mc(1)
Midnight Commander is a visual file manager and shell for Unix-like systems with a Norton Commander-style interface.
Synopsis
mc [OPTION]... [PATH] [PATH]Description
Midnight Commander (mc) is a full-featured visual file manager that provides an intuitive two-panel interface for navigating directories, managing files, and executing commands. It includes built-in viewers for various file types, a text editor, FTP client, and archive handling capabilities.
The dual-pane layout allows you to browse different directories side-by-side, making file operations like copying and moving straightforward. mc works in terminal environments and supports mouse interaction, making it accessible both via keyboard shortcuts and mouse clicks.
Common options
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
-a, --nocolor | Disable color output, use black and white only |
-b, --nomouse | Disable mouse support in the interface |
-e, --edit FILE | Open FILE directly in the built-in editor (mcedit) |
-f, --datadir DIR | Set alternative data directory for mc files |
-u, --nosubshell | Disable subshell, run commands in parent shell |
-v, --view FILE | Open FILE in the built-in viewer (mcview) |
-V, --version | Display version information and exit |
-h, --help | Show help message with available options |
-P, --printwd FILE | Print current directory to FILE on exit |
-S, --skin SKIN | Load specified color skin or theme |
Examples
Launch Midnight Commander with default settings in the current directory
mcOpen mc with left pane in documents folder and right pane in /var/log
mc /home/user/documents /var/logOpen myfile.txt directly in the built-in text editor (mcedit)
mc -e myfile.txtView largefile.log using mcview, the built-in file viewer
mc -v largefile.logStart mc without colors for monochrome terminals or accessibility
mc -aLaunch mc with mouse support disabled, keyboard-only navigation
mc --nomouseStart mc with the 'gotar' color theme
mc -S gotarExit mc and save the current working directory to /tmp/mc_pwd
mc -P /tmp/mc_pwd