Instead of repeatedly running cd, cd .., and ls to move around, catnav shows directories in side-by-side columns so you can see the current directory, its children, and the path you came from at the same time. This makes it easier to explore unfamiliar repos and quickly jump between sibling directories.
Navigation is simple: - Use arrow keys to move between directories - Press Enter to select a directory - / filters items in the current column (search) - . toggles hidden files
catnav runs inline in the terminal rather than taking over the full screen, so it fits naturally into normal shell workflows.
Selecting a directory will immediately cd your shell to that directory.
andyjtyler•2h ago
I’m fairly visual and like seeing the parent directory and sibling options while navigating. It makes it much easier to hop around when you’re not sure exactly where something lives.
I tried tools like ranger and nnn, but they take over the whole terminal screen and it broke my flow. I wanted something much simpler that stayed inline and focused purely on navigation.
I’ve always found the macOS Finder column view extremely easy to move through, so I built catnav to bring that Miller-column style navigation to the terminal.
The idea is simple: keep parent/child context visible while you move so you can explore a tree without memorizing paths.
Curious what people think, especially if you have feedback or improvement suggestions.