Quick Start

Once you've installed Yazi, start the program with:

yazi

Press q to quit, F1 or ~ to open the help menu.

Shell wrapper

We suggest using this y shell wrapper that provides the ability to change the current working directory when exiting Yazi.

Bash / Zsh

function y() {
	local tmp cwd; tmp="$(mktemp -t "yazi-cwd.XXXXXX")"
	command yazi "$@" --cwd-file="$tmp"
	IFS= read -r -d '' cwd < "$tmp"
	[ "$cwd" != "$PWD" ] && [ -d "$cwd" ] && builtin cd -- "$cwd" || builtin true
	command rm -f -- "$tmp"
}

Fish

function y
	set tmp (mktemp -t "yazi-cwd.XXXXXX")
	command yazi $argv --cwd-file="$tmp"
	if read -z cwd < "$tmp"; and [ "$cwd" != "$PWD" ]; and test -d "$cwd"
		builtin cd -- "$cwd"
	end
	command rm -f -- "$tmp"
end

Nushell

def --env y [...args] {
	let tmp = (mktemp -t "yazi-cwd.XXXXXX")
	^yazi ...$args --cwd-file $tmp
	let cwd = (open $tmp)
	if $cwd != $env.PWD and ($cwd | path exists) {
		cd $cwd
	}
	rm -fp $tmp
}

POSIX

y() {
	set -- "$@" --cwd-file "$(mktemp -t yazi-cwd.XXXXXX)"
	command yazi "$@"
	shift $(($# - 1))
	set -- "$(command cat < "$1"; printf .; command rm -f -- "$1")"
	set -- "${1%.}"
	[ "$1" != "$PWD" ] && [ -d "$1" ] && command cd -- "$1" || command true
}

Elvish

edit:add-var y~ {|@argv|
	use str
	use os
	use file
	var tmp = (os:temp-file)
	e:yazi $@argv --cwd-file=$tmp[name]
	var cwd = (slurp < $tmp)
	file:close $tmp
	os:remove $tmp[name]
 	if (and (not-eq $cwd $pwd) (os:is-dir $cwd)) {
 		cd $cwd
 	}
}

PowerShell

function y {
	$tmp = (New-TemporaryFile).FullName
	yazi.exe @args --cwd-file="$tmp"
	$cwd = Get-Content -Path $tmp -Encoding UTF8
	if ($cwd -and $cwd -ne $PWD.Path -and (Test-Path -LiteralPath $cwd -PathType Container)) {
		Set-Location -LiteralPath (Resolve-Path -LiteralPath $cwd).Path
	}
	Remove-Item -Path $tmp
}

Command Prompt

Create the file y.cmd and place it in your %PATH%.

@echo off

set tmpfile=%TEMP%\yazi-cwd.%random%

yazi.exe %* --cwd-file="%tmpfile%"

:: If the file does not exist, then exit
if not exist "%tmpfile%" exit /b 0

:: If the file exist, then read the content and change the directory
set /p cwd=<"%tmpfile%"
if not "%cwd%"=="" if exist "%cwd%\" (
	cd /d "%cwd%"
)
del "%tmpfile%"

Xonsh

def _y(args):
	tmp = $(mktemp -t "yazi-cwd.XXXXXX")
	args.append(f"--cwd-file={tmp}")
	$[yazi @(args)]
	with open(tmp) as f:
		cwd = f.read()
	import os
	if cwd != $PWD and os.path.isdir(cwd):
		cd @(cwd)
	rm -f -- @(tmp)

aliases["y"] = _y

Schemesh

(sh-alias "y"
  (lambda (args)
    (let ((tmp (sh-run/string-rtrim-newlines {mktemp -t "yazi-cwd.XXXXXX"})))
      (dynamic-wind
        void
        (lambda ()
          (sh-run {command yazi (values args) (string-append "--cwd-file=" tmp)})
          (let ((cwd (call-with-input-file tmp get-string-all)))
            (when (and (not (eof-object? cwd))
                       (not (string=? cwd (charspan->string (sh-cwd (sh-globals)))))
                       (file-directory? cwd))
              (sh-cd (sh-globals) cwd))))
        (lambda ()
          (file-delete tmp))))
    (quote ())))

To use it, copy the function into the configuration file of your respective shell.

Then use y instead of yazi to start, and press q to quit, you'll see the CWD changed. Sometimes, you don't want to change, press Q to quit.

Keybindings

tip

For all keybindings, see the default keymap.toml file.

Navigation

To navigate between files and directories you can use the arrow keys ←, ↓, ↑ and → or Vim-like keys such as h, j, k, l:

Key binding	Alternate key	Action
k	↑	Move the cursor up
j	↓	Move the cursor down
l	→	Enter hovered directory
h	←	Leave the current directory and into its parent

Further navigation actions can be found in the table below.

Key binding	Action
K	Seek up 5 units in the preview
J	Seek down 5 units in the preview
g ⇒ g	Move cursor to the top
G	Move cursor to the bottom
g ⇒ t	Go to the trash bin
z	Cd to a directory or reveal a file via fzf
Z	Cd to a directory via zoxide
g ⇒ Space	Cd to a directory or reveal a file via interactive prompt

Selection

To select files and directories, the following actions are available.

Key binding	Action
Space	Toggle selection of hovered file/directory
v	Enter visual mode (selection mode)
V	Enter visual mode (unset mode)
Ctrl + a	Select all files
Ctrl + r	Inverse selection of all files
Esc	Cancel selection

File operations

To interact with selected files/directories use any of the actions below.

Key binding	Action
o	Open selected files
O	Open selected files interactively
Enter	Open selected files
Shift + Enter	Open selected files interactively (some terminals don't support it yet)
Tab	Show the file information
y	Yank selected files (copy)
x	Yank selected files (cut)
p	Paste yanked files
P	Paste yanked files (overwrite if the destination exists)
Y or X	Cancel the yank status
d	Trash selected files
D	Permanently delete selected files
a	Create a file (ends with / for directories)
r	Rename selected file(s)
.	Toggle the visibility of hidden files

Further file operation actions can be found in the table below.

Key binding	Action
;	Run a shell command
:	Run a shell command (block until finishes)
-	Symlink the absolute path of yanked files
_	Symlink the relative path of yanked files
Ctrl + -	Hardlink yanked files

Copy paths

To copy paths, use any of the following actions below.

Observation: c ⇒ d indicates pressing the c key followed by pressing the d key.

Key binding	Action
c ⇒ c	Copy the file path
c ⇒ d	Copy the directory path
c ⇒ f	Copy the filename
c ⇒ n	Copy the filename without extension

Filter files

Key binding	Action
f	Filter files

Find files

Key binding	Action
/	Find next file
?	Find previous file
n	Go to the next found
N	Go to the previous found

Search files

Key binding	Action
s	Search files by name using fd
S	Search files by content using ripgrep
Ctrl + s	Cancel the ongoing search

Sorting

To sort files/directories use the following actions.

Observation: , ⇒ a indicates pressing the , key followed by pressing the a key.

Key binding	Action
, ⇒ m	Sort by modified time
, ⇒ M	Sort by modified time (reverse)
, ⇒ b	Sort by birth time
, ⇒ B	Sort by birth time (reverse)
, ⇒ e	Sort by file extension
, ⇒ E	Sort by file extension (reverse)
, ⇒ a	Sort alphabetically
, ⇒ A	Sort alphabetically (reverse)
, ⇒ n	Sort naturally
, ⇒ N	Sort naturally (reverse)
, ⇒ s	Sort by size
, ⇒ S	Sort by size (reverse)
, ⇒ r	Sort randomly

Multi-tab

Key binding	Action
t ⇒ t	Create a new tab in CWD
1, 2, ..., 9	Switch to the N-th tab
[	Switch to the previous tab
]	Switch to the next tab
{	Swap current tab with previous tab
}	Swap current tab with next tab
Ctrl + c	Close the current tab

Task manager

View running background tasks or failed tasks in the task manager.

Key binding	Action
w	Open the task manager

Flavors

Pick a color scheme you like from our flavors repository, or cook a flavor!