Midnight Commander - Knowledge Handbook

Midnight Commander is a convenient visual layer over ordinary file operations and the shell. It works especially well on servers over SSH when you want to compare directories, copy files, inspect logs or drop into a normal command without leaving the program.

1. What Midnight Commander is

Midnight Commander (MC) is a two-panel terminal file manager inspired by Norton Commander. It combines file operations, a shell command line, viewer, editor and virtual filesystem features.

2. Installation

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mc

FreeBSD

pkg install mc

3. What the MC screen looks like

The default screen contains two file panels, a menu bar, a command line and function-key hints.

Arrow keys

Move selection up/down and navigate menus.

Enter

Open directories, launch files according to associations or confirm selections.

Return to parent directory

Select .. and press Enter, or use the appropriate navigation shortcut.

5. Switching panels

Use Tab to move focus between the left and right panels.

6. Function keys F1-F10

The bottom bar shows the default actions mapped to function keys.

7. F1 - help

Opens context-sensitive help and key documentation.

Opens a configurable menu of custom shell commands/actions.

9. F3 - file viewer

View a file without editing it. Useful for configs, logs and quick inspection.

10. F4 - edit file

Opens the selected file in mcedit or the configured external editor.

11. F5 - copy

Copies selected files/directories to the opposite panel by default.

12. F6 - move / rename

Moves selected files or renames them when source/target are in the same directory context.

13. F7 - create directory

Creates a new directory in the active panel.

14. F8 - delete

Deletes selected files/directories after confirmation. Review the selection carefully.

Activates the top menu where panel, file, command and options features are available.

16. F10 - quit

Exits Midnight Commander.

17. Selecting files

Insert

Insert toggles selection/marking of the current file and usually moves to the next item.

18. Selecting by mask

Use group selection to mark files matching a shell-style pattern such as *.log.

Unselecting

Use the group-unselect command or toggle marks individually.

19. Quick directory change

Use the Quick cd command to jump to a path without manually traversing every directory.

20. Directory Hotlist

Store frequently used directories for fast access.

21. Quick directory preview

Panel modes can show tree/info views to help orient yourself in unfamiliar filesystems.

22. Sorting

Sort by name, extension, size, modification time or other supported fields.

23. Showing hidden files

Toggle dotfiles when working with configuration directories such as .ssh, .config or .git.

24. Refreshing a panel

Refresh when external shell commands or other programs changed the directory contents.

25. Shell inside MC

The command line at the bottom runs normal shell commands in the active panel's directory.

26. Hiding panels and using the full shell

Use the panel toggle shortcut to temporarily hide panels and work with a full terminal view.

27. Command history

Recall previously executed shell commands from MC's command line.

28. Insert filename into command line

Ctrl+Enter

Insert the selected filename/path according to MC's shortcut behavior.

Ctrl+Shift+Enter

Depending on terminal/MC version, inserts a more complete path variant. If the terminal intercepts the key, remap or use menus.

29. Searching for files

Use MC's Find File feature for recursive filename/content searches.

30. mcedit - built-in editor

mcedit is a capable terminal editor integrated with MC, useful for configs and quick remote edits.

31. mcedit basics

Navigate with arrows/PageUp/PageDown, type normally, and use function-key/menu commands for block operations and options.

32. Saving a file in mcedit

Use the Save command, typically F2 in mcedit. Confirm filename/permissions when editing system files.

33. Searching text in mcedit

Use Search to find text or regex-like patterns depending on configuration.

34. Replacing text

Use Replace carefully, especially in configuration/code files; review each replacement when risk is high.

35. Selecting text

Use block-marking commands to select text for copy, move or delete operations.

36. Editing system files

Launch the editor with appropriate privileges only for the specific file, e.g. sudoedit or root MC when absolutely necessary.

37. File permissions

MC can display and change Unix mode bits. Understand read/write/execute semantics before changing them.

38. File owner

Ownership operations correspond to chown/chgrp; use them deliberately.

39. Symbolic links

MC can create and inspect symlinks. Remember a symlink points to another path rather than containing data itself.

40. Archives

MC can browse many archives through its virtual filesystem layer and copy files in/out as if they were directories.

41. MC as a server file manager

MC is especially useful over SSH when you need a visual two-panel workflow without a GUI.

42. SFTP / SSH connections

MC's virtual filesystem can open remote locations over SSH/SFTP, depending on build/features.

43. SSHFS versus MC VFS

SSHFS mounts remote files into the normal filesystem; MC VFS keeps remote browsing inside MC. Use SSHFS when multiple tools need the mount.

44. FTP

MC can access FTP via VFS, but prefer SFTP/SSH for secure administration.

45. Information panel

Info panel can show metadata about the selected file/filesystem.

46. Tree View

Tree view helps navigate deep directory hierarchies quickly.

47. Comparing directories

Use panel comparison to mark differences between two directories. Verify criteria before synchronizing or deleting.

48. Calculating directory sizes

Use directory-size calculation to identify large directories without leaving MC.

49. Shell commands and active directory

Commands entered in MC run with the active panel's directory as the current working directory.

50. Git and MC

Use MC for file navigation and terminal Git for repository operations. Hidden .git remains a normal directory but should not be edited casually.

51. Docker and MC

MC is useful for browsing project/volume backup directories on Docker hosts, but container internals should normally be inspected with Docker commands.

52. systemd and MC

Use MC/mcedit to inspect unit files and configs, then use systemctl and journalctl for service control and logs.

53. FreeBSD and MC

MC works well on FreeBSD; remember package configs live mostly under /usr/local/etc and services use rc.d/sysrc.

54. MC configuration

Configure panel layout, confirmation behavior, editor/viewer, colors and other preferences through Options menus.

55. Configuration files

User configuration lives under MC's config directories, typically under ~/.config/mc/ on modern systems.

56. External editor

You can configure MC to use Vim/Neovim or another editor instead of mcedit.

57. External viewer

Similarly, file viewing can be delegated to another tool if preferred.

58. Starting MC in a specific directory

mc /etc

59. MC with two directories

mc /etc /usr/local/etc

The directories become the initial left/right panel locations.

60. MC over SSH

ssh user@server
mc

A simple and robust way to administer remote servers.

61. tmux and screen sessions

Run MC inside tmux/screen so your file-management session survives an SSH disconnect.

62. Useful shortcuts - cheat sheet

Tab switch panels
F3 view
F4 edit
F5 copy
F6 move/rename
F7 mkdir
F8 delete
F9 menu
F10 quit
Insert mark
Ctrl+O hide/show panels

63. Terminal and F1-F10 problems

Laptop/terminal function keys may be intercepted by the desktop or terminal emulator. Use Fn, remap keys or choose menu commands.

64. “Meta” in MC documentation

Meta usually means Alt. If Alt combinations do not work, Esc followed by the key often acts as a Meta sequence.

65. MC and sudo

Avoid running an entire privileged MC session for routine work. Prefer normal-user MC and elevate only the exact edit/copy operation when practical.

66. Comfortable workflow

Left panel = source/project, right panel = destination/config/backup. Use shell commands at the bottom and viewer/editor only when needed.

67. Backing up MC configuration

tar -czf mc-config.tar.gz ~/.config/mc

68. Working with very large directories

Disable expensive size calculations/sorting and use shell tools like find, du, rg or fd when MC becomes slow.

69. MC does not replace rsync

For repeatable synchronization/backups, use rsync or dedicated backup tools. MC is interactive.

70. MC does not replace the shell

Use MC for navigation and file operations; use shell commands for automation, filtering, bulk processing and reproducibility.

71. Example 1 - editing nginx

Navigate to /etc/nginx on Debian or /usr/local/etc/nginx on FreeBSD, inspect config with F3, edit carefully, then test with nginx -t.

72. Example 2 - deploying a Go application

One panel can show the release/build directory and the other /srv/app; copy the binary/config, then restart the service from MC's shell line.

73. Example 3 - configuration backup

Mark config files/directories and copy them to a dated backup location before changes.

74. Example 4 - copying files from a VPS

Use SFTP VFS or a normal SSH session plus scp/rsync; for repeated transfers, rsync is usually better.

75. Example 5 - finding large files

Use MC size calculation for quick inspection, or drop to shell with du -xhd1 | sort -h for large trees.

76. Example 6 - searching configuration

Use Find File to search names/content under /etc or /usr/local/etc, or run grep -Rni from the command line.

77. Example 7 - working with logs

Open /var/log, sort by time, use F3 to inspect, and switch to tail -f in shell for live logs.

78. Example 8 - Git + MC

Browse/edit files in MC, then use git status, git diff, git add and git commit in the command line.

79. Example 9 - quick production vs development comparison

Open corresponding directories in both panels and use Compare Directories, then manually verify meaningful differences.

80. Example 10 - FreeBSD

Left /usr/local/etc, right /var/log; use shell line for service, sysrc, sockstat and pkg commands.

81. Example workflow

Use MC as the visual layer on servers: two panels for files, shell at the bottom, Vim/Neovim or mcedit for edits, tmux for persistence, Git/rsync for repeatable operations.

82. Minimum worth remembering

Tab, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, F8, Ctrl+O, Insert, Quick cd, Find File and the command line.

83. Cheat sheet - Debian

sudo apt install mc
mc
systemctl status SERVICE
journalctl -u SERVICE
sudoedit /etc/...

84. Cheat sheet - FreeBSD

pkg install mc
mc
service SERVICE status
sysrc SERVICE_enable
sockstat -4 -6 -l

85. When MC is especially good

Remote SSH sessions, unfamiliar directory trees, interactive copies/moves, config inspection and users who think spatially with two panels.

86. When other tools are better

Use rsync for synchronization, find/grep/ripgrep for large searches, Git for versioning, scripts for automation and dedicated backup tools for backups.

Summary

Midnight Commander is most valuable as a fast two-panel terminal workspace that complements, rather than replaces, the Unix shell.

Official references

Midnight Commander: https://midnight-commander.org/
MC manual: https://midnight-commander.org/wiki/doc/common/index