# Nimble Commander review (2026): is it any good? > Free dual-pane file manager for macOS, no longer actively maintained Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Nimble Commander is a dual-pane file manager for macOS built around keyboard navigation, with a terminal emulator, archive browsing and remote connections. Its GitHub page says it is no longer actively maintained. - **Category:** Desktop Utilities - **Made by:** Michael Kazakov - **Website:** https://magnumbytes.com/ - **Runs on:** macOS - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want fixes and new macOS support, because the readme says it is no longer actively maintained. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Nimble Commander is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** Free and open source; the source is released under the GPL-3.0 license. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | Free to download from the site or the Mac App Store. | Read from https://magnumbytes.com/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Nimble Commander before buying. ## Key features - **Dual panels with keyboard access:** Shortcuts are listed for more than a hundred actions. - **Built-in terminal:** A terminal emulator stays in sync with the panels as you navigate. - **Archives and remote servers:** Browse archives like folders, and connect to FTP, SFTP and WebDAV servers. - **Viewer and batch rename:** A viewer shows text or hex, including very large files, and Batch Rename supports patterns and counters. - **Search and attributes:** Search by attributes or content, and edit UNIX and BSD flags, file times and ownership. ## Good for - Mac users who want a free two-panel file manager - System administrators who want a terminal beside file panels ## Worth knowing - The project's GitHub readme says it is no longer actively maintained. - Runs on macOS only; no Windows or Linux version is listed. - The Mac App Store listing is named Files Lite, which may confuse buyers. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.6 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Nimble Commander is a free, open-source dual-pane file manager for macOS with a built-in terminal. Its own GitHub readme says it is no longer actively maintained. - **Value for money: A.** Free and open source under GPL-3.0. Nothing to pay, below any category price. - **Free plan and trial: A.** Free outright with no cap. No cap, no trial and no paid tier. - **Features: C.** Dual panels, built-in terminal, archives and remote servers, viewer and batch rename. The listing's biggest gap is that it is not actively maintained. - **Ease of use: C.** No rating on record. A keyboard-first two-pane layout takes some learning. - **Platforms and integrations: D.** Mac only. Mac only, with no Windows, Linux, phone or web version listed. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Michael Kazakov's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among desktop utilities - Nimble Commander's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 69 of the 186 other desktop utilities we grade, and level with 46. - It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 107 of 186) and worst on platforms and integrations (D, above 0). - Nimble Commander has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/utilities ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Nimble Commander is free, so making your own would save you nothing. - You could not: A file manager working directly on your disk. - You could not: A real app for macOS. Something home-made would be a web page. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Open source, File management, Keyboard-first ## Alternatives - [Commander One](https://toolgpa.com/tools/commander-one): Dual-panel file manager and FTP client for Mac. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/commander-one-vs-nimble-commander) - [Marta](https://toolgpa.com/tools/marta): Native macOS file manager with keyboard control and Lua plugins. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/marta-vs-nimble-commander) - [Path Finder](https://toolgpa.com/tools/path-finder): Dual-pane file manager for Mac, built as a Finder alternative. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/nimble-commander-vs-path-finder) - [ForkLift](https://toolgpa.com/tools/forklift): Dual-pane file manager and file transfer client for macOS. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/forklift-vs-nimble-commander) - [fman](https://toolgpa.com/tools/fman): Dual-pane file manager for Mac, Windows and Linux with plugins. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fman-vs-nimble-commander) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://magnumbytes.com/ - https://magnumbytes.com/download/ - https://github.com/mikekazakov/nimble-commander Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/nimble-commander Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).