A keyboard-first, dual-pane file manager and embedded editor for the terminal. Rust core. Clean TUI. Norton Commander workflow, brought to the present.
cargo install --git https://github.com/tzero86/Zeta
Work in progress — issues and feedback welcome on GitHub.
→ github.com/tzero86/Zeta// prerequisites
ssh2, bzip2, xz2). Linux: build-essential pkg-config libssl-dev libbz2-dev liblzma-dev. Windows: Visual Studio Build Tools with “Desktop development with C++”.
VS Build Tools ↗
Precompiled binaries skip native build steps entirely — grab one from the releases page to avoid the C toolchain requirement.
// features
Two independent panels side by side. Navigate, compare, and operate across directories without a second terminal window.
Syntax highlighting, incremental search, undo/redo, and text selection. Edit files without spawning an external process.
A full PTY terminal embedded in the layout. Toggle it with F2 and keep your filesystem context without context-switching.
Browse and operate on remote filesystems over SSH. Host key verification and known-hosts persistence built in.
Highlight unique and changed entries between panes at a glance. Sync to the other pane with a single keystroke.
Four isolated desktops each with independent pane state, editor, preview, and terminal. Switch with Alt+1–4.
Live rendered preview while editing .md files. Headings, code blocks, lists, blockquotes — updated on every keystroke, zero latency.
Nine built-in themes (Zeta, Norton, Dracula, and more), configurable keymaps, icon modes, and a simple toml config file. Tune it to your workflow.
Branch name and dirty-state indicator shown in the pane header. Per-entry change markers let you see modified, added, and untracked files at a glance — without leaving the file browser.
Click to focus panes, scroll to navigate, and use the mouse to select entries or position the editor cursor. Keyboard-first, mouse-friendly.
// keyboard first
// why it exists
Zeta started as an excuse. Testing a new generation of AI coding tools calls for a real project — something with actual architecture decisions, non-trivial state, and things that could genuinely go wrong. Toy examples tell you nothing.
The idea came from memory. If you used a PC in the late 80s or early 90s, you probably know Norton Commander. Two panes, function keys, everything a keystroke away. That mental model never really leaves you.
So the goal became building something in that spirit — keyboard-first, fast, dual-pane — but brought forward: embedded editor, integrated terminal, SSH support, multiple workspaces, all on a Rust core with a proper TUI.
Zeta is what came out of that. Part experiment, part nostalgia project, part something that turned out to be genuinely useful.
If Zeta saves you time or sparks something, consider buying me a coffee — it keeps the project moving.