1. Blazing Fast Directory Navigation with the Yazi File Manager
The yazi file manager is built in Rust and it shows. Directories load instantly even with thousands of files. I switched from ranger and the speed difference is immediate. No lag, no flickering, just instant results.
When you open yazi in a directory with 10,000 files, it renders in under 100 milliseconds. Compare that to ranger, which can take a second or more. That speed matters when you spend all day in the terminal. Yazi was designed from the ground up for performance, and it delivers.
2. Built-in File Preview Without Extra Tools
The yazi file manager shows you previews for images, videos, archives, and PDFs right in the terminal window. No need to install a separate plugin or configure anything. Yazi handles code highlighting, image rendering, and archive browsing all from one codebase.
Image previews work with kitty and sixel terminals. Code files get syntax highlighting using bat under the hood. I use this every day to scan config files without opening a separate editor. You press the arrow keys and the preview updates instantly.
3. Tabbed Browsing Like a Modern File Manager
Tabs work the way you expect. Open a new tab with Tab, switch between them with Shift+Tab, and close with q. Each tab keeps its own directory and scroll position.
This is one of those features that sounds small but changes your workflow. I keep one tab for my projects folder, one for downloads, and one for config files. Jumping between them is instant.
4. Bulk Renaming with the Yazi File Manager
Select multiple files with Space, then press r to bulk rename. The yazi file manager opens your default editor with the current filenames. Edit them however you want.
I use this to clean up downloaded files. Instead of typing mv ten times, I just select then rename in one shot. Vim users will feel right at home. It makes bulk operations feel natural, not like a workaround.
5. Fuzzy Search with Built-in fzf Integration
Press / and type part of a filename. The yazi file manager filters the current directory using fuzzy matching, same engine as fzf. You don’t need to remember the exact name.
Type conf and it matches nginx.conf.bak, config.yaml, appconfiguration.md. The filtering is live, so results narrow as you type. This replaced my habit of piping ls into grep.
6. Custom Keybindings in the Yazi File Manager
Yazi uses a TOML config file at ~/.config/yazi/yazi.toml. You can remap every key binding and add custom commands. Yazi uses sensible defaults, but the real power comes from tailoring it to your workflow.
I mapped Ctrl+V to open the current file in Neovim and Ctrl+T to open the parent directory in a new tab. Here is what that config looks like:
# ~/.config/yazi/yazi.toml
[manager]
ratio = [1, 3, 4]
[plugin]
prepend = []
[keys]
# Open file in neovim
ctrl_v = "open --reveal=
# New tab with parent directory
ctrl_t = "tab_switch -1 && cd .."
You can also set file type associations. Markdown files can open in your browser, images in feh, and text files in your preferred editor.
7. Bulk Rename with the vidir Approach in Yazi
The bulk rename feature is more powerful than it first looks. When you press r, yazi creates a temporary file with your selected filenames. Edit them in Vim, Neovim, or any editor, save, and yazi applies the changes.
This is the same approach as vidir from moreutils. But yazi wraps it in a clean visual interface. You see file previews while selecting, so you know what you are renaming. For server work where you lack a GUI, this is a lifesaver.
You can select dozens of files and rename them all at once. Yazi preserves the original names alongside your changes, so you can undo mistakes by restoring from the edit buffer.
8. Image Preview Support (Kitty and Sixel)
If you use Kitty terminal, image previews work out of the box. For sixel terminals like foot, yazi supports those too. The preview cache makes scrolling through images fast once the thumbnails are generated.
This is a big deal for anyone who works with images or screenshots on a headless server. No need to transfer files to a GUI or open a separate image viewer. Yazi handles it inside the terminal. I use this to browse screenshots on remote servers without downloading them first.
Thumbnail generation runs asynchronously, so the interface stays responsive even when previewing a folder with hundreds of images. The yazi file manager caches these thumbnails to avoid regenerating them each time.
9. Bookmark Your Most-Used Directories
Press b to open the bookmark menu. Add the current directory with a. Navigate to any bookmark with a single key press.
I have bookmarks for ~/projects, ~/Downloads, /etc/nginx, and /var/log. They save me probably 20 cd commands per day. The bookmarks persist across sessions.
10. Why the Yazi File Manager Beats Terminal File Browsing Without One
Using a terminal without a file manager is like driving without power steering. You can still do it, but everything takes more work. The yazi file manager gives you directory previews, bulk operations, fuzzy search, and image viewing all inside one terminal window.
If you use tmux to manage your sessions, pair it with yazi. The two work well together. You can have yazi open in one pane and a text editor in another. Select files in yazi and edit them in the other pane.
For those who already use fd for finding files, yazi fills a different gap. Fd finds files by name. Yazi lets you browse directories visually. Each tool handles a different part of the workflow.
Install it on any Linux system with a single command:
# Using cargo
cargo install --locked yazi-fm
# Or download a prebuilt binary from the GitHub releases
# https://github.com/sxyazi/yazi/releases
After installation, run yazi in any directory. The first thing you will notice is how fast it opens. The second thing is how natural the controls feel. Arrow keys to navigate, Enter to open, q to quit. That is all you need to get started.
Check out the official yazi GitHub repository for documentation and configuration examples. The yazi documentation website has a full keybinding reference and plugin guide.