Beginner G.01.B 5 min read

The two-pane mental model.

Source. Destination. Switch with Tab. That’s the entire idea — and once it clicks, every file operation gets faster.

Captain's Deck dual-pane main window — Two panes, tab bar, breadcrumb header, function-key strip — the orthodox layout.

The orthodox file manager philosophy

Captain’s Deck follows the design Norton Commander pioneered in 1986 — two panels, side-by-side, every file operation visible at a glance.

Left pane. Source or working directory.
Right pane. Destination or comparison directory.
Active pane. The one with focus, marked with a glowing border and a dot indicator.

Interface layout

Top — tab bar

Each pane keeps its own stack of tabs. Open as many locations as you like:

Cmd+T — new tab in the active pane
Cmd+W — close current tab
Cmd+] / Cmd+[ — next / previous tab

Middle — file panels

Each panel shows directory contents in columns:

Name (with icon)
Size
Date modified
Permissions (optional, on by default for power users)

Right-click any column header to show, hide, or reorder columns.

Bottom — function key bar

The classic F1–F10 row — always visible, always one key away.

`F1` Help	`F6` Move
`F2` Rename	`F7` MkDir
`F3` View	`F8` Delete
`F4` Edit	`F9` Diff
`F5` Copy	`F10` Quit

Switching between panes

The active pane is marked by a highlighted border. Switch focus with:

Tab — toggle left ↔ right
Click anywhere in a pane to activate it

Navigating files

Vim-style and traditional navigation both work, side by side:

Action	Vim	Standard
Move down	`j`	`↓`
Move up	`k`	`↑`
Enter directory	`l`	`→` / `Enter`
Parent directory	`h`	`←` / `Backspace`
Top of list	`gg`	`Cmd`+`↑`
Bottom of list	`G`	`Cmd`+`↓`
Page up	`Ctrl`+`U`	`Page Up`
Page down	`Ctrl`+`D`	`Page Down`

Selecting files

Selection is the bridge between navigation and action.

Space — toggle selection on current file (then move down)
Cmd+A — select all
Cmd+Option+I — invert selection
Shift+navigation — extend selection while moving

The status bar shows the count and total size of selected items.

Quick filter

Press / to filter the current view. Type to narrow; only matching files stay visible.

Case-insensitive
Matches anywhere in the filename
Esc clears the filter

Hidden files, sorting, and the terminal

Hidden files

Toggle dotfiles with Cmd+. (period).

Sorting

Click any column header to sort. Click again to reverse.

The terminal panel

Press ` (backtick) to toggle the integrated terminal at the bottom of the window. It auto-syncs with the active pane’s directory — see the terminal guide.