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Archives

XeFM works with archive files as a first-class feature: you can create archives from selected files, extract them, and browse their contents in place — navigating into an archive as if it were a regular directory, without unpacking it to disk first.

Supported formats: ZIP (.zip), TAR (.tar), and compressed TAR (.tar.gz, .tgz, .tar.bz2, .tar.xz).

For the complete list of key bindings, see the XeFM User Guide or press ? in XeFM.

Creating an archive

  1. Select the file(s) and/or directories you want to archive (Space to toggle, A to select all files).
  2. Press P.
  3. Enter a name for the archive (the extension you use determines the format, e.g. .zip or .tar.gz) and confirm.

The archive is created in the other pane. Directories are added recursively. XeFM confirms before creating by default:

CONFIRM_ARCHIVE_CREATE = False   # default: True

Extracting an archive

  1. Put the cursor on an archive file.
  2. Press U.
  3. Confirm the destination.

The archive is extracted into a subdirectory (named after the archive) in the other pane. If that directory already exists, XeFM asks whether to overwrite, rename the extraction directory, or cancel. XeFM confirms before extracting by default:

CONFIRM_EXTRACT_ARCHIVE = False   # default: True

Browsing an archive in place

Instead of extracting, you can open an archive and look inside it directly.

  1. Position the cursor on the archive file.
  2. Press ENTER.

The archive contents appear as a virtual directory — files and folders with their names, sizes, and modification dates, just like a normal directory. The path display shows an archive:// URL with a # separating the archive path from your location inside it, for example archive:///home/user/documents/backup.zip#projects/.

Key Action
↑ / ↓ Move cursor
Page Up / Down Scroll by page
Home / End Jump to first / last entry
ENTER Enter a directory within the archive
Backspace Go to the parent directory (at the root, exit the archive)

Example: from /home/user/documents/, press ENTER on backup.zip to view archive:///home/user/documents/backup.zip#, ENTER on projects/ to go deeper, then Backspace twice to return to the filesystem.

Viewing files inside an archive

Put the cursor on a file and press V. XeFM extracts it to a temporary location, shows it in the built-in viewer (the title shows the full archive path), and cleans up the temporary file automatically when you close the viewer.

Copying files out of an archive

Copying is how you extract individual files or folders from a browsed archive.

  1. Select the file(s) or directory you want (Space to select, or just place the cursor on one item).
  2. Press C.
  3. Choose the destination directory.

Selected files are extracted to the destination; a selected directory is extracted recursively with its full structure. The destination can be a local directory or S3 — XeFM extracts and uploads directly. (Archive → archive is not supported, since archives are read-only.)

File details

Press I on an entry to see its details: name, uncompressed and compressed size, compression ratio, modification time, permissions, archive type, and the internal path within the archive.

Sorting

Sort the archive listing with the same quick-sort keys used everywhere in XeFM:

Key Sort by
1 Name
2 Extension
3 Size
4 Modification date

Directories are always listed first, regardless of sort mode.

Searching inside an archive

While browsing an archive, press Shift-F to open the filename search dialog. Enter a pattern (wildcards like *.txt work) and XeFM lists matching files with their full paths inside the archive. Press ENTER on a result to jump to it. The search covers the current archive only, starting from your current location and descending recursively. Large archives show a progress indicator while the search runs.

Dual-pane and archives

Archive browsing works with XeFM’s two panes: browse an archive in one pane while a regular directory (or a different archive) is shown in the other, and copy files between them. O / Shift-O sync directories between panes and work with archives too.

Password-protected archives

XeFM can extract and browse password-protected ZIP archives. When a password is needed, XeFM prompts for it in a masked field — typed characters show as •, and the value can’t be copied or cut from the field.

Extracting a password-protected ZIP

  1. Put the cursor on the encrypted .zip file and press U (Extract Archive).
  2. Confirm the destination as usual.
  3. XeFM detects that the archive is encrypted and asks for its password.
  4. Enter the password and press Enter. The archive extracts into a subdirectory in the other pane.

If the password is wrong, XeFM says so and asks again — nothing is written to disk until the password is confirmed correct, so a wrong password never leaves a half-extracted folder behind. Press Esc to cancel.

Viewing a file inside a password-protected ZIP

  1. Press ENTER on the .zip file to browse it. The file list is readable without a password.
  2. Open a file inside it (ENTER, or V to view).
  3. XeFM asks for the archive’s password the first time you open a file from it.
  4. Enter the password. The file opens in the built-in viewer.

The password is remembered for the rest of the session, so you’re only asked once per archive. Extracting an archive and later browsing the same archive share the remembered password.

Supported encryption

Only the ZIP format supports passwords; TAR archives (.tar, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2, .tar.xz) are not encrypted. Passwords are held only in memory for the running session — never written to disk or logged — and are sent to the archive as UTF-8 bytes (plain ASCII passwords always work).

Read-only browsing

When you browse an archive in place, its contents are read-only. You can copy files out, view them, browse, and search — but you cannot delete, move, or copy files into a browsed archive; XeFM shows an explanatory message if you try. To change an archive’s contents, extract it (U), edit the files, and create a new archive (P).

Other notes:

Tips

See Also