Kermo

A keyboard-first file manager and admin console for macOS: 2–4 panels, SFTP and SSH, a built-in terminal. Built with Swift and AppKit. Kermo is Ukrainian for "helm".

macOS 14 or later · Apple Silicon and Intel · MIT license

Install

1. Download the .dmg or .pkg from the latest release.
2. Drag Kermo to Applications (the .pkg installs it for you) and open it.
3. The first launch is blocked, because Kermo isn't notarized by Apple. On macOS 15 or later click Open Anyway in System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security; on macOS 14 Control-click the app and choose Open.

Updating, uninstalling and building from source: Install Kermo, Contributing. New here? Start with Getting started.

What it does

• Panels and keys. Two to four panels with tabs, a Places sidebar, a key bar that shows the shortcuts for the modifier you hold, and one search for commands, folders and files. → Panels, sidebar and search
• Files. Copy and move in a queue with progress, pause and undo; marking in Midnight Commander style; archives, batch rename, Finder tags. → Files and folders
• Find and compare. Search by name, content or Spotlight; compare and synchronize folders, also with a server; diff files. → Search, compare and synchronize
• View and edit. A viewer for multi-gigabyte files with hex and tail -f; an editor with syntax highlighting. → Viewer and editor
• Git. Status column, branch, diff, log, blame, stage; switch branches, commit and sync from the sidebar. → Git
• Servers. SFTP panels and SSH sessions through the system OpenSSH, saved servers with Touch ID locks, your SSH key copied to a server in one step, copy between this Mac and servers. → Servers and SSH, Files on a server
• Safe server edits. Open files as root through the server's own sudo, check a config with the server's tool before it is saved, reload the service, and get earlier versions back. → Server files as root, Checks on save
• Tunnels. Forward a server's database or web admin to localhost, or pick from the ports it listens on. → SSH tunnels
• Terminal. A shell in the window whose panel follows cd; SSH tabs; a user menu, one command on several servers at once, and the fm command. → Terminal, Commands
• Production safety. A production server is purple, asks before changes and logs what you did. → Safety on servers

Keyboard at a glance

Keys	Action
⇧⌘P	Search commands, folders and files
F1	Cheat sheet with every shortcut
Tab, Space	Other panel, mark a file
F3 / F4	View / edit
F5 / F6	Copy / move to the other panel
F7 / F8	New folder / Trash
⌘P	Jump to a bookmarked or frequent folder
⌃⌘K / ⌘K	Server files / SSH shell
⌃O	Terminal

Mac function keys control media by default: ⌥ plus the digit does the same (⌥5 is F5). The full list is in Keyboard shortcuts.

Documentation

Start

• Install Kermo: release, update, uninstall.
• Getting started: five minutes from install to your first server.

Use Kermo

• Panels, sidebar and search: the window, the key bar, Places, search.
• Files and folders: copy, move, delete, undo, rename, archives, tags.
• Search, compare and synchronize: filter, find, compare folders, diff.
• Viewer and editor: large files, hex, follow, syntax highlighting.
• Git: status, diff, log, blame, stage, branches, commit, sync.
• Terminal and SSH sessions: the ⌃O terminal and shell integration.
• Commands, user menu and fm: ⌘E, F2, placeholders, the fm launcher.

Servers and administration

• Servers and SSH: connect, save, lock, mark as production, copy your SSH key.
• Files on a server: copy, edit, preview, compare, file history.
• Server files as root: a root panel through sudo.
• Checks on save and reloads: visudo, nginx -t and the like before a bad save.
• SSH tunnels: forward remote ports to this Mac.
• Safety on servers: production servers, the production log, what stays on your Mac.

Reference

• Keyboard shortcuts: every shortcut, grouped.
• Configuration: files, keymap and defaults options.
• Troubleshooting: symptoms and fixes.

Project

• Changelog, Contributing, MIT license.
• Questions and bugs: GitHub issues.