Hi everyone,

I've used Midnight Commander on my servers for well over a decade, and I always missed it when I was on the unRAID web UI - especially on my iPad. So I built:

A FAST proper two-pane file manager that lives in its own tab of the unRAID menu bar.

Two folders side by side. Pick files on one side, press Copy or Move, and they go to the other side. If you know Midnight Commander, Norton Commander or Total Commander you'll feel at home straight away - F5 copies, F6 moves, Tab switches panes, Insert ticks. If you don't, everything also has a button, and it works great with a finger on a tablet.

Made with Claude AI

WHAT IT DOES

File management

- Copy, move, rename, new folder, delete, permissions and find - with F-keys, buttons or taps

- Copies and moves run as background jobs with progress - close the tab and they keep going, and you get a notification when they finish

- Delete goes to a trash on the same share or disk; Restore puts things back where they came from (or delete for good when you want the space now)

- Undo for rename, move, delete, new folder and even copies

- Before anything is overwritten you see a list, and the old versions are kept in the trash

- Batch rename with a live before/after preview - all-or-nothing, with one Undo

- Compress to .zip / .tar.gz; extract .zip, .rar (incl. RAR5), .7z, .tar.gz and more

- Folder sizes in the background, and Compare two folders (including subfolders)

- Viewer and editor for config files, scripts, compose files, logs, .nfo and more, with colour highlighting; picture and PDF viewer

- Disk column: see which disk(s) or pool a file in /mnt/user really lives on

- Copy/move guard: it refuses things that would destroy data, like copying a disk folder onto the same folder in its share

Made for unRAID

- Starts at /mnt: shares, every disk and pool, Unassigned Devices, plus /boot

- Optional "Whole OS" view: one tap and the top becomes / - /boot, /etc, /var, /tmp and the rest, just like MC on the console (switch it on in Settings first)

- Practice mode for learning without risk - anything that could change your files is locked

- Optional auto-refresh when other programs change a folder

Media tools (Settings > Tools, or the little film / TV buttons next to Settings)

- Empty folders on disks - finds the leftover empty folders Unraid's share view hides, and removes them safely

- Movie folders without a video - folders with only posters, .nfo files or a sample left. Send them back to Radarr to download again into the same folder

- TV shows with missing episodes - checks every show folder against its episode list on TVmaze (no account or key needed) and shows exactly what's missing, season by season. Shows numbered differently from TVmaze are checked against Sonarr's numbering, and a "What's wrong" box explains anything odd in plain words

- Sonarr integration - get a show's missing episodes (or one season) with one tap. Shows Sonarr doesn't have are added with their existing folder and only the missing episodes are wanted; whole missing seasons are also searched as season packs. If Sonarr downloads something but won't import it ("matched to series by ID"), unCommander can import it for you

Make it yours

- Text size per device - bigger text on the desktop, normal on the iPad, without zooming the rest of unRAID

- A Midnight Commander theme: blue panels, cyan bars, yellow ticked files

- Your own CSS with live preview and a colour picker, sounds, shortcut buttons for your favourite folders, and you can rename the menu tab

- All keyboard shortcuts are listed in Settings > Keyboard

See more screenshots at my GitHub Repository

INSTALL

We are now listed in Community Apps.
- Apps tab: search for "unCommander" and click Install,

or
Manual Install

- Plugins > Install Plugin, and paste:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hernandito/unCommander/main/uncommander.plg

Then reload the page - unCommander appears in the menu bar. Requires unRAID 6.12 or newer.

Your settings are kept on the flash drive (/boot/config/plugins/uncommander). Removing the plugin leaves them, and any trash folders, in place.

GOOD TO KNOW

- Nothing runs in the background unless you start it, and the tools only read your files until you choose to change something

- The TV tool uses TVmaze's free public API, politely paced

- 7-Zip (for .rar and .7z) is downloaded once at install from the official 7-Zip releases, checksum-checked, and kept inside the plugin's own folder

LINKS

- GitHub (source, full user guide, issues): https://github.com/hernandito/unCommander

- User guide: https://github.com/hernandito/unCommander/blob/main/docs/USER-GUIDE.md

This is the first public release, so I'd love to hear how it works for you - bugs, ideas and screenshots of your setups are all welcome in this thread or on GitHub.

Enjoy!

Edited 13 hours ago13 hr by hernandito

Reserved

Plugin still awaiting listing to CA. I have fulfilled all the proper latest requirements, and CA has not picked it up.

Here is my template repo, with the proper unCommander.xml listed.
https://github.com/hernandito/docker-templates

Just the day I noticed my Crusader docker container dates from 2024, I find this 😅.

I just installed it, it definitely looks good! I'm going to use it the coming days to see what it gives.

Thanks for your work!

Awesome - just what i was looking for since I moved from Windows to Linux (and struggled to replace Total Commander).

Just from the first glance, few things that pop into my head:
- would it be possible to use the recycle bin location of dlandon's plugin Recycle Bin, if installed (avoiding two bin locations)?
- optionally hide the button bar to fully utilize screen space
- make F buttons configurable (for me F2 is rename)
- second slow click enters "rename" too (when set to "Always pick first")

- when typing, "jump to name..." is triggered, that's nice, an optional filtering of matching files would be even nicer
- tick files / folders by right click (might be a challenge due to browser integration)
- highlight files that have been changed / added in the last i.e., 5 minutes in a different color
- selecting one or the other plane adds a frame to it, which is nice, but also reduced the content in it (maybe its my inner OCD, but this looks unprofessional and does not apply to the path above the planes)

All in all, I am super happy to have a native alternative to MC, DC, etc. running directly on Unraid. Feel free to reach out, if some of points need clarification, still quite early here ;)

7 hours ago, Sci-Fidelity said:

Awesome - just what i was looking for since I moved from Windows to Linux (and struggled to replace Total Commander).

Just from the first glance, few things that pop into my head:
- would it be possible to use the recycle bin location of dlandon's plugin Recycle Bin, if installed (avoiding two bin locations)?
- optionally hide the button bar to fully utilize screen space
- make F buttons configurable (for me F2 is rename)
- second slow click enters "rename" too (when set to "Always pick first")

- when typing, "jump to name..." is triggered, that's nice, an optional filtering of matching files would be even nicer
- tick files / folders by right click (might be a challenge due to browser integration)
- highlight files that have been changed / added in the last i.e., 5 minutes in a different color
- selecting one or the other plane adds a frame to it, which is nice, but also reduced the content in it (maybe its my inner OCD, but this looks unprofessional and does not apply to the path above the planes)

All in all, I am super happy to have a native alternative to MC, DC, etc. running directly on Unraid. Feel free to reach out, if some of points need clarification, still quite early here ;)

Thanks for the detailed list - this is exactly the kind of feedback that makes uC better. Six of your eight are done and will be in the next update:

- Button bar can be hidden. There's a new "Buttons" box in the Select row (and a setting in Settings > General). The F-keys keep working from the keyboard.

- Configurable F-keys. Settings > Keyboard now has a "Windows / Midnight Commander" preset (F2 = Rename, F3 = View, F4 = Edit), or you can set each key yourself. The button bar, the right-click menu and the keyboard help all follow your choice.

- Filter while typing. Click the small icon at the left of the Jump box (or Settings > Keyboard) to switch from "jump to name" to "filter". Only matching names stay; Backspace removes a letter; Esc or opening another folder shows everything again. Anything ticked that gets filtered out stays ticked, but actions only touch what you can see.

- Right-click ticks. Settings > Keyboard > "Right-click ticks". Right-click ticks or unticks a row, dragging with the right button held ticks a run of rows, and holding it still for half a second opens the menu. Shift + right-click still gives the browser's menu.

- Recently changed files highlighted. Settings > General > "Mark what changed lately" (5 / 15 / 60 minutes or a day). Changed names show in green; the colour can be changed with the --recent CSS variable.

- The active-pane frame. Good catch, and not your OCD: the thicker border was eating into the list. Both panes now keep the same border size and only the colour changes, so nothing shifts when you switch.

Two I'm holding back for now, on purpose:

Using dlandon's Recycle Bin folder: it sounds tidy, but two tools managing one folder is where things go wrong. uC's Undo and "Empty trash" need to know exactly which items are theirs. If they shared .Recycle.Bin, emptying uC's trash could wipe files you deleted over SMB from Windows. The other way round, the Recycle Bin's own auto-empty schedule would remove uC's items, and Undo would find nothing to bring back. Keeping them separate means neither can empty the other's deleted files.

Slow second click to rename: in "Always pick first" mode the second click already means "open". Making a slow second click mean "rename" turns every second click into a timing guess - open or rename, depending on how fast you were. I'd rather not risk accidental renames. With F2 now able to be Rename, you get a fast rename without that risk. I may come back to it later as a mouse-only option.

Thanks again - keep it coming!

Gentle reminder to the Community Applications team. Plugin is still not listed. I have posted this in my template repo, with all the latest guidelines / requirements covered to the letter. Please advise what I need to do so it gets published. Many, many weeks have been spent on this. @Squid.

Thank you!

superb project! thank you

hope it will make its way to the Community Applications

kind regards

A note on how unCommander was built, and how it was tested

unCommander was built with heavy use of an AI assistant (Claude). I’d rather say that up front, because AI-assisted plugins rightly draw some skepticism here. It matters even more for a file manager: unlike most plugins, it exists to copy, move, rename and delete your files, and like every plugin it runs as root. “Trust me” isn’t good enough, so here is how it was made and what protects your data.

How it was built and tested
The code was written and tested in two steps:

• Automated tests. Each feature was first checked in a test setup that imitates an unRAID server: automated checks of every server action, plus scripted browser tests that click through the interface and confirm the results.

• My own server. Every build was then installed on my live unRAID server, with real array disks, pools and years of real media, and used day to day before it was released.

unCommander went through more than 140 test builds this way. When something looked wrong, it was traced, fixed and checked again. My role was direction, design, testing and judgment; the AI’s role was writing and refactoring the code to that direction.

What protects your files

• Deletes go to a trash first, and you can restore them. Emptying the trash is a separate, deliberate step.

• Almost everything can be undone. Every rename, move, copy, delete, new folder and permission change is recorded in History, and you can undo any step, or just part of one, days later.

• Practice mode is on for new installs. You can try everything, and nothing on disk changes until you switch it off.

• It refuses the classic unRAID data-loss mistake: copying or moving between a disk (/mnt/diskX) and the user share (/mnt/user) that shows the same files.

• Archives open read-only. You can look inside a zip, rar or iso and copy files out, but nothing inside one can be changed.

• Big operations run as background jobs with progress and Cancel. When a file already exists, you choose Skip or Replace.

• The whole system is a separate mode. It starts in your shares, and seeing the whole OS is a deliberate switch.

What it connects to, and when

• No telemetry, and no account or sign-up.

• Outside services only when you use a feature that needs them:

  • TVmaze, for the TV episodes tool;

  • MusicBrainz and the Cover Art Archive, for music tags and covers;

  • your own Radarr, Sonarr, Lidarr, Plex, Kodi or Jellyfin, when you send something to them.

• Downloads: it fetches 7-Zip when you install it and ffmpeg the first time you play a video that needs it. Each comes from a fixed version, is checked against a known SHA-256 checksum, and isn’t used if it doesn’t match.

• Your settings are a small file in /boot/config/plugins/uncommander. Lists and History are kept off the flash drive to save it from wear.

It’s fully open source
Every line is on GitHub. Read it, audit it, or have your own AI go through it. Bug reports, corrections and ideas are genuinely welcome, and I’ll keep responding and maintaining it.

I’d rather earn your trust with specifics than hide how it was made.

Source: https://github.com/hernandito/unCommander

unCommander 2026.11.09a: now in Community Applications, and the biggest update yet 🎉

unCommander is now in Community Applications. Open the Apps tab and search unCommander. If you already have it, Plugins → Check for Updates brings you up to date, and your settings, shortcuts, trash and History are all kept.

Here’s what’s new since the first release:

↩️ Undo for everything. Every change is recorded in History: renames, moves, copies, deletes, new folders and permissions. You can undo any step, or just part of one, even days later.

🖱️ Works like a desktop file manager. There’s a right-click menu (press and hold on the iPad), Copy/Cut/Paste, drag and drop between panes, upload by dropping files in, and downloads as one zip. A cart collects files from several folders, and a folder tree opens folders in place.

🗜️ Archives open like folders. Walk into a zip, 7z, rar, tar.gz or iso just like in Midnight Commander. You can browse, view pictures, play videos and copy files out with Undo, and nothing inside can change.

🎧 A music player, built in. Your music library plays right inside unCommander, with artists and albums, covers, and a bottom-bar player with a queue. No separate music server needed. Drag and drop songs, albums or whole artists to build playlists, then export them to your apps: Plex, Kodi, Jellyfin/Emby, Navidrome or a USB drive. There’s also a tag editor with MusicBrainz lookup, and Music check finds missing covers and tracks and can ask Lidarr for what’s missing.

🎬 Pictures and video. There’s a Gallery view, a picture editor (crop, rotate, straighten, resize), HEIC support, and a video player that plays almost anything in the browser, subtitles included.

🧰 Powerful tools, one click from the new Tools button in the top bar:

• What’s using space: a map of any folder or disk. Open a folder in the pane, clean up, come back, and the map is already updated.

• Duplicates: finds the hidden copies your shares merge away, and identical files anywhere.

• Movies, TV and Music checks that work with Radarr, Sonarr and Lidarr, plus Empty folders, Clean up, Fix access, a User Scripts button, and Unassigned Devices mount and unmount from the panes.

⌨️ A built-in terminal under the panes, with clickable folders, a paste box, and a session that survives a reload.

🎨 Make it yours. Color themes, including Norton - an homage for us old-timers. There are also F-key layouts (Windows / MC or your own), typing that filters the list, and right-click ticking like Total Commander.

🗂️ Tabs and windows. Use it inside unRAID, in its own browser tab, as an app window, or as an iPad Home Screen app.

The full guide with every feature is on GitHub: https://github.com/hernandito/unCommander

Thanks to everyone who sent feedback and ideas. Keep it coming! ☕ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hernandito

Edited 13 hours ago13 hr by hernandito

Hello. Looks quite good. I will test it extensively.

A few questions:

How can I always open Uncommander in a new tab?

Is there something like the profiles under Krusader?

This looks great!

One problem I'm having is trying to edit the setting for the playlist folder. Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but that field is grayed out, and even though I can put my cursor in the field, I can't change it. The "default" is a path to a user share that doesn't exist on my server.

Also, when doing the Intel Graphics test for ffmpeg, I get:

 implib-gen: libva-drm.so.2: failed to load library 'libva-drm.so.2' via dlopen: libva-drm.so.2: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory ffmpeg: libva-drm.so.2.init.c:122: load_library: Assertion `0 && "Assertion in generated code"' failed.