The latest articles on DEV Community by Patrick Bittner (@anjunar). https://dev.to/anjunar https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3993105%2F13009f7b-aa94-41cf-b9e7-e264c53c4502.png https://dev.to/anjunar en Patrick Bittner Fri, 19 Jun 2026 19:10:18 +0000 https://dev.to/anjunar/rcommander-cross-plattform-1n8b https://dev.to/anjunar/rcommander-cross-plattform-1n8b <p>I built a cross-platform Norton Commander inspired file manager in Rust — and learned a lot about GTK4, archives, and AI-assisted development.</p> <div class="ltag-github-readme-tag"> <div class="readme-overview"> <h2> <img src="https://assets.dev.to/assets/github-logo-5a155e1f9a670af7944dd5e12375bc76ed542ea80224905ecaf878b9157cdefc.svg" alt="GitHub logo"> <a href="https://github.com/anjunar" rel="noopener noreferrer"> anjunar </a> / <a href="https://github.com/anjunar/rust-commander" rel="noopener noreferrer"> rust-commander </a> </h2> <h3> A fast, lightweight two-pane file commander built with Rust and GTK4. </h3> </div> <div class="ltag-github-body"> <div id="readme" class="md"><div class="markdown-heading"> <h1 class="heading-element">RCommander</h1> </div> <p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://camo.githubusercontent.com/b5c0d0180a6dfb024a49597b4b9c72953d8aafc8244fbcf1e21cc815cfc64f07/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f62616467652f527573742d323032312d6f72616e6765"><img src="https://camo.githubusercontent.com/b5c0d0180a6dfb024a49597b4b9c72953d8aafc8244fbcf1e21cc815cfc64f07/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f62616467652f527573742d323032312d6f72616e6765" alt="Rust"></a> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://camo.githubusercontent.com/fe18a5d2c835136e8682e8a1f33efeaface72a039d1ad0a4592003ab17cd41c0/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f62616467652f55492d47544b342d626c7565"><img src="https://camo.githubusercontent.com/fe18a5d2c835136e8682e8a1f33efeaface72a039d1ad0a4592003ab17cd41c0/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f62616467652f55492d47544b342d626c7565" alt="GTK4"></a> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://camo.githubusercontent.com/b2f0e5cb6d1b6c12a761af152725588c9233399ede714a8bf392b526bb3da544/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f62616467652f6c6963656e73652d4d4954253230253242253230556e5241522d79656c6c6f77677265656e"><img src="https://camo.githubusercontent.com/b2f0e5cb6d1b6c12a761af152725588c9233399ede714a8bf392b526bb3da544/68747470733a2f2f696d672e736869656c64732e696f2f62616467652f6c6963656e73652d4d4954253230253242253230556e5241522d79656c6c6f77677265656e" alt="License"></a></p> <p><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://github.com/anjunar/rust-commander/./rcommander.png"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fraw.githubusercontent.com%2Fanjunar%2Frust-commander%2FHEAD%2F.%2Frcommander.png" alt="Screenshot"></a></p> <p>RCommander is a clean, native two-pane file commander written in Rust and GTK4.</p> <p>It is inspired by classic commander-style file managers such as Norton Commander, Total Commander, and SpeedCommander, but built with a modern Rust codebase, native GTK widgets, and a clear architecture that avoids homemade UI emulation where the operating system or toolkit should provide the right primitive.</p> <p>The goal is simple: a fast, practical, keyboard-friendly desktop file manager that feels direct, lightweight, and dependable.</p> <div class="markdown-heading"> <h2 class="heading-element">Current Status</h2> </div> <p>RCommander is already usable as a real desktop application, not just a UI prototype. It supports the core commander workflow, native file panels, file operations with progress feedback, file viewing/editing, and initial archive support.</p> <p>The project is still young and evolving quickly. APIs, internal structure, and feature details may change while the application grows toward a more complete commander experience.</p> <div class="markdown-heading"> <h2 class="heading-element">Features</h2> </div> <ul> <li>Native GTK4 desktop interface</li> <li>Classic two-pane commander layout</li> <li>Keyboard-oriented workflow</li> <li>…</li> </ul></div> </div> <div class="gh-btn-container"><a class="gh-btn" href="https://github.com/anjunar/rust-commander" rel="noopener noreferrer">View on GitHub</a></div> </div> rust opensource gtk ai