Sunflower

Free plan Linux

What Sunflower is

Sunflower is a free, customizable twin-panel file manager for Linux. Its interface combines two panes with tabs for everyday file operations, and users can save groups of tabs as sessions. Batch renaming and archive support handle common file tasks, while emblems mark files and directories visually. Terminal access is available through terminal tabs, VTE, or an external terminal. The project describes Sunflower as optimized for keyboard users and lists full multithreading support. It is intended to integrate with GNOME while also working in other environments, and the project says it can be extended with Python and GTK+. Downloads include packages for several Linux distributions and a generic archive; the download page identifies version 0.5, build 63. Sunflower is released under the GNU General Public License and publishes a GPG key identified as 4096R/83EFD5A0. The project invites bug reports and testing, while a development update reported keyboard-shortcut and copy-and-paste problems.

Who it suits

Sunflower suits Linux users who want a free, keyboard-oriented file manager with twin panes, tabs, sessions, and terminal access. It also fits users interested in GNOME integration or Python and GTK+ extensibility.

What it does well

Free plan for Linux users
Twin-pane and tabbed interface
Saved tab sessions
Batch rename and archive support
Terminal access and multithreading

What to know first

Linux is the only listed platform
Development update reported shortcut problems
Development update reported copy-paste problems

Verdict

Sunflower brings twin-panel browsing, tabs, sessions, terminal access, and common file tools into a free Linux application. Its Linux-only availability and reported development issues are important considerations.

Facts from Sunflower's own pages

Archive support: Yes · sunflower-fm.org, 24 Sept 2026
Batch rename: Yes · sunflower-fm.org, 24 Sept 2026
Community feedback: The project invites bug reports and testing, and says community feedback can help speed development. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Current listed version: The download page identifies version 0.5, build 63, as the version to download. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Download integrity: The download page publishes a GPG key identified as 4096R/83EFD5A0. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Download options: The download page lists Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, elementary, Red Hat, CentOS, Fedora, Mageia, Mandriva, Gentoo, and a generic archive. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Downloads: The download page lists packages for Linux distributions and a generic archive, and identifies version 0.5 build 63 as the current download. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Dual-pane view: Yes · sunflower-fm.org, 24 Sept 2026
Extensibility: The project says Sunflower is extensible with Python and GTK+. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
File emblems: It can visually mark files and directories with emblems. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Free plan: Yes · sunflower-fm.org, 24 Sept 2026
Keyboard use: The project describes Sunflower as optimized for keyboard users. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Known issue: A project news post reports problems with keyboard shortcuts and some copy-and-paste functionality in the then-current development version. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
License: The download page says Sunflower is released under the GNU General Public License. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
License and integrity: The download page publishes a GPG key and says Sunflower is released under the GNU General Public License. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Maintainer: The download page credits Mladen Mijatov and contributors. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Multithreading: The product page lists full multithreading support. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Notable issue: The maker's news page reported keyboard shortcuts and some copy-and-paste functionality problems upstream during development of the GTK3 and Python3 version. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Supported platforms: linux · sunflower-fm.org, 24 Sept 2026
Product: Sunflower is a small, highly customizable twin-panel file manager for Linux, intended to integrate with GNOME while also working in other environments. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Purpose: Sunflower is a small, customizable twin-panel file manager for Linux, intended to integrate with the GNOME desktop environment. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Sessions: Users can save sets of tabs as sessions. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Support and feedback: The maker's news page invites users to send bug reports and says testing is needed for the new version. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026
Tabbed interface: It provides a tabbed interface for file operations. · sunflower-fm.org, 11 Oct 2026

Where Sunflower stands on Freedom251

File Manager Software#75 of 100