⚡ A Commander

A Norton Commander-inspired, Total Commander-style dual-pane file manager for Windows, with a VS Code-style command palette. Free and open source.

📥 Download

Download the latest release for Windows

Windows 10 or 11. No Java install needed; the runtime is included.
Installer (acommander-setup-v<version>.exe): installs for your user only, no admin rights, into %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\ACommander. Adds a Start Menu entry, an optional desktop shortcut, and an uninstaller in Settings › Apps. Running a newer setup upgrades in place and keeps your settings; uninstall removes the folder, settings included.
Portable (acommander-v<version>.zip): unzip anywhere and run acommander.exe. Nothing is installed.
Both are about 300 MB because they bundle about 20 tools and their own Java runtime.

💡 Why A Commander

Norton Commander at heart — two panes, the classic F-key bar (F3 view, F5 copy, F6 move, F8 delete), and a Norton Commander theme, with dark and light themes too.
Command Palette — press Ctrl+Shift+P and type to find any action, like in VS Code. No menus to dig through.
Tools included — about 20 proven tools (7-Zip, FastCopy, ripgrep, Universal Viewer, qpdf and more) work out of the box. No setup.
Archives and servers as folders — browse zip and 7z files, and FTP / SFTP / FTPS servers, like local folders.
Configurable without code — every action, tool and shortcut lives in config/apps.json.

A Commander workstation with several associated apps running (View Text File, View Image, Edit and Terminal)

📑 Table of Contents

Core Features
File Operations
Virtual File System (VFS) & Remote Access
Metadata Editing
Search & Navigation
Archive, PDF, Convert & Checksum
Default Shortcuts
External Tools Bundled
Configuration
Release History
Build from Source
Project Layout
License

✨ Core Features

Dual-pane navigation with keyboard-first workflow
Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) with fuzzy search and aliases
Data-driven action system via config/apps.json — no recompilation needed for tool changes
Built-in and external actions with selection/context rules
Background progress bar with a Stop button that ends the whole operation (no next item, no delete after a stopped copy)
Persistent state — left/right paths, theme mode, bookmarks and saved FTP connections in config/acommander.properties (the Settings action opens it; edits apply when the editor closes)
Sort by Name / Size / Modified (header click or palette actions)
Incremental in-pane filtering by typing letters/digits
Dark / Light / Norton Commander themes — switchable UI modes
About popup (Command Palette or the F1 help) — version, license, project link and runtime versions

📂 File Operations

Operation	Details
Rename	Single or batch via Ant Renamer
Copy / Move	Between panes. When names already exist, one dialog lists them and asks: Overwrite All, Skip Existing or Overwrite Older
Copy / Paste	Clipboard-based copy and paste
Drag and Drop	Drag files into other apps (web uploads, Explorer, mail), between panes, onto a folder row (into that folder) or from Explorer into a pane. A drag copies; a right-button drag between panes asks Copy Here or Move Here. FTP files download at drag start
Duplicate	Clone a file in the same directory
Create	New directory or new file
Delete	Asks first, then moves local items to the Recycle Bin (FTP, archives and network shares: deleted for good). A locked local file or folder: lists the programs holding it open (File Locksmith) and, if you agree, ends them and deletes it
Secure Wipe	Via SDelete, after asking
Attributes	Change file/folder attributes
Properties	View detailed file/folder properties
Compare Files	Diff two files side by side via ExamDiff
Synchronize Folders	Keep two directories in sync
Advanced Selection	Select all, invert, select by mask

🌐 Virtual File System (VFS) & Remote Access

A Commander v4.0 introduces a virtual file system layer that lets you browse non-local locations as if they were regular directories.

Feature	Details
Archive browsing	Navigate inside zip, 7z, and other archives transparently, also an archive inside an archive
FTP	Connect to FTP servers and browse files inline (via curl)
SFTP / FTPS	Secure remote browsing over SSH or TLS (via curl). The server's certificate or SSH key (from `.ssh\known_hosts`) is checked; tick Trust Any Certificate in the connection dialog for a self-signed server you trust. Saved passwords are encrypted for your Windows account (DPAPI); another PC or user asks for them again
FTP-to-FTP copy	Transfer files directly between two remote servers
Folder upload	Copy or move whole folders (with empty subfolders) from a local or archive pane to a server
USB drives	Detect and browse USB disk keys; the drive list updates when you open it (Alt+F1/F2) or press Ctrl+R, so a disk plugged in later shows up

🏷️ Metadata Editing

Media Type	Details
Video	Edit tags (title, artist, year, description, etc.) of MP4, MOV, MKV and WebM via ffmpeg
Images	View and modify EXIF/IPTC metadata via exiv2
Audio	Edit tags (title, artist, album, etc.) of MP3, M4A, FLAC, OGG and Opus via ffmpeg, in any language

🔍 Search & Navigation

Feature	Shortcut
File search (wildcard-aware)	`F10`
Find-in-files text search (ripgrep)	`Alt+F10`
Path dropdowns	`Alt+F1` / `Alt+F2`
Open terminal here	`F9`
Open Explorer here	`Alt+F9`
Bookmark / Go to / Remove bookmark	via Command Palette
Sync other pane to current path	via Command Palette
Link / unlink panel navigation (Enter, Backspace and `..` move both panes into same-named folders; a Linked button shows while on)	via Command Palette

📦 Archive, PDF, Convert & Checksum

Category	Actions
Archive	Pack to zip (`F11`) via 7-Zip GUI · Unpack (`F12`) via 7-Zip GUI · Extract anything (`Alt+F12`) via Universal Extractor · Split large file (`Alt+F11`) via 7z CLI
PDF	Merge PDF files · Extract PDF pages (all pages, specific pages/ranges, pages-per-output chunking). Both, and Pack to zip, ask before replacing files that already exist
Convert	Media conversion (`Alt+F5`) auto-routes to image, audio or video · Graphics via `caesiumclt.exe` · Audio to MP3, M4A, FLAC, WAV, OGG or Opus via ffmpeg (quality, sample rate, loudness normalize) · Video to MP4 (H.264 / H.265, optional downsizing), or to MP4/MKV without re-encoding, or extract its audio (MP3, M4A or the original track)
Media	Trim Media (keep a start-to-end part, lossless by default) · Join Media (join files of one type without re-encoding) · Media Info (duration, bitrate, codecs, resolution, tags) · all via ffmpeg, from the Command Palette
Checksum	Single file or recursive folder checksum via `rhash.exe`
UPX	Compress/decompress EXE and DLL files via `upx.exe`

🎮 Games

Bundled games start from the Command Palette (type game): Minesweeper (Mines-Perfect, with extra board shapes), Puzzle Collection (Simon Tatham's 40 logic puzzles: Solo, Loopy, Net ...) and Arkanoid Clone.

⌨️ Default Shortcuts

Key	Action	Key	Action
`F1`	Help	`F7`	Create Directory
`F2` / `Shift+F6`	Rename	`Alt+F7`	Create File
`F3`	View	`F8` / `Delete`	Delete
`F4`	Edit	`Shift+F8` / `Shift+Del`	Delete & Wipe
`F5`	Copy	`F9`	Open Terminal Here
`Alt+F5`	Convert Media	`Alt+F9`	Open Explorer Here
`F6`	Move	`F10` / `Ctrl+F`	Search for Files
`Alt+F10`	Find in Files	`Ctrl+R`	Refresh Panels
`F11`	Pack to Zip	`Ctrl+Shift+P`	Command Palette
`Alt+F11`	Split Large File	`Alt+F1` / `Alt+F2`	Path Dropdown
`F12`	Unpack	`Alt+Enter`	Change Attributes
`Alt+F12`	Extract Anything	`Alt+F6`	Duplicate
`Ctrl+C`	Copy to Clipboard	`Ctrl+X`	Cut to Clipboard
`Ctrl+V`	Paste	`Ctrl+A`	Select All
`Ctrl+Shift+A`	Unselect All	`Ctrl+I`	Invert Selection
`Insert`	Mark Item	`Esc`	Clear Marks

Quick tips: Tab switches active pane · Enter opens folder/file · Backspace goes to parent · F3 on a folder calculates its size · Insert marks files one by one: the arrows then move only the cursor and keep the marks until Esc.

🧰 External Tools Bundled

Tool	Location
Universal Viewer	`apps/view/UniversalViewer`
Notepad4	`apps/edit/Notepad4.exe`
FastCopy	`apps/copy`
7-Zip GUI	`apps/pack_unpack/7zG.exe`
Universal Extractor	`apps/extract_all/UniExtract`
qpdf	`apps/pdf/qpdf.exe`
Ant Renamer	`apps/multi_rename`
File Locksmith (PowerToys, MIT) & SDelete	`apps/delete`
ripgrep	`apps/search_in_files/rg.exe`
Caesium CLI	`apps/image_convert/caesiumclt.exe`
FFmpeg (GPLv3; the build downloads it)	`apps/media/ffmpeg.exe`
rhash	`apps/checksum/rhash.exe`
ExamDiff	`apps/file_compare/ExamDiff.exe`
exiv2	`apps/image_metadata/exiv2.exe`
UPX	`apps/exe_compress/upx.exe`
curl	`apps/remote_connectivity/curl.exe`
Mines-Perfect (GPL)	`apps/games/mines_perfect`
Simon Tatham's Puzzle Collection (MIT; PortableApps launcher)	`apps/games/puzzles`
Arkanoid clone (Dreamwebspace, free)	`apps/games/arkanoid_clone`

Each tool's full name, version and home page are in the F1 help ("Bundled Tools") and in config/apps.json (tools).

Updating the Tools

Check Tool Updates (Command Palette) lists every tool with its installed and available version. Update downloads the tool's changed files; Update All does every tool.
Updates come only from this project's GitHub: the main branch, and a release of this project for ffmpeg. Every file must match the SHA-256 in apps/tools.sha256, or nothing changes. A file the update didn't change (a tool's own settings, say) is never reset; a missing file is downloaded again.
With Check at Start on (the default), ACommander looks once a day and opens the list only when there is something new.
For the developer, gradlew build prints every tool's current and latest version, with release dates where GitHub has them, and a direct download for the newer ones (once a day; gradlew checkToolUpdates any time). gradlew upgradeTools -Ptools=<id> downloads the newer version, replaces the tool's files and sets its version; build, then commit and push. Users get it from main.
BundledToolContractTest runs every command-line tool the way the app does (search, checksum, metadata, image conversion, UPX, PDF, archives, wipe, locked files, FTP protocols), so a new version that changed its flags or output fails the build before it is pushed. The tools that open a window run in gradlew guiToolTest (not in build): FastCopy copy and move, 7-Zip GUI pack and unpack, Universal Extractor and Ant Renamer are checked for their result; Notepad4, Universal Viewer and ExamDiff are checked to open a file without crashing.

⚙️ Configuration (`config/apps.json`)

Every action is data-driven. Add, remove, or reconfigure tools without touching the source code.

Action Schema

{
  "id": "openVSCode",
  "label": "Open in VS Code",
  "shortcut": "Ctrl+Alt+V",
  "aliases": ["code", "vscode"],
  "contexts": ["filePane", "commandPalette"],
  "selection": "single",
  "type": "external",
  "path": "C:/Program Files/Microsoft VS Code/Code.exe",
  "args": ["${selectedFile}"],
  "refreshAfter": false,
  "prompt": {
    "title": "Optional argument",
    "label": "Value",
    "defaultValue": "${selectedName}"
  }
}

Fields

Field	Required	Notes
`id`	✅	Unique action id
`label`	✅	Display name
`description`	—	One sentence shown in the F1 help
`category`	—	F1 help section, one of `HelpTopics.CATEGORIES`
`shortcut`	—	Keyboard shortcut string
`aliases`	—	Palette search aliases
`contexts`	—	`global` · `filePane` · `commandPalette`
`selection`	—	`none` · `single` · `multi` · `any` · `singleFile` · `singleFolder` · `singleOrMultipleFiles`; otherwise the action is blocked with a message
`type`	—	`builtin` (default) or `external`
`builtin`	—	Override builtin handler id
`path`	External	Executable path
`args`	—	Argument array
`refreshAfter`	—	Refresh panes after execution
`prompt`	—	Prompt config for external actions
`ftp`	—	`true` = allowed on FTP panes (default: rejected)
`writes`	—	Pane it writes to: `none` (default) · `source` (focused) · `target` (other) · `both`; blocked when that pane is a read-only archive
`fileTypes`	—	Palette offers it only when all selected items are one of: `convertibleImage` · `convertibleAudio` · `convertibleVideo` · `media` (audio or video) · `imageWithMetadata` · `videoWithMetadata` · `audioWithMetadata` · `executable` · `archive` · `pdf`
`requires`	—	Extra palette conditions: `clipboardHasFiles` · `focusedPaneIsFtp` · `textFileInEachPane` · `navigationLinked` · `navigationUnlinked`

Placeholders in `args`

Placeholder	Meaning
`${selectedFile}`	First selected file path
`${selectedFileQuoted}`	First selected file path (quoted)
`${selectedFiles}`	All selected file paths as separate args
`${selectedName}`	Selected item name
`${focusedPath}` / `${focusedPathQuoted}`	Focused pane path
`${targetFolder}` / `${targetFolderQuoted}`	Opposite pane path
`${promptValue}`	Value entered from the `prompt` dialog

ToolCommandBuilder also creates quoted aliases for extra placeholders (e.g. ${archiveFileQuoted} when ${archiveFile} is provided by builtin flows).

Bundled Tools (`tools`)

{"id": "ripgrep", "name": "ripgrep", "version": "15.1.0", "link": "https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep",
 "paths": ["apps/search_in_files"], "upstream": {"github": "BurntSushi/ripgrep"}}

Field	Notes
`paths`	Files or folders under `apps/` that belong to the tool; every shipped file needs one owner
`upstream`	Where the build looks for a newer version: `github` (owner/repo) with optional `asset` (regex for the file to download), or `page` + `pattern` (regex, group 1 = version) with `url` (`{version}` filled in) or `downloadPattern` (regex, group 1 = link); `extract` (installer arguments, `{dir}`) when 7-Zip can't unpack it; `files` (names to take) when they differ from the tool's files; leave it out for tools no longer developed
`release`	A release of this project holding the tool's files (ffmpeg, too big for git)
`minAppVersion`	Users of an older ACommander don't get this tool version

� Release History

Full notes and downloads for every version: GitHub Releases.

v5.0 — the perfect dual-pane file explorer: installer, tool updates, drag and drop, safer operations

New Features & Enhancements

Installer — per-user setup with Start Menu entry and uninstaller; no admin rights; upgrades keep your settings
Check Tool Updates — every bundled tool's name, link, installed and newest version; update from the app
FFmpeg for all media work — convert audio and video, Trim Media, Join Media, Media Info
Remove Metadata — strip tags from audio, video and image files
Sort by Extension, Linked Navigation of both panes, Ctrl+R refreshes the drive list
Drag and Drop — to other apps, between the panes and onto folder rows
Ask before overwriting on copy, move and paste; Insert marks files
F1 help in collapsible sections and an About popup
qpdf for PDF merge and page extraction; File Locksmith to delete locked files
Games — Minesweeper (Mines-Perfect), Puzzle Collection, Arkanoid clone

Bug Fixes (more than 50)

Security: encrypted FTP passwords, FTPS/SFTP server checks, no hidden commands in file or folder names
Archives: Enter opens a zip as a folder, edits never lost when repacking fails, pack/unpack without 7-Zip installed
FTP and SFTP folder copy, create, delete and rename
Delete goes to the Recycle Bin, Wipe asks first, Stop stops the whole batch
Large or remote folders no longer freeze the window
Failed tool runs, PDF jobs and searches show what went wrong
Hebrew names show the right way round; Turkish and comma-decimal systems work

v4.5 — quality update: small workflow features and day-to-day fixes

New Features & Enhancements

Open hosts file — open the Windows hosts file directly from the Command Palette
Report Bug / Contact — quickly open a bug/contact flow from inside the app
Analyze File — identify file type/content details for a single selected file
Extract PDF Pages (upgraded) — interactive extraction modes with page expressions (,, :, -) and chunking options
Natural numeric sort — filename sorting now treats numbers naturally (... 9, 10 ...)

Bug Fixes

Fixed Ant Renamer not opening/showing correctly
Fixed multi-file move reliability
Fixed PDF merge failures
Fixed PDF page extraction failures
Fixed Hebrew rename caret/navigation behavior with arrow keys
Improved post-move focus to stay on the next item in the source pane

v4.0 — major release: virtual file system, metadata editing, folder sync

Virtual File System (VFS) & Remote Access

Virtual folders — browse archives (zip, 7z, etc.) as if they were regular directories
FTP / SFTP / FTPS — connect to remote servers and browse them inline, just like local paths
FTP-to-FTP copy — transfer files directly between two remote FTP locations

File Comparison & Synchronization

Compare files — diff two files side by side via ExamDiff
Synchronize folders — keep two directories in sync across panes

Metadata Editing

Edit video metadata — modify tags on MP4, MOV, MKV and WebM videos via ffmpeg
Edit image metadata — view and change EXIF/IPTC data on images via exiv2
Edit audio metadata — update tags on MP3, M4A, FLAC, OGG and Opus files via ffmpeg

File Operations

Duplicate file — quickly clone a file in the same directory
Copy / Paste — standard clipboard-based copy and paste support
View properties — inspect detailed file and folder properties
Advanced selection — select all, invert selection, select by mask with keyboard shortcuts
UPX compression — compress/decompress EXE and DLL files via UPX

UI & Usability

Dark / Light / Norton Commander themes — switch UI modes to match your preference
Improved default sorting — date and size sort descending by default; name sorts ascending
USB drive support — detect and browse USB disk keys seamlessly

Infrastructure

GitHub CI/CD — automated compile and build via GitHub Actions

Bug Fixes

Fixed empty bottom button bar triggering unintended actions when Alt-clicked
Fixed Alt+F1 / Alt+F2 path dropdowns not changing the folder
Fixed a bug in multi-file copying

🚀 Build from Source

You only need this to change the code. To use the app, download a release.

# Run the application
.\gradlew.bat run

# Run tests
.\gradlew.bat test

# Build fat JAR
.\gradlew.bat shadowJar

# Build Windows distribution (EXE + runtime + apps/config + zip + setup)
.\gradlew.bat dist

Output locations:

Artifact	Path
JAR + resources	`build/libs/`
EXE	`build/launch4j/`
Distribution	`dist/`
Installer	`dist/acommander-setup-v<version>.exe` (script: `installer/acommander.iss`)

🗂️ Project Layout

acommander/
├── apps/                    Bundled external tools
├── config/                  apps.json, user properties
├── docs/                    CODEMAP.md — where each feature lives in the code
├── installer/               Inno Setup script for the Windows installer
├── src/
│   ├── main/
│   │   ├── java/            Application source
│   │   └── resources/       FXML, styles, icons, logging config
│   └── test/
│       └── java/            Unit tests
├── build.gradle             Build, packaging, launch4j, dist tasks
└── LICENSE

📄 License

Released under the Boost Software License 1.0 — see LICENSE for details.

Navigation Menu

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⚡ A Commander

📥 Download

💡 Why A Commander

A Commander workstation with several associated apps running (View Text File, View Image, Edit and Terminal)

📑 Table of Contents

✨ Core Features

📂 File Operations

🌐 Virtual File System (VFS) & Remote Access

🏷️ Metadata Editing

🔍 Search & Navigation

📦 Archive, PDF, Convert & Checksum

🎮 Games

⌨️ Default Shortcuts

🧰 External Tools Bundled

Updating the Tools

⚙️ Configuration (`config/apps.json`)

Action Schema

Fields

Placeholders in `args`

Bundled Tools (`tools`)

� Release History

🚀 Build from Source

🗂️ Project Layout

📄 License

About

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Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.github		.github
.idea/runConfigurations		.idea/runConfigurations
.vscode		.vscode
apps		apps
config		config
docs		docs
gradle		gradle
installer		installer
src		src
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
AGENTS.md		AGENTS.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
acommander.ico		acommander.ico
build.gradle		build.gradle
gradle.properties		gradle.properties
gradlew		gradlew
gradlew.bat		gradlew.bat
settings.gradle.kts		settings.gradle.kts

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⚡ A Commander

📥 Download

💡 Why A Commander

A Commander workstation with several associated apps running (View Text File, View Image, Edit and Terminal)

📑 Table of Contents

✨ Core Features

📂 File Operations

🌐 Virtual File System (VFS) & Remote Access

🏷️ Metadata Editing

🔍 Search & Navigation

📦 Archive, PDF, Convert & Checksum

🎮 Games

⌨️ Default Shortcuts

🧰 External Tools Bundled

Updating the Tools

⚙️ Configuration (config/apps.json)

Action Schema

Fields

Placeholders in args

Bundled Tools (tools)

� Release History

🚀 Build from Source

🗂️ Project Layout

📄 License

About

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⚙️ Configuration (`config/apps.json`)

Placeholders in `args`

Bundled Tools (`tools`)