Copy and move

Press F5 to copy or F6 to move the selected entries, or the focused one when there is no selection. The other pane is the destination, so the two panes work as a visible source-and-destination pair; to use a different directory, navigate the other pane there first. For a single source, the dialog also lets you change the destination name.

Transfers work across filesystem types, for example local to S3, SFTP to local, or a remote-session filesystem to the client. Move uses a native rename where possible and otherwise copies, then removes the source.

Conflicts

Existing files decides what happens when a file already exists: ask, skip, overwrite, or overwrite only when the source is newer, its size differs, or its size or date differs. The conditional choices compare metadata, not contents; timestamps are compared exactly, so copies to filesystems with coarse timestamps may count as changed. The same answers are offered in the conflict prompt and can be applied to later conflicts.

Existing folders, under More copy options, decides what happens when a folder lands on an existing folder:

• Merge (default) copies into it and keeps what only the destination has.
• Replace puts the source in its place. The old folder is removed only after the new copy is complete, so a failed or cancelled copy leaves the destination as it was, but the destination needs room for both.
• Ask offers Merge, Replace, or Skip for each folder.

On macOS, an app or other package at the destination counts as a file, so copying a newer Foo.app onto an older one replaces it under the Existing files choice instead of merging the old version’s files.

Links

Symbolic links are copied as links by default; a copy can instead follow their targets, skipping and reporting cycles. A move always moves the link itself. For a single file or folder, Create symbolic link makes a link at the destination pointing to the source’s absolute path instead of copying; if the name is already taken, the operation fails.

Preserving attributes

Copies preserve permissions by default where the destination supports them. The dialog can also preserve timestamps and, under More copy options or More move options, owner and group (by numeric ID or by account name), extended attributes, ACLs, alternate data streams or resource forks, hard links, sparse files, and S3 object attributes. Choices you change from their default are remembered for the next copy or move.

Defaults differ by platform:

• macOS: extended attributes and resource forks are kept, as Finder and cp do. Without them a copy loses Finder tags, quarantine flags, script signatures, and custom icons.
• Windows: alternate data streams, which hold the Mark of the Web, are kept, as Explorer does.
• Linux: both are off, because extended attributes there are mostly security labels.

If Newt cannot read or apply a requested attribute, it offers Retry or Skip. ACLs can only be applied between the same operating-system family.

Files Newt brings onto this computer from S3, SFTP, a remote session, an archive, or a disc image get no macOS quarantine flag or Windows Mark of the Web, as with cp, scp, or tar, so Gatekeeper and SmartScreen do not treat them as downloads.

Other options and limits

• Stay on one filesystem copies a filesystem mounted below the selection as an empty directory. It is off by default.
• FIFOs, sockets, and devices are skipped and reported rather than copied.
• Newt refuses to copy a file onto itself, including through a different spelling on a case-insensitive filesystem, so the source cannot be truncated.
• On local Windows filesystems, Newt can create and handle names that Explorer cannot open or delete, such as notes. or con.txt. Names containing : are refused.

Clipboard and drag and drop

Files can be copied and moved through the system clipboard, within Newt and to and from other applications such as Finder, Explorer, Linux file managers, and mail or chat applications.

• Mod + C copies the selected entries, or the focused one, and Mod + X cuts them. Cut entries are shown faded until pasted.
• Mod + V pastes into the pane’s current directory, not the folder under the cursor. It copies, or moves after a cut, and starts at once without the Copy dialog; existing files prompt as in any copy.
• On macOS, Option + Command + V (Move Here from Clipboard) moves whatever was copied, as in Finder. It has no default shortcut on Linux and Windows.
• Copy Path (Option + Command + C on macOS, Ctrl + Shift + C on Linux and Windows) puts only the paths on the clipboard, so a chat or mail application pastes the path instead of attaching the file.
• On Linux and Windows, Ctrl + Insert also copies and Shift + Insert also pastes.

Copied files also go on the clipboard as path text, so a text editor or terminal receives the paths. Files that are not on this computer, such as those on S3 or SFTP, in an archive, or on a remote session’s host, paste normally within their Newt window but reach other applications only as paths. Between Newt windows, local files paste as they would from Finder; in a remote session this needs access to this host. When the clipboard holds a path rather than files, Paste goes to that path.

The macOS clipboard has no cut: Finder or another Newt window pastes a cut as a copy, unless you paste with Option + Command + V.

To drag files to the other pane, drag them by the Name column. Drop on a folder to copy into it, on .. to copy to its parent, or on the pane background to copy to the pane’s directory. Hold Shift while dropping to move instead. A drop starts at once, without the Copy or Move dialog.

Paste and drops use the platform’s default copy options, not the choices the Copy dialog remembers.

Operation progress

Every operation, including renames, permission changes, and user commands, is tracked in the operations panel, with progress, throughput, and estimated time remaining where available. In the progress dialog, Escape cancels the operation and clicking outside it moves it to the background so you can keep navigating. Press F10 to cycle the foreground operation when several are active.

A background operation that stops on a question shows its answer buttons in its own row, so you can answer without bringing it forward.

When an operation stops on a question, expand Details for the paths involved or the option that would have avoided the issue. Retry retries only the current item, even with Apply to all selected.

Completed and cancelled operations leave the panel by themselves; failed ones stay until dismissed. Turn on Keep Finished Operations in Settings to keep every finished operation.

When an operation needs input while its window is not focused, Newt shows a system notification and asks for attention (Dock bounce, taskbar flash, or urgent window). Click the notification to go to the prompt. Turn off Notify When an Operation Needs Input in Settings to disable this. On Windows, notifications need the installed application.