# Switching from Total Commander to cwdio
> For Total Commander users: which keys carry over unchanged (F5–F8, Alt+F1/F2, Ctrl+U, Ctrl+B, numpad selection), what cwdio does differently, and what it lacks.
- Canonical: https://cwdio.com/docs/switching-from-total-commander/
- Updated: 2026-08-15
- Product: Cwdio File Manager (cwdio) — https://cwdio.com
If you know Total Commander, you already know most of cwdio's keys: the F-key row, the drive lists, the
selection keys and the command line are the same. What is new is the terminal that follows the panel, a
transfer queue that verifies and resumes, undo, git in the file list, and a modern dockable interface —
free during the beta, with no telemetry.
## What carries over unchanged
| Habit | Total Commander | cwdio |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Copy / move to the other panel | F5 / F6 | F5 / F6 — through the queue: verified, resumable, undoable |
| New folder | F7 | F7 |
| Delete | F8 / Delete | F8 / Delete — to the Recycle Bin; Shift+Delete permanent |
| Rename / view / edit | F2 / F3 / F4 | Same. F4 opens the built-in editor or your external one |
| Drive lists | Alt+F1 / Alt+F2 | Same |
| Swap panels | Ctrl+U | Same |
| Branch view (everything under the folder, flat) | Ctrl+B | Same |
| Parent folder | Ctrl+PageUp / Backspace | Same, plus Alt+Up |
| Select / unselect / invert by pattern | numpad + / − / * | Same |
| Calculate folder sizes | Alt+Shift+Enter | Same |
| Put the cursor file's name / path on the command line | Ctrl+Enter / Ctrl+Shift+Enter | Same |
| Two panels, Tab between them | Yes | Yes — and the cursor never parks on `..`, so there is always a current item |
The full default keymap is on the [shortcuts page](/docs/keyboard-shortcuts/); every chord can be rebound
from Help ▸ Keyboard shortcuts.
## What is different
- **The terminal follows the panel, and the panel follows the terminal.** Press Ctrl+` and a real
shell opens in the current folder; navigate and its prompt moves; type `cd` and the panel moves. That is
the reason cwdio exists, and there is no equivalent in the orthodox tradition.
[Terminal sync.](/features/terminal-sync/)
- **Transfers go through a queue** that verifies copies, resumes after a dropped drive or connection, and
survives closing the app. Ctrl+L shows it. [Transfers and the queue.](/features/transfers-and-queue/)
- **Undo.** Ctrl+Z reverses a whole batch — a copy, a move, a rename of hundreds of files, an
overwrite (the replaced file was stashed). [Undo and the safety net.](/features/undo-and-safety-net/)
- **Tabs are per panel** (Ctrl+T), and the whole window is a dockable workspace: terminals,
the folder tree, the git views and the AI panel are panels you can drag beside or below the file lists,
and Ctrl+Alt+0 snaps everything back to the two-panel default.
- **The command palette** — Ctrl+Shift+P or F1 — lists every command with its
shortcut and fuzzy-matches as you type. It replaces menu-hunting for anything you have not memorised.
- **Developer chords sit beside the orthodox ones:** Ctrl+P go to file, Ctrl+Shift+F
search (by name or content, honouring `.gitignore`), Ctrl+J jump to a recent folder,
Ctrl+Shift+G git changes.
- **Git status in the file list**, with changes, branches and history views. [Git integration.](/features/git-integration/)
- **The Windows clipboard is the file clipboard.** Ctrl+C here pastes in Explorer, and
Explorer's copy or cut pastes here as a copy or a move.
- **Modern UI, dark and light, with accent presets** — and an interface in English or Ukrainian.
## What cwdio does not have
- **Total Commander's plugin ecosystem.** Thirty years of packer, file-system and lister plugins do not
transfer. cwdio has a plugin platform of its own but no marketplace yet. Most of what people install
plugins for is built in — archives as folders, SFTP/FTP as folders, previews, checksums, sync — but if you
depend on a specific plugin, check first.
- **32-bit and older Windows.** cwdio is 64-bit Windows 10/11 only.
- **Some orthodox depth.** Total Commander's configurability runs deep; cwdio has fewer knobs by design and
will not have every one of them.
## First-week tips
1. Open the terminal once (Ctrl+`) and just watch it follow you around. That is the habit to build.
2. Try Ctrl+Shift+P before hunting a menu.
3. Trust Ctrl+Z. A copy or move you regret is one keystroke away from undone.
4. Right-click a folder in Explorer ▸ *Open in Cwdio File Manager* to arrive where you already were.
5. The size map (Ctrl+Shift+T), duplicate finder and rename studio (Shift+F2) replace
three separate utilities.
## Related
- [cwdio vs Total Commander](/compare/total-commander/) — the fair, side-by-side comparison.
- [Keyboard shortcuts](/docs/keyboard-shortcuts/)
- [Getting started](/docs/getting-started/)
## Frequently asked questions
**Do the Total Commander function keys work in cwdio?** Yes: F5 copy to the other panel, F6 move, F7 new folder, F8 and Delete delete (to the Recycle Bin), F2 rename, F3 view, F4 edit, Alt+F1 and Alt+F2 for the drive lists, Ctrl+U to swap panels, Ctrl+B for the flat branch view, Ctrl+PageUp for the parent folder, and the numpad +, − and * selection keys.
**Is there a command line under the panels?** Yes — always visible, in the Midnight Commander model. Type a command and it runs in the active terminal session in the current folder. Ctrl+Enter inserts the cursor file's name and Ctrl+Shift+Enter its full path, exactly as in Total Commander.
**Can I install Total Commander plugins?** No. cwdio has its own plugin platform but not Total Commander's plugin formats and no marketplace yet. What most plugins were for is built in: ZIP/7z/RAR/tar as folders, SFTP and FTP as folders, previews for images, video, audio, PDF, CSV tables, Markdown and code, checksums, bulk rename, folder sync.
**Does cwdio run on 32-bit or older Windows?** No. cwdio needs 64-bit Windows 10 or 11. Total Commander's support for older and 32-bit Windows is one of the real reasons to stay with it on such a machine.