Yazi: Blazing Fast Terminal File Manager Written in Rust

TL;DR — Quick Summary

Yazi is a fast terminal file manager in Rust with async I/O, image previews, Vi-like keybindings, and a plugin system. Complete setup and usage guide.

Yazi is what a file manager feels like when built from scratch in Rust with modern async I/O. Directories with thousands of files load instantly, image previews render in-terminal, and Vi-like keybindings make navigation effortless.

Installation

# macOS
brew install yazi

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S yazi

# Cargo
cargo install --locked yazi-fm yazi-cli

# Nix
nix-env -i yazi

# Verify
yazi --version

Shell Wrapper (cd-on-exit)

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 -- "$cwd"
    fi
    rm -f -- "$tmp"
}

Now use y instead of yazi — when you quit, your shell changes to the directory you navigated to.

Keybindings

Key	Action
`h/l`	Parent / Enter directory
`j/k`	Move down/up
`J/K`	Move down/up half page
`gg/G`	Go to top/bottom
`Enter`	Open file
`Space`	Select file
`V`	Visual select mode
`d`	Delete (trash)
`D`	Permanently delete
`y`	Yank (copy)
`x`	Cut
`p`	Paste
`r`	Rename
`a`	Create file
`A`	Create directory
`/`	Search
`z`	Jump (fzf integration)
`t`	New tab
`~`	Go to home
`.`	Toggle hidden files
`q`	Quit

Configuration

Config directory: ~/.config/yazi/

yazi.toml

[manager]
show_hidden = false
sort_by = "natural"
sort_dir_first = true
linemode = "size"

[preview]
max_width = 1000
max_height = 1000
image_quality = 75

theme.toml

[manager]
cwd = { fg = "#94e2d5" }

[status]
separator_open = ""
separator_close = ""

Comparison

Feature	Yazi	ranger	lf	nnn
Language	Rust	Python	Go	C
Speed	Fastest	Slow	Fast	Fast
Image preview	Native	ueberzug	ueberzug	Plugins
Plugin system	Lua	Python	Shell	Plugins
Async I/O	Yes	No	No	No
Tabs	Yes	Yes	No	Contexts
Bulk rename	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Vi bindings	Yes	Yes	Yes	Custom

Summary

Yazi is the fastest terminal file manager thanks to Rust and async I/O
Three-column Miller layout with real-time file previews including images
Vi-like keybindings for intuitive navigation
Plugin system (Lua) and themes for customization
Shell wrapper enables cd-on-exit for seamless terminal integration
Tabs, bulk rename, file search with fzf integration

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Yazi?

Yazi is a terminal file manager written in Rust with async I/O for snappy performance. It features image previews (in supported terminals), Vi-like keybindings, bulk renaming, tabbed navigation, and a Lua plugin system.

How does Yazi compare to ranger?

Yazi is a spiritual successor to ranger but written in Rust instead of Python, making it 5-10x faster for directory listing and file operations. It has native async I/O, image preview support in more terminals, and a Lua plugin system instead of Python.

Can Yazi preview images in the terminal?

Yes, Yazi supports image previews in terminals that support the Kitty graphics protocol, iTerm2 inline images, Sixel, or ueberzugpp. In other terminals, it falls back to text-based previews.

Does Yazi have a plugin system?

Yes, Yazi has a Lua plugin system for extending functionality. Plugins can add custom previewers, fetchers, completions, and commands. The community maintains plugins for git status, archive extraction, and more.