Prerequisites
Required Dependency
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
file | MIME type detection for all files. Yazi uses file to determine file types and select the appropriate previewer or opener. |
On most distributions file is pre-installed. If missing:
# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install file
# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install file
# macOS
brew install file
# Arch
sudo pacman -S file
Optional Dependencies
| Tool | Enables |
|---|---|
| Nerd Fonts | Icon display in file lists, tabs, and UI elements |
| ffmpeg | Video thumbnail generation (uses ffmpegthumbnailer) |
| 7-Zip | Archive preview and extraction (7z, 7zz) |
| jq | JSON file preview |
| poppler | PDF preview via pdftoppm |
| fd | File searching — press s to search by filename |
| ripgrep | File content searching — press S for full-text search |
| fzf | Quick file subtree navigation (version >= 0.53.0) |
| zoxide | History-based directory jumping — press z to fuzzy-navigate recent dirs |
| resvg | SVG file preview |
| ImageMagick | Font preview, HEIC, JPEG XL, and other exotic image formats |
| xclip / wl-clipboard | System clipboard integration (X11 / Wayland) |
Installation by Platform
Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S ffmpeg 7zip jq poppler fd ripgrep fzf zoxide resvg imagemagick
Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install ffmpeg 7zip jq poppler-utils fd-find ripgrep fzf zoxide
macOS (Homebrew)
brew install ffmpeg-full sevenzip jq poppler fd ripgrep fzf zoxide resvg imagemagick-full
info
Yazi works without any optional dependencies — it just shows plain text previews for unsupported file types. Add tools as you need them.