TL;DR — Quick Summary

Broot shows a compact, interactive directory tree that adapts to your terminal. Navigate, search, filter, and manage files — a better way to explore filesystems.

Broot gives you an interactive bird’s-eye view of any directory tree. Instead of flooding your terminal with tree output, Broot shows a smart, compact overview that adapts to your screen — then lets you search, filter, and act on files instantly.

Installation

# macOS
brew install broot

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S broot

# Cargo
cargo install broot --locked

# First run — installs the 'br' shell function
broot
# Say yes to install the shell function

Usage

# Start browsing (use br, not broot, to enable cd)
br

# Start in a specific directory
br /var/log

# Type to fuzzy-search instantly
# Arrow keys to navigate
# Enter to open file
# Alt+Enter to cd into directory

Key Features

KeyAction
TypeFuzzy search/filter
↑ ↓Navigate tree
EnterOpen file
Alt+Entercd into directory
sToggle sizes
dToggle dates
pToggle permissions
hToggle hidden files
ctrl+qQuit
/Regex search
c/Content search (grep)

Filtering

# In broot, just type to filter:
# Type "rs" to show only files containing "rs"
# Type ".json" to show only JSON files
# Type "e>1m" to show files larger than 1MB
# Type "d<1w" to show files modified in last week

Comparison

FeatureBroottreelsdexa/ezaYazi
InteractiveYesNoNoNoYes
Fuzzy searchYesNoNoNoYes
File sizesOn-demandNoYesYesYes
cd integrationYesNoNoNoYes
File previewYesNoNoNoYes
Adapt to screenYesNoNoNoYes
File operationsYesNoNoNoYes

Summary

  • Broot shows adaptive, compact directory trees that fit your terminal
  • Instant fuzzy-search for navigating large codebases
  • cd integration via br shell function — faster than typing paths
  • Toggle sizes, dates, permissions, and hidden files
  • File operations, content search (grep), and preview built-in