SextantLocal file inspectionmacOS 15+

A navigation instrument for the terminal

Find your bearing.
Inspect the file.

Sextant keeps directories, the current selection, and a useful preview in one keyboard-driven view. It reads; it never rearranges your filesystem.

  1. 000°LocateMove through responsive directory columns.
  2. 090°InspectPreview text, binary data, metadata, and directories.
  3. 180°Hand offOpen, edit, reveal, or copy when you have the right file.
Recorded terminal journeyreal input · async render
Sextant navigating a directory, focusing a preview, opening help, and using its command palette
The checked-in journey runs the production asynchronous renderer inside a real pseudo-terminal. Reduced-motion settings show the accepted still frame instead.

Useful before configuration

A complete built-in working set.

TXT

Text, bounded

Strict UTF-8 plus BOM-aware UTF-8 and UTF-16 previews, with explicit truncation instead of an unbounded read.

HEX

Binary, legible

A compact hexadecimal fallback keeps unknown files inspectable without trusting a device or special file.

DIR

Context, retained

Metadata and directory summaries stay beside the browser trail, so a preview never costs your place.

Read-only by design

Inspect here. Work elsewhere.

Sextant does not create, rename, move, or delete files. Optional tools such as glow,jq, andchafa can enrich a preview; failures fall back to the built-in view.

When inspection becomes action, open the file, send it to your editor, reveal it in Finder, or copy its path. Arguments remain arguments—Sextant does not interpolate paths into shell source.

Build from sourceSwift 6.3
git clone https://github.com/SwiftTUI/sextant.git
cd sextant
swiftly run swift run sextant .
Read install, controls, and configuration