NAME¶

ranger - visual file manager

SYNOPSIS¶

ranger [--version] [--help] [--debug] [--clean] [--cachedir=directory] [--confdir=directory] [--datadir=directory] [--copy-config=which] [--choosefile=target] [--choosefiles=target] [--choosedir=target] [--selectfile=filepath] [--show-only-dirs] [--list-unused-keys] [--list-tagged-files=tag] [--profile] [--cmd=command] [path ...]

DESCRIPTION¶

ranger is a console file manager with VI key bindings.

RESOURCES¶

This manual contains instructions on how to use and configure ranger.

Inside ranger, you can press ? for a list of key bindings, commands or settings.

The README contains install instructions.

The file HACKING.md contains guidelines for code modification.

The directory doc/configs contains configuration files. They are usually installed to /usr/share/doc/ranger/config and can be obtained with ranger's --copy-config option.

The directory examples contains reference implementations for ranger plugins, sample configuration files and some programs for integrating ranger with other software. They are usually installed to /usr/share/doc/ranger/examples.

The man page of rifle(1) describes the functions of the file opener

The section LINKS of this man page contains further resources.

POSITIONAL ARGUMENTS¶

path ...

Each path will be opened in a tab and if the path is a file it will be selected. Omitting this is equivalent to providing the current directory.

OPTIONS¶

-d, --debug

Activate the debug mode: Whenever an error occurs, ranger will exit and print a full traceback. The default behavior is to merely print the name of the exception in the statusbar/log and try to keep running.

-c, --clean

Activate the clean mode: ranger will not access or create any configuration files nor will it leave any traces on your system. This is useful when your configuration is broken, when you want to avoid clutter, etc.

--cachedir=dir

Change the cache directory of ranger from $XDG_CACHE_HOME or ~/.cache/ranger to "dir".

-r dir, --confdir=dir

Change the configuration directory of ranger from $XDG_CONFIG_HOME or ~/.config/ranger to "dir".

--datadir=dir

Change the data directory of ranger from $XDG_DATA_HOME or ~/.local/share/ranger to "dir".

--copy-config=file

Create copies of the default configuration files in your local configuration directory. Existing ones will not be overwritten. Possible values: all, commands, commands_full, rc, rifle, scope.

Note: You may want to disable loading of the global configuration files by exporting RANGER_LOAD_DEFAULT_RC=FALSE in your environment. See also: FILES, ENVIRONMENT

--copy-config=commands will copy only a small sample configuration file with a thoroughly commented example. It is recommended to keep this file tidy to avoid getting defunct commands on ranger upgrades. The full default commands.py can be copied with --copy-config=commands_full, but that file will be ignored by ranger and serves only as a reference for making your own commands.

--choosefile=targetfile

Allows you to pick a file with ranger. This changes the behavior so that when you open a file, ranger will exit and write the absolute path of that file into targetfile.

--choosefiles=targetfile

Allows you to pick multiple files with ranger. This changes the behavior so that when you open a file, ranger will exit and write the absolute paths of all selected files into targetfile, adding one newline after each filename.

--choosedir=targetfile

Allows you to pick a directory with ranger. When you exit ranger, it will write the last visited directory into targetfile.

--selectfile=targetfile

Open ranger with targetfile selected. This is a legacy option, superseded by the behavior for the POSITIONAL ARGUMENTS.

--show-only-dirs

Display only the directories. May be used in conjunction with --choosedir=targetfile.

--list-unused-keys

List common keys which are not bound to any action in the "browser" context. This list is not complete, you can bind any key that is supported by curses: use the key code returned by "getch()".

--list-tagged-files=tag

List all files which are tagged with the given tag. Note: Tags are single characters. The default tag is "*"

--profile

Print statistics of CPU usage on exit.

--cmd=command

Execute the command after the configuration has been read. Use this option multiple times to run multiple commands.

--version

Print the version and exit.

-h, --help

Print a list of options and exit.

CONCEPTS¶

This part explains how certain parts of ranger work and how they can be used efficiently.

 %f   the highlighted file
 %d   the path of the current directory
 %s   the selected files in the current directory
 %t   all tagged files in the current directory
 %c   the full paths of the currently copied/cut files
 %p   the full paths of selected files

 Yank the file A (type yy), move to the file B, then type
 @diff %c %f

 map c<any> echo %any

 map m<any> set_bookmark %any

 map c<any> echo %any_path

 map p'<any> paste dest=%any_path

 f   Fork the process, i.e. run in background. Please use this flag
     instead of calling "disown" or "nohup", to avoid killing the
     background command when pressing Ctrl+C in ranger.
 c   Run the current file only, instead of the selection
 r   Run application with root privilege (requires sudo)
 t   Run application in a new terminal window

 p   Redirect output to the pager
 s   Silent mode.  Output will be discarded.
 w   Wait for an Enter-press when the process is done

 grep 'def hook_' -r /path/to/rangers/source

 pydoc ranger.api

KEY BINDINGS¶

Key bindings are defined in the file %rangerdir/config/rc.conf. Check this file for a list of all key bindings. You can copy it to your local configuration directory with the --copy-config=rc option.

Many key bindings take an additional numeric argument. Type 5j to move down 5 lines, 2l to open a file in mode 2, 10<Space> to mark 10 files.

This list contains the most useful bindings:

MOUSE BUTTONS¶

Left Mouse Button

Click on something and you'll move there.

Right Mouse Button

Enter a directory or run a file. To run a file you can either right click the file in the main column or right click on the preview.

Scroll Wheel

Scrolls up or down. You can point at the column of the parent directory while scrolling to switch directories.

SETTINGS¶

This section lists all built-in settings of ranger. The valid types for the value are in [brackets]. The hotkey to toggle the setting is in <brakets>, if a hotkey exists.

Settings can be changed in the file ~/.config/ranger/rc.conf or on the fly with the command :set option value. Examples:

 set column_ratios 1,2,3
 set show_hidden true

Toggling options can be done with:

 set show_hidden!

The different types of settings and an example for each type:

 setting type   | example values
 ---------------+----------------------------
 bool           | true, false
 integer        | 1, 23, 1337
 string         | foo, hello world
 list           | 1,2,3,4
 none           | none

You can view a list of all settings and their current values by pressing "3?" in ranger.

automatically_count_files [bool]

Should ranger count and display the number of files in each directory as soon as it's visible? This gets slow with remote file systems. Turning it off will still allow you to see the number of files after entering the directory.

autosave_bookmarks [bool]

Save bookmarks (used with mX and `X) instantly? This helps to synchronize bookmarks between multiple ranger instances but leads to *slight* performance loss. When false, bookmarks are saved when ranger is exited.

autoupdate_cumulative_size [bool]

You can display the "real" cumulative size of directories by using the command :get_cumulative_size or typing "dc". The size is expensive to calculate and will not be updated automatically. You can choose to update it automatically though by turning on this option.

cd_bookmarks [bool]

Specify whether bookmarks should be included in the tab completion of the "cd" command.

cd_tab_case [string]

Changes case sensitivity for the "cd" command tab completion. Possible values are:

 sensitive
 insensitive
 smart
    

cd_tab_fuzzy [bool]

Use fuzzy tab completion with the "cd" command. For example, :cd /u/lo/b<TAB> expands to :cd /usr/local/bin.

clear_filters_on_dir_change [bool]

If set to 'true', persistent filters would be cleared upon leaving the directory

collapse_preview [bool] <zc>

When no preview is visible, should the last column be squeezed to make use of the whitespace?

colorscheme [string]

Which colorscheme to use? These colorschemes are available by default: default, jungle, snow. Snow is a monochrome scheme, jungle replaces blue directories with green ones for better visibility on certain terminals.

column_ratios [list]

How many columns are there, and what are their relative widths? For example, a value of 1,1,1 would mean 3 evenly sized columns. 1,1,1,1,4 means 5 columns with the preview column being as large as the other columns combined.

confirm_on_delete [string]

Ask for a confirmation when running the "delete" command? Valid values are "always", "never", "multiple" (default). With "multiple", ranger will ask only if you delete multiple files at once.

dirname_in_tabs [bool]

Display the directory name in tabs?

display_size_in_main_column [bool]

Display the file size in the main column?

display_size_in_status_bar [bool]

Display the file size in the status bar?

display_free_space_in_status_bar [bool]

Display the free disk space in the status bar?

display_tags_in_all_columns [bool]

Display tags in all columns?

draw_borders [string]

Draw borders around or between the columns? Possible values are:

 none           no borders of any sort
 outline        draw an outline around all the columns
 separators     draw only vertical lines between columns
 both           both of the above
    

draw_borders_multipane [string]

Draw borders around or between the panes. This setting overrides draw_borders specifically for the multipane viewmode in case you want different border styles in both viewmodes. There's one additional legal value on top of those for draw_borders:

 active-pane    draw an outline around the active pane only
    

draw_progress_bar_in_status_bar [bool]

Draw a progress bar in the status bar which displays the average state of all currently running tasks which support progress bars?

filter_dead_tabs_on_startup [bool]

Remove tabs with unavailable paths on startup. Setting this to false (the default) will keep all saved tabs, even if their path is no longer reachable. This can be useful to save tabs with paths on removable media or network volumes.

flushinput [bool] <zI>

Flush the input after each key hit? One advantage is that when scrolling down with "j", ranger stops scrolling instantly when you release the key. One disadvantage is that when you type commands blindly, some keys might get lost.

freeze_files [bool] <F>

When active, directories and files will not be loaded, improving performance when all the files you need are already loaded. This does not affect file previews.

global_inode_type_filter [string]

Like filter_inode_type, but globally for all directories. Useful in combination with --choosedir:

 ranger --choosedir=/tmp/x --cmd='set global_inode_type_filter d'
    

hidden_filter [string]

A regular expression pattern for files which should be hidden. For example, this pattern will hide all files that start with a dot or end with a tilde.

 set hidden_filter ^\.|~$
    

hint_collapse_threshold [int]

The key hint lists up to this size have their sublists expanded. Otherwise the submaps are replaced with "...".

hostname_in_titlebar [bool]

Show hostname in titlebar?

size_in_bytes [bool]

Print file sizes in bytes instead of the default human-readable format.

binary_size_prefix [bool]

Shows large filesizes with binary unit prefixes - kibibytes=Ki, mebibytes=Mi etc. instead of the default decimal prefixes - kilobytes=k, megabytes=M etc. Each binary unit prefix signifies 1024=2^10 of the preceding unit prefix (there are 1024 KiB in 1 MiB) as opposed to decimal unit prefixes which signify a 1000 of the preceding unit prefix (there are 1000 kB in 1 MB)

idle_delay [integer]

The delay that ranger idly waits for user input, in milliseconds, with a resolution of 100ms. Lower delay reduces lag between directory updates but increases CPU load.

iterm2_font_height [integer]

Change the assumed font height in iTerm2, which may help with iTerm image previews

iterm2_font_width [integer]

Change the assumed font width in iTerm2, which may help with iTerm image previews

line_numbers [string]

Show line numbers in main column. Possible values are:

 false      turn the feature off
 absolute   absolute line numbers for use with "<N>gg"
 relative   relative line numbers for "<N>k" or "<N>j"
    

max_console_history_size [integer, none]

How many console commands should be kept in history? "none" will disable the limit.

max_history_size [integer, none]

How many directory changes should be kept in history?

metadata_deep_search [bool]

When the metadata manager module looks for metadata, should it only look for a ".metadata.json" file in the current directory, or do a deep search and check all directories above the current one as well?

mouse_enabled [bool] <zm>

Enable mouse input?

nested_ranger_warning [string]

Warn at startup if "RANGER_LEVEL" is greater than 0, in other words give a warning when you nest ranger in a subshell started by ranger. Allowed values are "true", "false" and "error". The special value "error" promotes the warning to an error, this is usually shown as red text but will crash ranger when run with the "--debug" flag.

one_indexed [bool]

Start line numbers from 1. Possible values are:

 false      start line numbers from 0
 true       start line numbers from 1
    

open_all_images [bool]

Open all images in this directory when running certain image viewers like feh or sxiv? You can still open selected files by marking them.

If there would be too many files for the system to handle, this option will be temporarily disabled automatically.

padding_right [bool]

When collapse_preview is on and there is no preview, should there remain a little padding on the right? This allows you to right click into that space to run the file.

preview_directories [bool] <zP>

Preview directories in the preview column?

preview_files [bool] <zp>

Preview files in the preview column?

preview_images [bool] <zi>

Draw images inside the console with the external program w3mimgpreview?

preview_images_method [string]

Set the preview image method. Supported methods: w3m, iterm2, urxvt, urxvt-full, terminology. See PREVIEWS section.

preview_max_size [int]

Avoid previewing files that exceed a certain size, in bytes. Use a value of 0 to disable this feature.

preview_script [string, none]

Which script should handle generating previews? If the file doesn't exist, or use_preview_script is off, ranger will handle previews itself by just printing the content.

relative_current_zero [bool]

When line_numbers is set to relative, show 0 on the current line if true or show the absolute number of the current line when false.

save_backtick_bookmark [bool]

Save the "`" bookmark to disk. This bookmark is used to switch to the last directory by typing "``".

save_console_history [bool]

Should the console history be saved on exit? If disabled, the console history is reset when you restart ranger.

save_tabs_on_exit [bool]

Save all tabs, except the active, on exit? The last saved tabs are restored once when starting the next session. Multiple sessions are stored in a stack and the oldest saved tabs are restored first.

scroll_offset [integer]

Try to keep this much space between the top/bottom border when scrolling.

shorten_title [integer]

Trim the title of the window if it gets long? The number defines how many directories are displayed at once. A value of 0 turns off this feature.

show_cursor [bool]

Always show the terminal cursor?

show_hidden_bookmarks [bool]

Show dotfiles in the bookmark preview window? (Type ')

show_hidden [bool] <zh>, <^H>

Show hidden files?

show_selection_in_titlebar [bool]

Add the highlighted file to the path in the titlebar

sort_case_insensitive [bool] <zc>

Sort case-insensitively? If true, "a" will be listed before "B" even though its ASCII value is higher.

sort_directories_first [bool] <zd>

Sort directories first?

sort_reverse [bool] <or>

Reverse the order of files?

sort_unicode [bool]

When sorting according to some string, should the unicode characters be compared, instead of looking at the raw character values to save time?

sort [string] <oa>, <ob>, <oc>, <oe>, <om>, <on>, <ot>, <os>, <oz>

Which sorting mechanism should be used? Choose one of atime, basename, ctime, extension, mtime, natural, type, size, random

Note: You can reverse the order by typing an uppercase second letter in the key combination, e.g. "oN" to sort from Z to A.

status_bar_on_top [bool]

Put the status bar at the top of the window?

tilde_in_titlebar [bool]

Abbreviate $HOME with ~ in the titlebar (first line) of ranger?

unicode_ellipsis [bool]

Use a unicode "..." character instead of "~" to mark cut-off filenames?

bidi_support [bool]

Try to properly display file names in RTL languages (Hebrew, Arabic) by using a BIDI algorithm to reverse the relevant parts of the text. Requires the python-bidi pip package.

update_title [bool]

Set a window title? Updates both the WM_NAME and WM_ICON_NAME properties.

update_tmux_title [bool]

Set the tmux/screen window-name to "ranger"?

use_preview_script [bool] <zv>

Use the preview script defined in the setting preview_script?

vcs_aware [bool]

Gather and display data about version control systems. Supported vcs: git, hg.

vcs_backend_git, vcs_backend_hg, vcs_backend_bzr, vcs_backend_svn [string]

Sets the state for the version control backend. The possible values are:

 disabled   Don't display any information.
 local      Display only local state.
 enabled    Display both, local and remote state.
            May be slow for hg and bzr.
    

vcs_msg_length [int]

Length to truncate first line of the commit messages to when shown in the statusbar. Defaults to 50.

viewmode [string]

Sets the view mode, which can be miller to display the files in the traditional miller column view that shows multiple levels of the hierarchy, or multipane to use multiple panes (one per tab) similar to midnight-commander.

w3m_delay [float]

Delay in seconds before displaying an image with the w3m method. Increase it in case of experiencing display corruption.

w3m_offset [int]

Offset in pixels for the inner border of the terminal. Some terminals require the offset to be specified explicitly, among others st and UXterm, some don't like urxvt.

sixel_dithering [string]

One of dithering methods supported by "convert", used for SIXEL image previews.

"convert" currently supports the following dithering methods:

 None             No dithering
 Riemersma        Dithering along a Hilbert curve with restricted error proliferation
 FloydSteinberg   Error diffusion dithering
    

wrap_plaintext_previews [bool]

Whether or not to wrap long lines in the pager, this includes previews of plain text files.

wrap_scroll [bool]

Enable scroll wrapping - moving down while on the last item will wrap around to the top and vice versa.

xterm_alt_key [bool]

Enable this if key combinations with the Alt Key don't work for you. (Especially on xterm)

COMMANDS¶

You can enter the commands in the console which is opened by pressing ":".

You can always get a list of the currently existing commands by typing "?c" in ranger. For your convenience, this is a list of the "public" commands including their parameters, excluding descriptions:

 alias [newcommand] [oldcommand]
 bulkrename
 cd [path]
 chain command1[; command2[; command3...]]
 chmod octal_number
 cmap key command
 console [-pSTARTPOSITION | -s SENTINEL] command
 copycmap key newkey [newkey2...]
 copymap key newkey [newkey2...]
 copypmap key newkey [newkey2...]
 copytmap key newkey [newkey2...]
 cunmap keys...
 default_linemode [path=regexp | tag=tags] linemodename
 delete
 echo [text]
 edit [filename]
 eval [-q] python_code
 filter [string]
 filter_inode_type [dfl]
 find pattern
 flat level
 grep pattern
 help
 jump_non [-FLAGS...]
 linemode linemodename
 load_copy_buffer
 map key command
 mark pattern
 mark_tag [tags]
 meta key value
 mkdir dirname
 open_with [application] [flags] [mode]
 pmap key command
 prompt_metadata [key1 [key2 [...]]]
 punmap keys...
 quit
 quit!
 quitall
 quitall!
 relink newpath
 rename_append [-FLAGS...]
 rename newname
 save_copy_buffer
 scout [-FLAGS...] pattern
 search pattern
 search_inc pattern
 set option value
 setinpath [path=<path>] option value
 setinregex [re=<regex>] option value
 setintag tags option value
 setlocal [path=<path>] option value
 shell [-FLAGS...] command
 source filename
 terminal
 tmap key command
 touch filename
 trash
 travel pattern
 tunmap keys...
 unmap keys...
 unmark pattern
 unmark_tag [tags]

There are additional commands which are directly translated to python functions, one for every method in the ranger.core.actions.Actions class. They are not documented here, since they are mostly for key bindings, not to be typed in by a user. Read the source if you are interested in them.

These are the public commands including their descriptions:

alias [newcommand] [oldcommand]

Copies the oldcommand as newcommand.

bulkrename

This command opens a list of selected files in an external editor. After you edit and save the file, it will generate a shell script which does bulk renaming according to the changes you did in the file.

This shell script is opened in an editor for you to review. After you close it, it will be executed.

cd [path]

The cd command changes the directory. If path is a file, selects that file. The command ":cd -" is equivalent to typing ``.

chain command1[; command2[; command3...]]

Combines multiple commands into one, separated by semicolons.

chmod octal_number

Sets the permissions of the selection to the octal number.

The octal number is between 000 and 777. The digits specify the permissions for the user, the group and others. A 1 permits execution, a 2 permits writing, a 4 permits reading. Add those numbers to combine them. So a 7 permits everything.

Key bindings in the form of [-+]<who><what> and <octal>= also exist. For example, +ar allows reading for everyone, -ow forbids others to write and 777= allows everything.

See also: man 1 chmod

console [-pN | -s sentinel] command

Opens the console with the command already typed in. The cursor is placed at N or at the first occurrence of sentinel. Note that sentinel strings can potentially occur inside macro expansions. If you cannot provide a sentinel which is guaranteed to be unique, you should use "-p".

copymap key newkey [newkey2 ...]

copycmap key newkey [newkey2 ...]

copypmap key newkey [newkey2 ...]

copytmap key newkey [newkey2 ...]

Copies the keybinding key to newkey in the "browser" context. This is a deep copy, so if you change the new binding (or parts of it) later, the old one is not modified. For example, copymap j down will make the key sequence "down" move the cursor down one item.

To copy key bindings of the console, pager or taskview use "copycmap", "copypmap" or "copytmap" respectively.

default_linemode [path=regexp | tag=tags] linemodename

Sets the default linemode. See linemode command.

Examples:

Set the global default linemode to "permissions":
:default_linemode permissions

Set the default linemode to "permissions" for all files tagged with "p" or "P":
:default_linemode tag=pP permissions

Set the default linemode for all files in ~/books/ to "metatitle":
:default_linemode path=/home/.*?/books/.* metatitle

delete

Destroy all files in the selection with a roundhouse kick. ranger will ask for a confirmation if you attempt to delete multiple (marked) files or non-empty directories. This can be changed by modifying the setting "confirm_on_delete".

echo text

Display the text in the statusbar.

edit [filename]

Edit the current file or the file in the argument.

eval [-q] python_code

Evaluates the python code. `fm' is a reference to the FM instance. To display text, use the function `p'. The result is displayed on the screen unless you use the "-q" option.

Examples:
:eval fm
:eval len(fm.tabs)
:eval p("Hello World!")

filter [string]

Displays only the files which contain the string in their basename. Running this command without any parameter will reset the filter.

This command is based on the scout command and supports all of its options.

filter_inode_type [dfl]

Displays only the files of specified inode type. To display only directories, use the 'd' parameter. To display only files, use the 'f' parameter. To display only links, use the 'l' parameter. Parameters can be combined. To remove this filter, use no parameter.

filter_stack [command [args]]

Manage the filter stack, adding, removing and manipulating filters. For example, to show only duplicate files and symlinks:

  :filter_stack add type f
  :filter_stack add duplicate
  :filter_stack add and
  :filter_stack add type l
  :filter_stack add or
    

Or using the mapped keys:

  .f ." .& .l .|
    

Available subcommands:

find pattern

Search files in the current directory that contain the given (case-insensitive) string in their name as you type. Once there is an unambiguous result, it will be run immediately. (Or entered, if it's a directory.)

This command is based on the scout command and supports all of its options.

flat level

Flattens the directory view up to the specified level. Level -1 means infinite level. Level 0 means standard view without flattened directory view. Level values -2 and less are invalid.

grep pattern

Looks for a string in all marked files or directories.

help

Provides a quick way to view ranger documentations.

jump_non [-flags...]

Jumps to first non-directory if highlighted file is a directory and vice versa.

Flags:
-r Jump in reverse order
-w Wrap around if reaching end of filelist

linemode linemodename

Sets the linemode of all files in the current directory. The linemode may be:

 "filename":
   display each line as "<basename>...<size>"
 "fileinfo":
   display each line as "<basename>...<file(1) output>"
 "mtime":
   display each line as "<basename>...<mtime>" in ISO format
 "humanreadablemtime":
   display each line as "<basename>...<mtime>" in a human readable
   format, more precise the more recent.
 "sizemtime":
   display each line as "<basename>...<size> <mtime>" in ISO format
 "humanreadablesizemtime":
   display each line as "<basename>...<size> <mtime>" in a human
   readable format, more precise the more recent.
 "permissions":
   display each line as "<permissions> <owner> <group> <basename>"
 "metatitle":
   display metadata from .metadata.json files if available, fall back
   to the "filename" linemode if no metadata was found.
   See :meta command.
    

The custom linemodes may be added by subclassing the LinemodeBase class. See the ranger.core.linemode module for some examples.

load_copy_buffer

Load the copy buffer from ~/.config/ranger/copy_buffer. This can be used to pass the list of copied files to another ranger instance.

map key command

cmap key command

pmap key command

tmap key command

Assign the key combination to the given command. Whenever you type the key/keys, the command will be executed. Additionally, if you use a quantifier when typing the key, like 5j, it will be passed to the command as the attribute "self.quantifier".

The keys you bind with this command are accessible in the file browser only, not in the console, pager or taskview. To bind keys there, use the commands "cmap", "pmap" or "tmap".

mark pattern

Mark all files matching the regular expression pattern.

This command is based on the scout command and supports all of its options.

mark_tag [tags]

Mark all tags that are tagged with either of the given tags. When leaving out the tag argument, all tagged files are marked.

meta key value

Set the metadata of the currently highlighted file. Example:

 :meta title The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
 :meta year 1979
    

This metadata can be displayed by, for example, using the "metatitle" line mode by typing Mt.

mkdir dirname

Creates a directory with the name dirname.

open_with [application] [flags] [mode]

Open the selected files with the given application, unless it is omitted, in which case the default application is used. flags change the way the application is executed and are described in their own section in this man page. The mode is a number that specifies which application to use. The list of applications is generated by the external file opener "rifle" and can be displayed when pressing "r" in ranger.

Note that if you specify an application, the mode is ignored.

prompt_metadata [keys ...]

Prompt the user to input metadata with the "meta" command for multiple keys in a row.

quit

Closes the current tab, if there's only one tab. Otherwise quits if there are no tasks in progress. The current directory will be bookmarked as ' so you can re-enter it by typing `` or '' the next time you start ranger.

quit!

Like "quit", except will force quit even if tasks are in progress.

quitall

Like "quit", except will quit even if multiple tabs are open.

quitall!

Like "quitall", except will force quit even if tasks are in progress.

relink newpath

Change the link destination of the current symlink file to <newpath>. First <tab> will load the original link.

rename newname

Rename the current file. If a file with that name already exists, the renaming will fail. Also try the key binding A for appending something to a file name.

rename_append [-flags...]

Opens the console with ":rename <current file>" with the cursor positioned before the file extension.

Flags:
-a Position before all extensions
-r Remove everything before extensions

save_copy_buffer

Save the copy buffer to ~/.config/ranger/copy_buffer. This can be used to pass the list of copied files to another ranger instance.

scout [-flags...] [--] pattern

Swiss army knife command for searching, traveling and filtering files.

Flags:
-a Automatically open a file on unambiguous match
-e Open the selected file when pressing enter
-f Filter files that match the current search pattern
-g Interpret pattern as a glob pattern
-i Ignore the letter case of the files
-k Keep the console open when changing a directory with the command
-l Letter skipping; e.g. allow "rdme" to match the file "readme"
-m Mark the matching files after pressing enter
-M Unmark the matching files after pressing enter
-p Permanent filter: hide non-matching files after pressing enter
-r Interpret pattern as a regular expression pattern
-s Smart case; like -i unless pattern contains upper case letters
-t Apply filter and search pattern as you type
-v Inverts the match

Multiple flags can be combined. For example, ":scout -gpt" would create a :filter-like command using globbing.

search pattern

Search files in the current directory that match the given (case insensitive) regular expression pattern.

This command is based on the scout command and supports all of its options.

search_inc pattern

Search files in the current directory that match the given (case insensitive) regular expression pattern. This command gets you to matching files as you type.

This command is based on the scout command and supports all of its options.

set option value

Assigns a new value to an option. Valid options are listed in the settings section. Use tab completion to get the current value of an option, though this doesn't work for functions and regular expressions. Valid values are:

 setting type   | example values
 ---------------+----------------------------
 bool           | true, false
 integer        | 1, 23, 1337
 string         | foo, hello world
 list           | 1,2,3,4
 none           | none
    

setinpath [path=path] option value

Assigns a new value to an option, but locally for the directory given by path. This means, that this option only takes effect when visiting that directory. If no path is given, uses the current directory.

path can be quoted with either single or double quotes to prevent unwanted splitting, path='~/dl dl' or path="~/dl dl". You can use "pattern" rather than "path" for consistency with "setinregex".

setinregex [re=regex] option value

Assigns a new value to an option, but locally for directories matching regex. This means, that this option only takes effect when visiting such directories. If no regular expression is given, uses the current directory.

regex is a regular expression. This means that "re=~/dl" applies to all paths that start with ~/dl, e.g. ~/dl2 and ~/dl/foo. To avoid this, use "path=~/dl$". To specify a folder with special characters (.^$\*+?(){}[]|), escape them with a backslash.

regex can be quoted with either single or double quotes to prevent unwanted splitting,. re='~/dl dl$' or re="~/dl dl$". You can use "regex" rather than "re" to avoid having to remember the spelling and you can use "pattern" for consistency with "setinpath".

setintag tags option value

Assigns a new value to an option, but locally for the directories that are marked with tag. This means, that this option only takes effect when visiting that directory.

For example, to change the sorting order in your downloads directory, tag it with the v tag by typing "v, then use this command:

 setintag v sort ctime
    

setlocal [path=path] option value

Alias for "setinpath".

shell [-flags] command

Run a shell command. flags are discussed in their own section.

source filename

Reads commands from a file and executes them in the ranger console.

This can be used to re-evaluate the rc.conf file after changing it:

 map X chain shell vim -p %confdir/rc.conf %rangerdir/config/rc.conf; \
                   source %confdir/rc.conf
    

scroll_preview value

Scroll the file preview by value lines.

terminal

Spawns the x-terminal-emulator starting in the current directory.

touch filename

Creates an empty file with the name filename, unless it already exists.

trash

Move all files in the selection to the trash using rifle. Rifle tries to use a trash manager like trash-cli if available but will fall back to moving files to either $XDG_DATA_HOME/ranger/trash or ~/.local/share/ranger/trash. This is a less permanent version of delete, relying on the user to clear out the trash whenever it's convenient. While having the possibility of restoring trashed files until this happens. ranger will ask for a confirmation if you attempt to trash multiple (marked) files or non-empty directories. This can be changed by modifying the setting "confirm_on_delete".

travel pattern

Filters the current directory for files containing the letters in the string, possibly with other letters in between. The filter is applied as you type. When only one directory is left, it is entered and the console is automatically reopened, allowing for fast travel. To close the console, press ESC or execute a file.

This command is based on the scout command and supports all of its options.

unmap [keys ...]

cunmap [keys ...]

punmap [keys ...]

tunmap [keys ...]

Removes the given key mappings in the "browser" context. To unmap key bindings in the console, pager, or taskview use "cunmap", "punmap" or "tunmap".

unmark pattern

Unmark all files matching a regular expression pattern.

This command is based on the scout command and supports all of its options.

unmark_tag [tags]

Unmark all tags that are tagged with either of the given tags. When leaving out the tag argument, all tagged files are unmarked.

FILES¶

ranger reads several configuration files which are located in $HOME/.config/ranger or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/ranger if $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is defined. You can use the --copy-config option to obtain the default configuration files. The files contain further documentation.

rc.conf, commands.py and colorschemes do not need to be copied fully as they will only be adding to the default configuration files except if explicitly overridden. This may lead to some confusing situations, for example when a key is being bound despite the corresponding line being removed from the user's copy of the configuration file. This behavior may be disabled with an environment variable (see also: ENVIRONMENT). Note: All other configuration files only read from one source; i.e. default OR user, not both. rc.conf and commands.py are additionally read from /etc/ranger if they exist for system-wide configuration, user configuration overrides system configuration which overrides the default configuration.

When starting ranger with the --clean option, it will not access or create any of these files.

ENVIRONMENT¶

These environment variables have an effect on ranger:

RANGER_LEVEL

ranger sets this environment variable to "1" or increments it if it already exists. External programs can determine whether they were spawned from ranger by checking for this variable.

RANGER_LOAD_DEFAULT_RC

If this variable is set to FALSE, ranger will not load the default rc.conf. This can save time if you copied the whole rc.conf to ~/.config/ranger/ and don't need the default one at all.

VISUAL

Defines the editor to be used for the "E" key. Falls back to EDITOR if undefined or empty.

EDITOR

Defines the editor to be used for the "E" key if VISUAL is undefined or empty. Defaults to "vim".

SHELL

Defines the shell that ranger is going to use with the :shell command and the "S" key. Defaults to "/bin/sh".

TERMCMD

Defines the terminal emulator command that ranger is going to use with the :terminal command and the "t" run flag. Defaults to "xterm".

BAT_STYLE

Specifies the style to be used for syntax highlighting when bat is installed, unless highlight is also installed. Find out possible values in bat's man page. This defaults to plain to make maximal use of horizontal space.

BAT_THEME

Specifies the theme to be used for syntax highlighting when bat is installed, unless highlight is also installed. Find out possible values by running "bat --list-themes".

PYGMENTIZE_STYLE

Specifies the theme to be used for syntax highlighting when pygmentize is installed, unless highlight is also installed. Find out possible values by running:
python -c 'import pygments.styles; [print(stl) for stl in
pygments.styles.get_all_styles()]'

HIGHLIGHT_STYLE

Specifies the theme to be used for syntax highlighting when highlight is installed. Find out possible values by running "highlight --list-themes".

HIGHLIGHT_TABWIDTH

Specifies the number of spaces to use to replace tabs in highlighted files.

HIGHLIGHT_OPTIONS

highlight will pick up command line options specified in this variable. A "--style=" option specified here will override "HIGHLIGHT_STYLE". Similarly, "--replace-tabs=" will override "HIGHLIGHT_TABWIDTH".

OPENSCAD_COLORSCHEME

Specifies the colorscheme used by openscad while previewing 3D models. Read openscad man page for colorschemes. Ranger will default to Tomorrow Night.

OPENSCAD_IMGSIZE

Specifies the internal resolution openscad will use for rendering 3D models. The image will be downscaled to fit the preview pane. This resolution will default to "1000,1000" if no value is set.

XDG_CONFIG_HOME

Specifies the directory for configuration files. Defaults to $HOME/.config.

PYTHONOPTIMIZE

This variable determines the optimize level of python.

Using PYTHONOPTIMIZE=1 (like python -O) will make python discard assertion statements. You will gain efficiency at the cost of losing some debug info.

Using PYTHONOPTIMIZE=2 (like python -OO) will additionally discard any docstrings. Using this will disable the <F1> key on commands.

W3MIMGDISPLAY_PATH

By changing this variable, you can change the path of the executable file for image previews. By default, it is set to /usr/lib/w3m/w3mimgdisplay.

EXAMPLES¶

There are various examples on how to extend ranger with plugins or combine ranger with other programs. These can be found in the /usr/share/doc/ranger/examples/ directory, or the doc/ranger/ that is provided along with the source code.

LICENSE¶

GNU General Public License 3 or (at your option) any later version.

LINKS¶

Download: <https://ranger.github.io/ranger-stable.tar.gz>

The project page: <https://ranger.github.io/>

The mailing list: <https://savannah.nongnu.org/mail/?group=ranger>

IRC channel: #ranger on irc.libera.chat

ranger is maintained with the git version control system. To fetch a fresh copy, run:

 git clone git@github.com:ranger/ranger.git

SEE ALSO¶

rifle(1)

BUGS¶

Report bugs here: <https://github.com/ranger/ranger/issues>

Please include as much relevant information as possible. For the most diagnostic output, run ranger like this: "PYTHONOPTIMIZE= ranger --debug"