Dolphin File Manager: Install, Settings and Shortcuts for KDE Linux

Dolphin is the default file manager of the KDE Plasma desktop on Linux. It is free, open source software (GPL-2.0-or-later) that lets you browse local drives, USB sticks, network shares and cloud storage, with tabs, split view, three view modes, an embedded terminal panel, batch renaming and plugins such as Git integration. Most KDE distributions ship it preinstalled; everywhere else it is one package or Flatpak away.

This guide explains what Dolphin does, how to install it on any Linux distribution, which settings are worth changing first, and the keyboard shortcuts that make it fast.

What is the Dolphin file manager?

Dolphin is KDE's file manager, developed as part of KDE Gear and released on the same schedule as the other KDE applications. It replaced Konqueror as the KDE file manager with KDE 4, and it is now the file browser you get on KDE Plasma editions of distributions such as Kubuntu, Fedora KDE, openSUSE and KDE neon.

According to the official Dolphin page, its core features are:

• Multiple tabs and a split view for working in two folders at once, with drag and drop between them.
• Three view modes: Icons, Compact and Details (with expandable folders for a tree view).
• Access to remote machines and online cloud services alongside local drives.
• An embedded terminal panel that follows the folder you are in.
• Right-click quick actions to compress, share and duplicate files, plus custom service menus.
• Plugins, including Git integration and Nextcloud sync status.

Dolphin runs best on KDE Plasma, but it also works on GNOME, Xfce and other desktops, where it pulls in the KDE Frameworks libraries it depends on.

How to install Dolphin on Linux

Dolphin installs from your distribution's package manager or from Flathub. On a KDE Plasma desktop it is normally already installed; you can also use the "Install on Linux" button on the KDE app page, which opens Discover or another AppStream store.

The distribution package integrates best: the terminal panel, service menus and thumbnail plugins work out of the box. The Flathub build runs in a sandbox and can trail the current KDE Gear release, so check its version and permissions before you rely on it. KDE also offers nightly Windows builds for testing, but Linux is the supported platform.

Settings to change first

Dolphin keeps most of its options in Settings > Configure Dolphin. The menubar is hidden by default: open the menu button in the toolbar to reach the same commands, or press Ctrl+M to toggle the classic menubar. These changes give you a cleaner, more predictable setup:

1. Same view for every folder: in Configure Dolphin > General > Behavior, under View, choose whether all folders share one display style or remember their own. A shared style means previews, sorting and view mode never change unexpectedly between folders.
2. Folder sizes in Details view: in Configure Dolphin > View Modes > Details, set Folder size to show the number of items or the size of the contents.
3. Startup behavior: on the Startup page, pick the folder Dolphin opens with or restore folders, tabs and window state from last time. You can also start in split view, make the location bar editable and show the full path in the title bar.
4. Context menu cleanup: on the Context Menu (Services) page, hide entries you never use, such as Copy To, Move To or Duplicate Here, and add service menus with Download New Services.
5. Trash limits: on the Trash page, delete files older than a set number of days automatically and cap the trash at a percentage of the disk.

Panels, previews and extra file details

Dolphin's panels add context next to the file view, and you toggle each one from View > Show Panels or with a function key. The Places panel (F9) lists bookmarks, devices and saved searches; the Information panel (F11) shows a preview and metadata for the selected file; the Folders panel (F7) adds a classic directory tree; and the Terminal panel (F4) opens a shell in the current folder that follows you as you navigate.

Previews turn icons into thumbnails of the actual content, which is useful for photo and video folders; switch them on with the Preview button or View > Show Previews. For more detail under or beside each name, use View > Show Additional Information and add Size, Date, Type, Rating, Tags or Comment. The Other submenu adds Path, Link Destination, Permissions, Owner and User Group, which helps when you work with Linux file permissions. Details mode also lets you drag column headers into a new order and sort by type-specific attributes such as image size or audio duration.

Dolphin keyboard shortcuts

Dolphin is fully keyboard-driven, and a handful of shortcuts cover most daily work. These come from the Dolphin handbook command reference:

Hidden files start with a dot and include most application settings in your home folder; our guide to viewing hidden files on Linux explains what they are.

Split view with a different view mode in each pane

Split view (F3) becomes more useful when each pane uses its own view mode. Click into one pane and press Ctrl+1 for Icons, then click into the other and press Ctrl+3 for Details: a photo folder on the left can show thumbnails while the target folder on the right shows sizes and dates. This works because Dolphin remembers view settings for each folder separately by default (you can change that under General). For finer control, View > Adjust View Display Style opens a dialog with the sorting, grouping, hidden-file and additional-information options for the current view.

Power features most users miss

Dolphin includes several productivity tools that are easy to overlook because they sit behind a shortcut or a context menu:

• Batch rename: select several files, press F2 and type a name containing #. Dolphin replaces # with consecutive numbers (Image1.jpg, Image2.jpg). If the files all have different extensions, you can leave out # and the extensions are kept.
• Filter bar versus search: Ctrl+I filters the open folder by name as you type (for example .mp3), while Ctrl+F searches the folder and its subfolders. When the Baloo file indexer is running, search can cover all indexed folders and narrow by file type, date, rating or tag, and you can save a search to the Places panel.
• Quick bookmarks: right-click empty space in a folder and choose Add to Places to pin it in the sidebar.
• Compare files: select two files or two folders and use Tools > Compare Files. This requires Kompare to be installed; Meld is an alternative if you prefer a standalone diff tool.
• One-click mounting: click a USB drive or partition in the Places panel to mount and open it.

For more ideas, Jack Wallen's older Dolphin tips and tricks article covers additional customizations.

FAQ

Related: file compression on Linux, removing files on Linux