# Nemo

Related articles

- Cinnamon
- File manager functionality
- GNOME Files
- Thunar
- PCManFM

Nemo is a fork of GNOME Files. It is also the default file manager of the Cinnamon desktop. Nemo is based on the Files 3.4 code. It was created as a response to the changes in Files 3.6 which saw features such as type ahead find and split pane view removed.

## Installation

Install nemo from the official repositories.

### Extensions

Some programs can add extra functionality to Nemo. Here are a few packages that do just that:

- Nemo File Roller — File archiver extension for Nemo.

  https://github.com/linuxmint/nemo-extensions/tree/master/nemo-fileroller || nemo-fileroller

- Nemo Compare — An utility which compares two files using meld.

  https://github.com/linuxmint/nemo-extensions/tree/master/nemo-compare || nemo-compareAUR

- Nemo Preview — GtkClutter and Javascript-based quick previewer for Nemo.

  https://github.com/linuxmint/nemo-extensions/tree/master/nemo-preview || nemo-preview

- Nemo Seahorse — PGP encryption and signing extension for Nemo.

  https://github.com/linuxmint/nemo-extensions/tree/master/nemo-seahorse || nemo-seahorse

- Nemo Share — Samba extension for Nemo.

  https://github.com/linuxmint/nemo-extensions/tree/master/nemo-share || nemo-share

- RabbitVCS Nemo — Integrate RabbitVCS into Nemo.

  http://www.rabbitvcs.org/ || rabbitvcs-nemoAUR

See AUR and nemo-extensions github repo for all extensions.

## Configuration

Nemo is simple to configure graphically but not all options are in the preferences screen in Nemo. More options are available in the dconf-editor under `org.nemo`. To set Nemo as the default file browser, see Xdg-open#Set the default file-browser.

### Show / hide desktop icons

To enable/disable desktop icons rendering feature in nemo, change the following setting true or false (false to hide, true to show):

    $ gsettings set org.nemo.desktop show-desktop-icons false

This fixes the console warning `WARNING **: Can not determine workarea, guessing at layout` for tiling window managers (such as i3).

### Change application for "Open in terminal" context menu entry

gnome-terminal is set as the default, if it is not installed this feature will not work.

Alternatively, change the default setting with gsettings to the preferred terminal application.

    $ gsettings set org.cinnamon.desktop.default-applications.terminal exec <terminal-name>

## Tips and tricks

### Nemo Actions

Nemo allows the user to add new entries to the context menu. The file `/usr/share/nemo/actions/sample.nemo_action` contains an example of a Nemo action. Directories to place custom action files:

- `/usr/share/nemo/actions/` for system-wide actions
- `$HOME/.local/share/nemo/actions/` for user actions

Pay attention to the name convention. Your file has to preserve the file ending `.nemo_action`.

#### Clam Scan

    $HOME/.local/share/nemo/actions/clamscan.nemo_action

    [Nemo Action]
    Name=Clam Scan
    Comment=Clam Scan

    Exec=gnome-terminal -x sh -c "clamscan -r %F | less"

    Icon-Name=bug-buddy

    Selection=Any

    Extensions=dir;exe;dll;zip;gz;7z;rar;

#### Moving files

    $HOME/.local/share/nemo/actions/archive.nemo_action

    [Nemo Action]
    Active=true
    Name=Archive %N
    Comment=Archiving %N will add .archive to the object.
    Exec=<archive.py %F>
    Selection=S
    Extensions=any;

    $HOME/.local/share/nemo/actions/archive.py

    #! /usr/bin/python2 -OOt
    import sys
    import os
    import shutil

    filename = sys.argv[0]
    print "Running " + filename
    print "With the following arguments:"
    for arg in sys.argv:
        if filename == arg:
            continue
        else:
            print arg
            #os.rename('%s','%s.archive') % (arg,arg)
            shutil.move(arg, arg+".archive")

#### Meld compare

    $HOME/.local/share/nemo/actions/compare-save-for-later.nemo_action

    [Nemo Action]
    Active=true
    Name=Compare later
    Comment=Save file for comparison later.
    Exec=<compare.sh save %F>
    Icon-Name=meld
    Selection=S
    Extensions=any

    $HOME/.local/share/nemo/actions/compare-with-saved.nemo_action

    [Nemo Action]
    Active=true
    Name=Compare with saved element
    Comment=Compare %F saved file or directory.
    Exec=<compare.sh compare %F>
    Icon-Name=meld
    Selection=S
    Extensions=any

    $HOME/.local/share/nemo/actions/compare.sh

    #!/bin/bash
    savedfile=/var/tmp/compare-save-for-later.$USER
    comparator=meld
    if [ "$1" == "save" ]; then
    	echo "$2" > "$savedfile"
    else
    	"$comparator" $(cat "$savedfile") "$2"
    fi

#### Filenames containing spaces

By default, Nemo does not escape filenames. This means that actions for multiple files with some names containing spaces are broken. To fix this, use `Quote=double`.

Category:

- File managers