Coming from Total Commander
Total Commander for Mac: what to use instead
Total Commander has no Mac version. Here is how your habits carry over to Folia Files — two panes, F5 and F6, multi-rename, folder compare, archives as folders — and which other commander-style apps exist on the Mac, checked on their makers' sites.
7 days free with every feature, no account, no card. Then $49.99 once for up to 3 Macs, every future update included — no subscription.
In short
Total Commander runs on Windows, with a separate version for Android — not on macOS. On a Mac, Folia Files keeps the commander way of working: two or more panes, F5 to copy and F6 to move to the other pane, F2 to rename, ⌃Tab to switch panes, a batch rename tool, folder compare, archives opened like folders and a terminal under each pane (website edition). It is not a copy of Total Commander's key map: F3, F4, F7 and F8 give way to the Mac's own shortcuts. Free alternatives exist too: Double Commander, open source and closest to Total Commander (it even supports its plugins), Nimble Commander, muCommander and Commander One's free version.
Total Commander habits, in Folia Files and the Finder
Total Commander's usual keys in parentheses.
| Feature | Folia Files | Finder |
|---|---|---|
| Two panes side by side | YesTwo, or as many as you need | NoTwo windows or two tabs |
| Copy (F5) or move (F6) to the other pane | YesF5 and F6, undone with ⌘Z | NoDrag between windows |
| View (F3), edit (F4), new folder (F7), delete (F8) | NoMac keys instead: Space, ⌘↓, ⇧⌘N, ⌘⌫ | NoThe same Mac keys |
| Switch panes (Tab) | Partly⌃Tab | No |
| Swap the panels (Ctrl+U) | PartlyDrag one pane's header onto the other | No |
| Synchronous directory changing | YesSynced Navigation, ⌥⌘B | No |
| Folder tabs (Ctrl+T) | Yes⌘T; each tab holds its own panes | Yes⌘T |
| Quick view panel (Ctrl+Q) | YesPreview in the right sidebar | YesPreview pane, ⇧⌘P |
| Select by mask (Num +) | Yes⌥⌘A: wildcards or a regular expression | No |
| Multi-rename tool (Ctrl+M) | YesRules, counters, photo dates, regex, preview | PartlyReplace text, add text, name and number |
| Compare and synchronize directories | YesCompare tool, and folder sync | No |
| FTP and SFTP (Ctrl+F) | YesSMB, WebDAV, NFS; FTP read-only; SFTP and S3 through rclone | PartlySMB, WebDAV; FTP read-only; no SFTP |
| Archives as folders, pack (Alt+F5) | YesZIP and TAR (tar.gz), read-only; packed as ZIP, TAR.GZ or TAR.XZ | PartlyOpening extracts; Compress makes a ZIP |
| Command line | YesA terminal under each pane, website edition | No |
| Saved sets of folders and tabs | YesScenes (⇧⌘T) and workspaces | No |
| Undo a copy, a move or a rename | Yes⌘Z, or any line of the history | PartlyThe last action |
Total Commander alternatives for Mac
Prices in US dollars on the makers' sites; “one Mac” or “3 Macs” is what one license covers.
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Folia Files
$49.99 once, up to 3 Macs, updates included
Commander habits, plus tools Total Commander users look for
Two panes or more, F5 and F6, Synced Navigation, a compare tool, batch rename, archives opened like folders, servers mounted as disks, an undo history and a terminal under each pane (website edition). Native, in 8 languages, for macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon and Intel.
Strengths
- Every copy, move and rename can be undone
- More than two panes, saved as scenes
- Compare, sync and batch rename built in
Limits
- Not Total Commander's full key map (no F3, F4, F7, F8)
- No plugins
- No free tier (7-day trial)
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Commander One
Free; PRO $29.99 (1 Mac)
The Total Commander keyboard, with a free version
Two panes, tabs and ZIP archives for free; servers, clouds, RAR and 7z, the terminal and themes in the PRO pack. F3 views, F4 edits, F5 copies, F8 deletes. Its maker presents it as approved by Christian Ghisler, Total Commander's author. Also on the Mac App Store.
Strengths
- Usable free version
- Total Commander-style F-keys
- Many clouds and devices in PRO
Limits
- No folder sync, compare or batch rename, per its maker
- Servers and terminal only in PRO
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Double Commander
Free, open source
Closest to Total Commander, plugins included
A cross-platform two-panel file manager “inspired by Total Commander”, with Mac builds for Apple silicon and Intel: a file viewer on F3, a text editor on F4, archives handled like folders, FTP and SFTP, a multi-rename tool, tabs, and support for Total Commander's WCX, WDX, WFX and WLX plugins.
Strengths
- Free and open source (GPL)
- Total Commander's keys and plugin types
- Regular releases (1.2.9 in September 2026)
Limits
- The same interface on Windows, Linux and Mac, rather than designed for the Mac
- Plugins must be built for macOS
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Nimble Commander
Free, open source
A fast, classic dual-pane made for the Mac
A keyboard-centric manager written mostly in C++: a text and hex viewer, FTP, SFTP and WebDAV, a terminal that stays in sync with the panels, batch rename, archives browsed like folders and an admin mode. Also on the Mac App Store, without the terminal and admin mode.
Strengths
- Free and open source (GPL)
- Shortcuts for more than a hundred actions
- Built-in viewer and terminal
Limits
- About one release a year (1.8.0 in December 2025)
- No folder sync or undo in its feature list
- English and Russian only
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ForkLift 4
$19.95 with 1 year of updates
Best for transfers to many kinds of servers
A polished Mac dual-pane manager and transfer client: SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, S3, Backblaze B2, Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox built in, one- or two-way sync, Multi-Rename presets and archives browsed like folders.
Strengths
- Widest built-in server support
- Frequent updates
- Low first price
Limits
- Two panes
- No built-in terminal
- Updates paid again after 1 or 2 years
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Marta
Free beta
Minimal and keyboard-only
A light, native, keyboard-first manager with a Lua plugin API, an embedded terminal and archives opened like folders. Still a beta: its latest version, 0.8.2, dates from July 2024.
Strengths
- Light and fast
- Scriptable in Lua
- Free
Limits
- No servers, batch rename or undo
- No release since 2024
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muCommander
Free, open source
Free, and the same on every system
An open-source dual-pane manager for macOS, Windows and Linux. It reaches FTP, SFTP, SMB, NFS and Amazon S3, opens ZIP, RAR, 7z and TAR archives, and has tabs, bookmarks and batch rename. Its site asks for Java 11 or later.
Strengths
- Free and open source (GPL)
- Many protocols and archive formats
- Latest version in May 2026
Limits
- A Java app, not a native Mac one
Two panes, and the keys you know
Split the window into two panes — or three, or four — and work between them. F5 copies the selection into the folder of the other pane and F6 moves it, straight away; Folia Files only asks when a name is already taken. F2 renames, ⌃Tab jumps to the next pane, Space opens Quick Look, and ⌥⌘B makes two panes browse together. Every copy, move and rename can be undone with ⌘Z or from the Operations history.
F3, F4, F7 and F8 give way to the Mac's own keys: Space or ⌘Y to look at a file, ⌘↓ to open it in its app, ⇧⌘N for a new folder, ⌘⌫ to send it to the Trash.
F5 copy to the other paneF6 move to the other paneF2 rename⌃Tab next paneSpace Quick Look⌘Z undo
Compare and synchronize directories
The Compare tool starts with the folders of your first two panes. It lists what differs, what exists on one side only and what is identical — by date and size, or by content when you need to be sure — and copies the selection to the left or to the right. Double-click a changed text file to see what changed, line by line.
To keep two folders the same over time, folder sync runs on demand, on a schedule or at every change.
A multi-rename tool, and selection by mask
Batch Rename chains rules — find and replace (with regular expressions), add text, number, change case, add a date (the date a photo was taken included), trim, clean up, set the extension — or builds each name from a template. Every new name shows in a preview before anything changes, and the whole batch is one line of the history: one ⌘Z puts every name back.
Select by Pattern (⌥⌘A) does what Num + does: *.jpg, IMG_2026*, or a regular expression.
Servers, archives and a command line
Network shares (SMB, AFP, NFS) and WebDAV mount like disks, FTP too (read-only, as macOS mounts it), and SFTP or S3 through rclone, which is free. A server that stops answering never freezes the window.
ZIP and TAR (tar.gz) archives open like folders, read-only, and Compress packs a selection as ZIP, TAR.GZ or TAR.XZ. In the website edition, ⌥⌘T opens a terminal under the pane, in its folder, and it follows you as you browse.
What works differently
Folia Files is a Mac app first, so a few Total Commander habits change. There is no built-in lister or text editor: files open in Quick Look and in their own apps. There are no plugins — if you depend on Total Commander plugins, Double Commander supports their formats. Tabs belong to the window: each tab holds a whole set of panes, rather than each pane having its own row of tabs. Custom commands (website edition) run your own scripts on the selection.
Website edition and Mac App Store
Everything on this page is in the website edition. In the Mac App Store edition, Apple's sandbox rules out the terminal and custom commands; SFTP, S3 and folder sync work there with Folia Files Companion, a small free app. Panes, F5 and F6, Compare, batch rename, archives and network shares are in both.
Questions
No. Total Commander is made for Windows, with a separate version for Android; there is no macOS version. On a Mac, commander-style apps take its place: Folia Files, Commander One, Double Commander, Nimble Commander, ForkLift, Marta and muCommander.
Yes. F5 copies the selection into the folder shown in the other pane and F6 moves it, without a dialog; Folia Files only asks when a name is already taken. With more than two panes, the next pane is the target. ⌘Z undoes it.
Yes: Double Commander, Nimble Commander and muCommander are free and open source, Commander One has a free version (PRO costs $29.99) and Marta is a free beta. Folia Files is not free, but its 7-day trial has every feature; then it is $49.99 once for up to 3 Macs.
Not in Folia Files, which has no plugin system. Double Commander supports Total Commander's plugin types (WCX, WDX, WFX and WLX), as long as the plugin is built for macOS.
macOS 14 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel. It is in 8 languages and is sold on its website, and soon on the Mac App Store.
Keep reading
Folia Files vs Commander One
The Total Commander-style file manager and its PRO pack, compared.
Panes, tabs and scenes
As many folders side by side as you need, eight views, layouts you save and reopen.
Batch rename
Templates, numbering, photo dates (EXIF), regular expressions — with a preview and ⌘Z.
Coming from Windows
Your File Explorer and Total Commander habits on the Mac.
Folia Files vs ForkLift
The dual-pane classic and file-transfer client, compared feature by feature.
The best Finder alternatives
Ten file managers for Mac, who each one is for, prices checked.
See for yourself, free for 7 days
Every feature, no account, no credit card. Then $49.99, once, every future update included — no subscription.
Prices and features checked on 5 October 2026, on the makers' websites, documentation and release pages.