NoxDir is a high-performance, cross-platform command-line tool for visualizing and exploring your file system usage. It detects mounted drives or volumes and presents disk usage metrics through a responsive, keyboard-driven terminal UI. Designed to help you quickly locate space hogs and streamline your cleanup workflow. Supports: Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Stable release:
brew tap crumbyte/noxdir
brew install --cask noxdirNightly release:
brew tap crumbyte/noxdir
brew uninstall --cask noxdir # If the stable version was installed previously
brew install --cask noxdir-nightlypacman -S noxdirNoxDir can be installed either directly from nixpkgs or used via flake:
From nixpkgs (unstable channel):
nix-env -iA nixpkgs.noxdirOr in your configuration.nix:
environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
noxdir
];Using flake:
nix run github:crumbyte/noxdirOr add to your flake.nix:
{
inputs.noxdir.url = "github:crumbyte/noxdir";
}curl -s https://crumbyte.github.io/noxdir/scripts/install.sh | bashcurl -s https://crumbyte.github.io/noxdir/scripts/install.sh | bash -s -- v0.6.0Obtain the latest optimized binary from the Releases page. The application is self-contained and requires no installation process.
go install github.com/crumbyte/noxdir@latestgit clone https://github.com/crumbyte/noxdir.git
cd noxdir
make build
./bin/noxdirJust run in the terminal:
noxdirThe interactive interface initializes immediately without configuration requirements.
NoxDir accepts flags on a startup. Here's a list of currently available CLI flags:
Usage:
noxdir [flags]
Flags:
--clear-cache Delete all cache files from the application's directory.
Example: --clear-cache (provide a flag)
--color-schema string Set the color schema configuration file. The file contains a custom
color settings for the UI elements.
-x, --exclude strings Exclude specific directories from scanning. Useful for directories
with many subdirectories but minimal disk usage (e.g., node_modules).
NOTE: The check targets any string occurrence. The excluded directory
name can be either an absolute path or only part of it. In the last case,
all directories whose name contains that string will be excluded from
scanning.
Example: --exclude="node_modules,Steam\appcache"
(first rule will exclude all existing "node_modules" directories)
-h, --help help for noxdir
-d, --no-empty-dirs Excludes all empty directories from the output. The directory is
considered empty if it or its subdirectories do not contain any files.
Even if the specific directory represents the entire tree structure of
subdirectories, without a single file, it will be completely skipped.
Default value is "false".
Example: --no-empty-dirs (provide a flag)
--no-hidden Excludes all hidden files and directories from the output. The entry is
considered hidden if its name starts with a dot, e.g., ".git".
Default value is "false".
Example: --no-hidden (provide a flag)
-r, --root string Start from a predefined root directory. Instead of selecting the target
drive and scanning all folders within, a root directory can be provided.
In this case, the scanning will be performed exclusively for the specified
directory, drastically reducing the scanning time.
Providing an invalid path results in a blank application output. In this
case, a "backspace" still can be used to return to the drives list.
Also, all trailing slash characters will be removed from the provided
path.
Example: --root="C:\Program Files (x86)"
--simple-color Use a simplified color schema without emojis and glyphs.
Example: --simple-color (provide a flag)
-l, --size-limit string Define size limits/boundaries for files that should be shown in the
scanner output. Files that do not fit in the provided limits will be
skipped.
The size limits can be defined using format "<size><unit>:<size><unit>
where "unit" value can be: KB, MB, GB, TB, PB, and "size" is a positive
numeric value. For example: "1GB:5GB".
Both values are optional. Therefore, it can also be an upper bound only
or a lower bound only. These are the valid flag values: "1GB:", ":10GB"
NOTE: providing this flag will lead to inaccurate sizes of the
directories, since the calculation process will include only files
that meet the boundaries. Also, this flag cannot be applied to the
directories but only to files within.
Example:
--size-limit="3GB:20GB"
--size-limit="3MB:"
--size-limit=":1TB"
-c, --use-cache Force the application to cache the data. With cache enabled, the full
file system scan will be performed only once. After that, the cache will be
used as long as the flag is provided.
The cache will always store the last session data. In order to update the
cache and the application's state, use the "r" (refresh) command on a
target directory.
Default value is "false".
Example: -c|--use-cache (provide a flag)
-v, --version Print the application version and exit.
On first launch, the application automatically generates a simple configuration file. This file allows you to define default behaviors without needing to pass flags every time.
The configuration file is created at:
- Windows:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\.noxdir\settings.json(e.g.,C:\Users\{user}\AppData\Local\.noxdir\settings.json) - Linux/macOS:
~/.noxdir/settings.json
The created configurations file already contains all available settings and has the following structure:
{
"colorSchema": "",
"exclude": null,
"noEmptyDirs": false,
"noHidden": false,
"simpleColor": false,
"useCache": false,
"bindings": {
"driveBindings": {
"levelDown": []
},
"dirBindings": {
"levelUp": null,
"levelDown": null,
"delete": null,
"topFiles": null,
"topDirs": null,
"filesOnly": null,
"dirsOnly": null,
"nameFilter": null,
"chart": null,
"diff": null,
"toggleSelectAll": null,
"toggleSelection": null
},
"explore": null,
"quit": null,
"refresh": null,
"help": null,
"diff": null,
"config": null
}
}Values follow the same format and behavior as CLI flags. For example:
{
"exclude": "node_modules,Steam\\appcache",
"colorSchema": "custom_schema.json",
"noEmptyDirs": true,
"noHidden": false,
"simpleColor": true,
"useCache": false
}👉 If you cannot find the configuration file you can open it right from the application using % key binding.
Scanning can take time, especially on volumes with many small files and directories (e.g., log folders or
node_modules). To improve performance in such cases, NoxDir supports caching.
When the --use-cache (-c) flag is provided, NoxDir will attempt to use an existing cache file for the selected drive
or volume. If no cache file exists, it performs a full scan and saves the result to a cache file for future use.
If a cache file is found, the full scan is skipped by default (unless you explicitly want to see the structure delta).
Scanning is then performed on demand using the r (refresh) key, which updates the cache after the session ends.
Cache file locations:
- Windows:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\.noxdir\cache(e.g.,C:\Users\{user}\AppData\Local\.noxdir\cache) - Linux/macOS:
~/.noxdir/cache
To clear all cached data, use the --clear-cache flag.
NoxDir can display file system changes since your last session. It highlights added or deleted files and directories, as well as changes in disk space usage. The diff is calculated by comparing the current directory state against its cached version. If no cache exists from the previous session, no differences will be shown.
To view changes in the current directory, press the + key (toggle diff). NoxDir will compare the current state of the
directory with its cached version and display the difference:
NoxDir provides full support for custom key bindings, allowing users to override nearly all interactive controls.
Bindings are defined in the configuration file. By default, all key binding fields are set to
null. When a field is null or omitted, the default binding is used.
Default bindings are defined as follows:
{
"driveBindings": {
"levelDown": ["enter", "right"],
},
"dirBindings": {
"levelUp": ["backspace", "left"],
"levelDown": ["enter", "right"],
"delete": ["!"],
"topFiles": ["ctrl+q"],
"topDirs": ["ctrl+e"],
"filesOnly": [","],
"dirsOnly": ["."],
"nameFilter": ["ctrl+f"],
"chart": ["ctrl+w"],
"diff": ["+"]
},
"explore": ["e"],
"quit": ["q", "ctrl+c"],
"refresh": ["r"],
"help": ["?"],
"config": ["%"]
}Each entry maps an action name to one or more key sequences. Bindings support modifiers such as ctrl, alt, and
shift, and are case-sensitive.
Notes
- Multiple bindings per action are supported.
- If a binding is explicitly set to
null, the default will be used. - Removing a binding entry is equivalent to setting it to
null. - Bindings must be declared as arrays of strings, even for single-key bindings.
Custom config example:
{
"dirBindings": {
"topFiles": ["t"],
"topDirs": ["T"]
}
}NoxDir supports color schema customization via the --color-schema flag. You can provide a JSON configuration to adjust
colors, borders, glyph rendering, and more.
A full example schema (including all default settings) is available here. You can also provide a partial config that overrides only specific values.
Example:
{
"statusBarBorder": false,
"usageProgressBar": {
"fullChar": "█",
"emptyChar": "░"
}
}In this example, the status bar border is disabled, and the usage progress bar is rendered using ANSI characters (█, ░) instead of emojis (🟥, 🟩).
- Q: Can I use this in scripts or headless environments?
- A: Not yet — it's designed for interactive use.
- Q: What are the security implications of running NoxDir?
- A: NoxDir operates in a strictly read-only capacity, with no file
modification capabilities except for deletion, which requires confirmation.
- Q: The interface appears to have rendering issues with icons or formatting, and there are no multiple panes like in the screenshots.
- A: Visual presentation depends on terminal capabilities and font
configuration. For optimal experience, a terminal with Unicode and glyph
support is recommended. The screenshots were made in
WezTermusingMesloLGM Nerd Fontfont. If your font does not support glyphs consider using--siimple-colorflag. - Q: The scanning process is too slow.
- A: Consider using caching, exclusion, or running the application only for specific directories. The caching can be enabled with the flag
-c, --use-cacheor in the configuration file. With caching enabled, you choose which directories must be re-scanned with therkey. Exclusion flag-x, --excludeallows providing a list of directories that must be skipped during scanning, e.g.,.node_modules. Also, predefined root-r, --rootwill start the application from the specified directory instead of scanning the entire file system.