How to Install and Use Midnight Commander (MC) on Linux

Installing Midnight Commander

• 💻 To install Midnight Commander (MC) on Ubuntu/Debian, open the terminal and run the command sudo apt install mc.
• 🔑 You may need to enter your password and confirm the installation by typing 'Y' for yes.

Starting and Navigating MC

• 🚀 Once installed, start MC by typing mc in the terminal and pressing Enter.
• 🏠 MC defaults to the home directory, displaying files and folders.
• 🔍 By default, hidden files (those starting with a '.') are not shown. These include configuration files and directories like .cache or .config.
• ↔️ MC features two panels (left and right) for file management. Use the Tab key to switch focus between them.

Core Functionality and Keyboard Shortcuts

• ⬆️⬇️ Use the up and down arrow keys to navigate through files and directories within a panel.
• 📂 To enter a directory, select it and press Enter.
• ↩️ To go back to the parent directory, navigate to the .. entry and press Enter.
• 💡 F1 displays help, F2 is the user menu, F3 views a file, F4 edits a file, F5 copies, F6 moves/renames, F7 creates a directory, and F8 deletes files or directories.

File and Directory Management

• ➕ To create a new directory, press F7, enter the desired name (e.g., 'new folder'), and press Enter.
• 📝 To create or edit a file, press F4. The default editor is Nano. After making changes, save with Ctrl+O, name the file (e.g., test_file.txt), press Enter, and exit with Ctrl+X.
• 👀 Use F3 to view the content of a selected file.
• 🗑️ To delete a file or directory, select it and press F8. Confirm the deletion by pressing 'Y' for yes.

Advanced Features and Exiting

• 🖥️ Ctrl+O toggles between the MC interface and the underlying terminal, allowing you to run commands directly.
• 🔄 Ctrl+R refreshes the file view if changes made in the terminal are not immediately visible in MC.
• 🚪 To quit Midnight Commander, press F10. If F10 does not work, you can exit by switching to the terminal using Ctrl+O and typing exit.
• 🖱️ MC can also be launched via its icon if available in your desktop environment.