.

3. Add directory bookmarks — Configure custom keybindings for frequent directories (g d for Downloads, g p for projects) in keymap.toml to navigate instantly.

4. Enable zoxide integration — With zoxide installed, pressing z in Yazi lets you fuzzy-jump to any previously visited directory without navigating manually.

5. Use tabs for multi-location work — Press t to open new tabs when you need to work across multiple directories, then use 1-9 to switch instantly.

6. Customize column ratios — Adjust ratio = [1, 4, 3] in yazi.toml to balance parent listing, current directory, and preview pane for your screen size.

7. Install the git plugin — The yazi-rs/plugins:git plugin shows git status indicators next to files, making it easy to see modified, staged, and untracked files.

8. Use visual mode for bulk operations — Press V to enter visual mode, then j/k to extend selection, then y/x/d for batch copy/cut/delete.

9. Configure your theme — Customize theme.toml with colors that match your terminal theme for a cohesive look. Set different colors per file type for quick visual identification.

10. Use content search — Press S to search file contents with ripgrep — it’s like having grep -r with an interactive file picker built in.