Classic Commander Documentation

Applies to Classic Commander 0.1.1 · Updated October 2026

Classic Commander is a two-panel file manager for macOS with the keys you know from classic commanders. Two folders sit side by side, the function keys along the bottom do the work, and Space tells you how big a folder really is.

First launch and folder access

macOS hides your Desktop, Documents and Downloads folders from every app until you allow them. When Classic Commander first needs one of them, it shows a Folder access window with a button for each folder: Allow Desktop, Allow Documents and Allow Downloads. Each button shows the macOS request for that folder.

Full Disk Access opens the right page of System Settings together with a Finder window that shows Classic Commander. Drag the app from that window into the list.

You can open the same window later from Help → Folder Access… or from Settings → Folder access….

Two panels and tabs

The panel you work in has a blue frame. The other one is where copies and moves go.

Tab switches between the panels. Arrows, PgUp, PgDn, Home and End move the cursor.
↩ opens a folder or a file. ⌫ or ⌘↑ goes to the parent folder; you can also click the .. row or the .. button.
⌘[ and ⌘] go back and forward through the folders you visited.
⇧⌘H goes to your home folder.
Click a column header, or press Ctrl+F3 to Ctrl+F6, to sort by name, extension, date or size. Click again to reverse the order. The sort order is remembered.
⌘1 shows the brief view (names in columns), ⌘2 the full view with size and date.

Every panel has its own tabs. ⌘T opens a new tab at the same folder, ⌘W closes it, ⌃Tab goes to the next one. Your tabs are there again the next time you open the app.

The drive button above the list (or Alt+F1 for the left panel and Alt+F2 for the right one) lists Home, Desktop, Documents and Downloads first, then your disks, with the free space of each.

Function keys

The buttons along the bottom match the keys:

Key	Action
`F3`	View the file
`F4`	Edit: open the file in the app your Mac uses for it
`F5`	Copy to the folder in the other panel
`F6`	Move to the folder in the other panel
`⇧F6`	Rename
`F7`	New folder
`F8`	Move to the Trash
`⇧F8`	Delete for good
`F9`	Find files
`F10`	Quit

Copy and move. F5 and F6 ask for the destination folder, which starts as the folder in the other panel. Keep modification date and permissions is on by default. When a file with the same name is already there, choose Overwrite, Skip or Rename, and All to do the same for the rest. A progress window shows how far it got, and Cancel stops it.

Trash and delete. F8 moves files to the macOS Trash, where you can put them back. ⇧F8 deletes them for good and asks first.

Selecting files

Space selects the row under the cursor. On a folder it also counts the folder’s real size and shows it in the Size column.
Insert selects the row and moves down.
Shift+↓ and Shift+↑ select the row and move down or up. On a row that is already selected they unselect it.
Num+ (or +) selects by a mask such as *.jpg, Num− (or −) unselects by a mask, Num* inverts the selection. In a mask, * matches any text and ? one character.
⌘A selects everything, ⌘⇧A nothing.

The status line under the list shows how many files and folders are selected and how much space they take.

Folder sizes

Press Space on several folders and up to three are counted at once. A folder that is waiting for its turn shows …, and its size appears when it is done. ⌥⇧↩ counts every folder in the panel. Esc stops counting.

A folder Classic Commander cannot read shows No access. For Desktop, Documents and Downloads, allow them in the Folder access window; for other protected folders, give Classic Commander Full Disk Access.

Finding things

Quick search. Hold ⌥ and type the first letters of a name: the cursor jumps to the first match. ⌥↓ and ⌥↑ step through the other matches, Esc closes the quick search. Letter keys never run commands by accident.
Filter. ⌘F puts the cursor in the Search field on the toolbar. Type part of a name, or a mask with * and ?, and the panel shows only the matching names. The filter stays with the panel when you press Tab, and the mask next to the path shows it.
Find files. F9 or Alt+F7 searches a folder and its subfolders by name mask and, if you like, by text inside the files, with case-sensitive and regular-expression options. Go to opens the folder of a result with the file under the cursor.

Command palette

Press ⌘K and type. The palette lists commands, recent folders, your hotlist, drives and places, and open tabs in one list. ↩ runs a command or opens a folder in the current panel, ⌘↩ opens the folder in the other panel, esc closes the palette.

View and Quick Look

F3 shows a file inside Classic Commander: text with line numbers, pictures and PDFs. Ctrl+F finds text in the file. Large (⌘⇧L) makes the viewer window bigger, and you can also drag its corner; the picture or text grows with it. F3 or Esc closes it.

⌘Y opens Quick Look on the file under the cursor, or on all the selected files. With one file, Quick Look follows the cursor as you move it. ⌘Y or Esc closes it.

Directory hotlist

The hotlist remembers folders and opens them in the active panel. Press Ctrl+D to open it.

Add current folder (Ctrl+Shift+D) saves the folder open in the active panel. Type a name and press ↩.
The first nine entries are numbered: press a digit to open that folder. A letter jumps to the matching name.
Configure… edits the whole list: Add Folder…, Add Current, Add Separator and Add Submenu, a name and a path for each entry, and ⌥↑ ⌥↓ to move a row. ⌥→ moves a folder into the submenu above it, ⌥← moves it back out. You can also drag a row by its handle.
Restore Defaults brings back Home, Desktop, Documents, Downloads and Applications, after asking. Cancel leaves your saved hotlist as it was.

The ★ button next to the path opens the hotlist with the mouse.

Working with the Finder and other apps

Drag out. Drag files from a panel to the Finder, Mail, Terminal or any other app.
Drag in. Drop files from the Finder into a panel to copy them into its folder. Dragging from one panel into the other copies too.
Copy and paste. ⌘C copies the selected files and ⌘V pastes files into the current folder, also between Classic Commander and the Finder. In the Search field and other text fields, ⌘C and ⌘V copy and paste text.
Open a folder from the Finder. Right-click a folder in the Finder and choose Open With → Classic Commander, or Services → Open in Classic Commander. If the service is not listed, turn it on in System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Services.
Terminal. The Terminal button on the toolbar, or Open Terminal Here in the right-click menu, opens Terminal at the current folder.
Right-click menu. Open, Open With, Copy, Move, Rename, Trash, Get Info, Reveal in Finder and Open Terminal Here.

Command line

The line above the function keys runs a shell command in the current folder and shows what it printed. cd followed by a path opens that folder in the active panel.

Keyboard shortcuts

F1 or Help → Keyboard Shortcuts shows this list inside the app.

Key	Action
`Tab`	Other panel
`↩`	Open
`⌫` `⌘↑`	Parent folder
`⌘[` `⌘]`	Back, forward
`⇧⌘H`	Home folder
`F3`	View
`F4`	Edit in the default app
`F5` / `F6`	Copy / move to the other panel
`⇧F6`	Rename
`F7`	New folder
`F8` / `⇧F8`	Move to the Trash / delete
`F9` `Alt+F7`	Find files
`F10`	Quit
`Space`	Select, and size a folder
`Insert`	Select and move down
`Shift+↑` `Shift+↓`	Select or unselect and move
`Num+` `Num−` `Num*`	Select by mask / unselect / invert
`⌘A` / `⌘⇧A`	Select all / none
`⌥⇧↩`	Size every folder
`Esc`	Stop counting, close quick search
`⌥` + letters	Quick search
`⌘F`	Filter the panel
`⌘K`	Command palette
`⌘Y`	Quick Look
`Ctrl+F3`…`Ctrl+F6`	Sort by name, extension, date, size
`⌘1` / `⌘2`	Brief / full view
`Alt+F1` / `Alt+F2`	Drive for the left / right panel
`Ctrl+D` / `Ctrl+Shift+D`	Hotlist / add the current folder
`⌘T` / `⌘W` / `⌃Tab`	New tab / close tab / next tab
`Ctrl+R`	Reread the folder
`Ctrl+H`	Show hidden files
`⌘C` / `⌘V`	Copy / paste files
`⌘+` `⌘−` `⌘0`	Larger, smaller, actual size
`⌘,`	Settings

Settings

Open Settings with ⌘, or the gear button on the toolbar.

General

Show hidden files — the same as Ctrl+H.
Language — System, or one of English, Ukrainian, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Dutch and Polish.

Appearance

Bold folders — folder names in bold.
Show labels — names under the toolbar buttons.
Appearance — System, Light or Dark.
Toolbar icons — the Standard set or one of the other icon styles.
App icon — Standard or Folder, in the Dock and the Finder.
Folder access… — the window from First launch.
Interface size — from 80% to 150%. ⌘+, ⌘− and ⌘0 and View → Interface Size change it too.

License and updates

Classic Commander is free to try for 14 days with every feature. To buy a license, choose Buy Classic Commander… from the Classic Commander menu; to enter one or see who it is registered to, choose License…. A license is a one-time purchase.

To check for a new version, choose Check for Updates… from the Classic Commander menu. Classic Commander also checks for updates by itself.

Requirements

macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.

Help and feedback

Choose Help → Send Feedback, or use the Contact Us form.