GNU Midnight Commander (also known as mc, the command used to start it, and as mouseless commander in older versions) is a free cross-platform orthodox file manager. It was started by Miguel de Icaza in 1994 as a clone of the then-popular Norton Commander.
GNU Midnight Commander is part of the GNU project and is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License.
Midnight Commander is a console application with a text user interface. The main interface consists of two panels which display the file system. File selection is done using arrow keys, the insert key is used to select files and the function keys perform operations such as renaming, editing and copying files. Later versions of the Midnight Commander additionally have mouse support. Such versions are aware of GPM and X terminal emulators (such as GNOME Terminal or xterm) which support mouse reporting. When running inside an X terminal, these versions can update the name of the window in which Midnight Commander runs (if allowed by the terminal emulator).
From the Wikipedia article “Midnight Commander”, CC BY-SA 4.0
What is GNU Midnight Commander?
GNU Midnight Commander by The Free Software Foundation, Inc. is open-source Windows software in the terminals & cli tools category. The first release dates back to 1994. It is written in C. Besides Windows, it is available for GNU/Linux, BSD, macOS, Unix-like operating system and cross-platform. Its interface is available in 4 languages.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (Inno Setup) installers for 64-bit and 32-bit Windows. Installation asks for administrator rights. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches.
Updates and version history
The current version is 4.8.33.236, released on August 8, 2025. The version history goes back to May 21, 2020: 14 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 2.7 releases a year. The last update is more than a year old.
Popularity and file types
The source code on GitHub (MidnightCommander/mc) has 1,026 stars. Wikipedia has an article about it in 23 of our languages. Similar programs include PowerShell, Oh My Posh and QPDF.
Project description on GitHub: “Midnight Commander's repository”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Documented silent install
- Also runs on GNU/Linux, BSD and macOS
- Mature project (since 1994)
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
- Installation needs administrator rights
- No update for more than a year
In short: GNU Midnight Commander is an open-source terminals & cli tool tool for 64-bit and 32-bit PCs. Updates have slowed down. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Is GNU Midnight Commander safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
C7EDF10402542D334DF7E6FF802E2213D384EAFA949A6FA88D3813BD87A8EE04· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 14 versions ›14 versions over 5 years · about 2.7 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.8.33.236Latest | August 8, 2025 | — | 32-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 4.8.33.231 | March 21, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)32-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 4.8.31 | March 31, 2024 | — | 32-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 4.8.30 | January 15, 2024 | — | 32-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 4.8.28 | June 19, 2022 | — | 32-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 4.8.27 | March 6, 2022 | 3.3 MB | 32-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 4.8.27-226 | March 21, 2022 | 3.3 MB | 32-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 4.8.27-225 | March 12, 2022 | 3.3 MB | 32-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id GNU.MidnightCommander -emcwin32-build236-x64-setup.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /SP-Related guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- The Free Software Foundation, Inc.
- Category
- Terminals & CLI tools
- Licence
- GPL3
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/MidnightCommander/mc
- Written in
- C
- Interface languages
- English, Russian, Esperanto, and multiple languages
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit, 32-bit
- Installer
- EXE (Inno Setup)
- Other platforms
- GNU/Linux, BSD, macOS, Unix-like operating system, cross-platform
- Version
- 4.8.33.236
- Released
- August 8, 2025
- First release
- 1994
- Added to the catalogue
- January 7, 2022
- Versions listed
- 14
- Updates / year
- 2.7
- GitHub stars
- 1,026
- GitHub forks
- 121
- Website
- midnight-commander.org
- winget ID
- GNU.MidnightCommander
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to GNU Midnight Commander
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Frequently asked questions
Is GNU Midnight Commander free?
Yes. GNU Midnight Commander is open-source software under the GPL3 licence.
Is GNU Midnight Commander safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install GNU Midnight Commander with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can GNU Midnight Commander be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does GNU Midnight Commander run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit and 32-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of GNU Midnight Commander?
The versions page lists all 14 versions with links to their official installer files, back to May 21, 2020.
What are alternatives to GNU Midnight Commander?
PowerShell, Oh My Posh, QPDF, Alacritty and PuTTY. The alternatives page compares them.
