Nexa Dir is a lightweight dual-panel file explorer designed to provide a consistent user experience across Windows, macOS, and Linux. Built entirely in Rust with its own UI rasterizer, it avoids external frameworks like Qt or Electron, ensuring a smooth and native feel on all platforms.
Key Features:
Dual-panel interface with tabs, tree view, and type-ahead search for efficient navigation.
Cross-platform compatibility, delivering the same functionality and appearance on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Portable design with settings stored either locally or in a data folder alongside the executable.
Fast file operations including copy (using CopyFileEx), batch rename, checksum verification, duplicate detection, and folder synchronization.
Integrated preview pane supporting text, images, archives, and WASM plugins for enhanced functionality.
Built-in terminal for command-line tasks and direct integration with system utilities.
Target Audience and Benefits:
Ideal for power users, developers, and system administrators seeking a reliable, cross-platform file manager. Nexa Dir boosts efficiency by combining familiar file management features with modern capabilities like archive preview and WASM plugins, all while maintaining a lightweight footprint.
Available via the Windows Package Manager (WinGet), you can easily install or deploy Nexa Dir using the winget command line, ensuring quick setup on supported platforms.
README
Nexa Dir 3 — cross-platform native file explorer (all Rust)
> Cross-platform (Windows · macOS · Linux), single-binary, ultra-lightweight native file explorer — the cross-platform successor of nexa-dir2. Korean guide: README.ko.md.
Nexa Dir 3 reproduces the features, screen layout and resources of the Windows-only nexa-dir2 (0.22.0) on all three operating systems. Windowing and input use winit + softbuffer, the screen is drawn by our own CPU rasterizer (nexa-ui), settings follow the nexa-sql model, and licensing uses nexa-license. No OS-native controls are used — the same screen on every OS.
Highlights
Dual-panel explorer with tabs, tree/flat/tile views, multi-column sort, type-ahead and fast scrolling.
Built-in terminal, info/preview dock (text, images, Markdown and archives via WASM plugins), favorites, launcher bar.
OS integration through one platform/ layer: shell context menus, trash, file clipboard, drag and drop, folder watching, default apps.
Portable first: settings live next to the executable (data/) when present, otherwise in the user config directory. One-time import of nexa-dir2 settings.
Free for personal and noncommercial use; commercial use requires a license (see below).
Install
Installers and the portable zip are on GitHub Releases (verify with sha256sums.txt).
winget install SosomLab.NexaDir # Windows MSI
winget install SosomLab.NexaDir.Portable # Windows portable
choco install nexa-dir # Windows MSI
Uninstall: Windows Apps & features · macOS sudo "/Applications/Nexa Dir.app/Contents/Resources/uninstall.sh" · Linux dpkg -r nexa-dir / dnf remove nexa-dir. User data (settings, sessions, favorites, rename presets) is kept on uninstall.
Build and check
Keep the sibling repositories next to this one: ../nexa-ui and ../nexa-license (path dependencies).
cargo build --workspace
cargo run -p nexa-dir -- --smoke # start without a window (startup check)
cargo run -p nexa-dir -- --selfcheck # self-check (doctor); in a Windows console use `ndir --selfcheck`
cargo run -p nexa-copy -- --help # nexa-copy: command-line copy/move on the same engine (bundled in every package)
scripts/check-3os.sh # 3-OS cross check before push
PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 (LICENSE.md · Korean LICENSE.ko.md) — free for personal and noncommercial use; commercial use requires a paid license (contact kiros33@sosomlab.com).