How to set Thunar as a default file manager?

Question

Is it possible to make Thunar my default file manager in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS?

I've installed Thunar and I must say there's really visible performance difference compared to gnome-shell default manager.

How can I make this my preferred file manager?

Similar question, but focused on changing from Thunar back to Nautilus: http://askubuntu.com/questions/47208/how-to-stop-thunar-being-default-file-browser?rq=1 — Kevin Bowen, Feb 22 '13 at 03:00
Have a look at: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DefaultFileManager — green, Apr 15 '13 at 14:02
in order to run "exo-preferred-applications" you must have installed "exo-utils" package (which is not by default in Saucy) — user223755, Dec 09 '13 at 15:45
In my system Thunar appears as the default, but nautilus opens in some occasions. Nautilus sucks, I had to removed it! — Sergio Abreu, Aug 22 '23 at 22:32

Kevin Bowen · Answer 1 · 2016-10-28T05:52:07.627

24

Open a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+t).
Run the following command:
```
exo-preferred-applications
```
Next, go to Utilities > Default File Manager, and choose the file manager that you want to use as your default.

edited Oct 28 '16 at 05:52

answered Feb 22 '13 at 02:47

Kevin Bowen

Worked like a charm in 12.04. Thanks – Yousuf Memon Jan 31 '14 at 13:31
2

Doesn't work in 15.04. I have both Thunar and Nautilus installed. – mxdsp Oct 11 '15 at 15:58
This works in Ubuntu Gnome 16.04 as well. – Chris Oct 31 '16 at 19:00
3

This is not working in my 16.04. Nautilus gets invoked. – H2ONaCl Feb 22 '18 at 00:24

Raphael · Answer 2 · 2020-08-03T05:15:11.313

12

The setting from Kevin Bowen's answer is not enough for all scenarios:

~$ xdg-mime query default inode/directory
nautilus-folder-handler.desktop

So applications using xdg (or another interface to .desktop files) to open directories will still use Nautilus. Run this¹ to change to Thunar:

xdg-mime default Thunar.desktop inode/directory

Note bene: using gio mime seems to be equivalent.

edited Aug 03 '20 at 05:15

answered May 01 '18 at 17:52

Raphael

@Flimm I'm reverting your edit since I can't confirm thunar.desktop exists; it's definitely called Thunar.desktop on my 18.04 machine. I'll include a note to try the other spelling, though, and revisit for 20.04. – Raphael Aug 03 '20 at 05:14
@Flimm On 20.04, both exists. Huh. – Raphael Aug 03 '20 at 17:15
Yep, it's thunar.desktop on my Ubuntu 20.04.3 – reggie Oct 15 '21 at 10:00

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 27 '14 at 10:17

0

By the way you need to open it just one time, after that it would be Default File Manager for you.

However, you can change the default file manager and also restore to previous one, check the link: Default File Manager Official Documentation

answered Feb 27 '14 at 10:17

Sohail xIN3N

3 Answers3