Quick Start
Get up and running with Termix in minutes! This guide covers the essentials to help you become productive with Termix right away.
First Launch
After installing Termix, launch it from your terminal:
termix
You'll see Termix's two-pane interface:
- Left pane: File and directory listing
- Right pane: File preview (shows content of selected file)
- Bottom: A minimal status bar with hints. For a full list of commands, press
?
at any time.
Basic Navigation
Moving Around
Key | Action |
---|---|
↑ / k | Move selection up |
↓ / j | Move selection down |
gg | Jump to the first item |
G | Jump to the last item |
Ctrl+u / Ctrl+d | Scroll up/down half a page |
Opening Files and Directories
Key | Action |
---|---|
l or Enter | Open selected file or enter directory |
h or Backspace | Go to parent directory |
Try navigating through your file system using these keys. Notice how the right pane updates to show a preview of the selected file!
Essential File Operations
Yanking, Cutting, and Pasting
Termix uses Vim-style verbs for file operations. "Yank" means copy.
Yank (Copy) a file:
- Select the file.
- Press
y
to yank (copy) it to the internal clipboard. - Navigate to the destination.
- Press
p
to paste.
Move (Cut) a file:
- Select the file.
- Press
x
to cut it. - Navigate to the destination.
- Press
p
to paste.
Yank a File's Full Path:
Need to paste a file path into another terminal window?
- Select the file or directory.
- Press
Y
(Shift + y) to yank its absolute path to the system clipboard.
Creating Files and Folders
Press a
to add a new file or folder:
- Press
a
- Type the name (add
/
at the end for folders) - Press
Enter
Examples:
README.md
- Creates a filenew-folder/
- Creates a directoryscript
- Createsscript.txt
(auto-adds .txt extension)
Renaming
- Select the file/folder you want to rename.
- Press
r
. - Edit the name and press
Enter
.
Deleting
- Select the file/folder.
- Press
d
. - Confirm with
y
or cancel withn
.
Working with Multiple Items: Visual Mode
For batch operations, Termix includes a powerful Visual Mode, inspired by Vim.
- Press
v
to enter Visual Mode. The status bar will change to indicate you're in a new mode. - Use
k
andj
to move up and down. - Press
Space
to toggle the selection for the highlighted item. Selected files will be marked.
While in Visual Mode, you have access to new shortcuts:
Key | Action |
---|---|
a | Select all items in the current directory |
i | Invert the current selection |
y | Yank (copy) all selected items to the clipboard |
x | Cut (mark for moving) all selected items |
d | Delete all selected items (with confirmation) |
v or Esc | Exit Visual Mode |
Example Workflow: Moving Multiple Files
- Navigate to a directory with several files you want to move.
- Press
v
to enter Visual Mode. - Move down with
j
and pressSpace
on each file you want to select. - Once all files are selected, press
x
to cut them. You will exit Visual Mode, and the clipboard will show you have multiple items. - Navigate to the destination folder.
- Press
p
to paste all the files.
Smart Pasting & Conflict Resolution
What happens if you try to paste a file into a directory that already has a file with the same name? Termix won't just fail—it will ask you what to do.
When a conflict is detected, you'll see a prompt with these options:
Key | Action |
---|---|
S | Skip pasting this one file and move to the next. |
L | Skip All remaining files that have a name conflict. |
R | Replace the existing file with the one you are pasting. |
A | Replace All existing files if any more conflicts occur. |
Esc | Cancel the entire paste operation. |
This gives you full control over your file operations, preventing accidental data loss.
The Help Screen
Termix keeps the main interface clean. To see a full list of all available keybindings at any time, simply press ?
. This will open a scrollable help screen. Press ?
, q
, or Esc
to close it.
Organizing Your View with Sorting
Tired of scrolling to find the most recent file? Termix's interactive sort menu lets you reorganize the file list instantly.
- Press
t
to open the sort menu. - Use
k
andj
to highlight an option. - Press
Enter
to apply the sort.
You can sort by Name, Date, or Size, and choose whether to keep folders grouped at the top.
Search and Filter
One of Termix's most powerful features is real-time, recursive search:
- Press
s
to enter search mode. - Start typing to filter files instantly across all subdirectories.
- Press
Esc
to apply the filter and navigate the results. - Press
Esc
again to clear the filter.
Search Tips
- Search is case-insensitive.
- Results update in real-time as you type.
- After opening a directory from a search result, press
b
to return to your search list.
Preview Pane
The right pane shows previews of your files:
- Text files: Content with syntax highlighting
- Images: Terminal-friendly image preview
- Directories: A tree view of the directory's contents
- Archives: A browsable list of the archive's contents
Scrolling Previews
For large files, you can scroll the preview:
Key | Action |
---|---|
Alt + ↑/↓ | Scroll vertically |
Alt + ←/→ | Scroll horizontally |
Tips for Success
The Help Key is Your Friend
The footer is intentionally minimal. Whenever you're unsure of a key, just press ?
to see everything.
Smart Ignoring
Termix automatically respects .gitignore
files and ignores common build directories like node_modules
, bin
, and obj
. This keeps your search results clean and relevant.
Vim Users
If you're comfortable with Vim, you'll feel right at home with v
for Visual Mode, j
/k
/h
/l
for movement, and y
/p
for yank/paste.