How to install Dolphin File Manager on Ubuntu 20.04

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Dolphin is a free, open-source, lightweight file manager File Manager and the KDE counterpart of Nautilus. Actually similarly to Nautilus. It contains plenty of productivity features that will improve your workflow and save time.

It is intended to be simple and flexible to use while also leaving room for customization. multitabs, tree view and Split view, as well as dockable panels, are among its core features. You can use Dolphin to browse both local and remote files/directories across the network.

For some operations Dolphin offers undo/redo functionality, which is pretty handy for those of us who have (too) quick fingers. If the default functionality of Dolphin is not enough, plugins come to the rescue. Dolphin allows users to browse, locate, open, copy, and move files around a Linux system with a lot of ease.

Dolphin can display files and folders from many Internet cloud services and other remote machines as if they were right there on your desktop. It also comes with an integrated terminal that allows you to run commands on the current folder.

You can extend the capabilities of Dolphin even further with powerful plugins to adapt it to your workflow. You can also configure most of Dolphin’s behavior. You can use the git integration plugin to interact with git repositories, or the Nextcloud plugin to synchronize your files online, and so on.

Table of Contents

Key Features of Dolphin File Manager

Free and Open-Source
File previews
Split views for easily moving files
Breadcrumb navigation bar
Tabbed navigation
Built-in terminal emulator: The terminal emulator Konsole can be displayed in Dolphin allowing you to run commands in the current folder.
Support for shortcuts
Transparent network access through the KIO system.
File sorting and grouping by name, size, types, and many other attributes
Three view modes(icons, compact, and details)
Undo/redo functionalities

This article explains two methods of installing Dolphin File Manager on Ubuntu 20.04.

Choose the installation method that is most appropriate for your environment.

Method 1: Installing Dolphin from Ubuntu apt repository

The Dolphin File Manager is included in Ubuntu 20.04. Follow the step by step guide to install the application.

Step #1

Type the following command to update the apt sources.

$ sudo apt update

Step #2

Now execute this command to install the Dolphin package.

$ sudo apt install dolphin

With the help of && you can write both the commands in a single line. Something like this:

$ sudo apt update && sudo apt install dolphin

At this step, you have successfully installed Dolphin File Manager on Ubuntu 20.04 system.

Method 2: Installing Dolphin via Flatpak

Before installation let’s understand what is Flatpak.

What is Flatpak?

Flatpak is basically a framework for the applications on Linux. With the different distributions preferring their own package management, Flatpak aims at providing a cross-platform solution with other benefits.

It makes the work for developers even easier. A single application build can be used in almost all the Linux distribution (that support Flatpak) without any modification to the bundle.

Ubuntu has Flatpak supported by default. However, you can verify it by trying to install Flatpak again.

$ sudo apt install flatpak

You can also use the official PPA to install Flatpak. Open a terminal and use the commands below.

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alexlarsson/flatpak
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install flatpak

Once Flatpak is installed type the following command to install Dolphin File Manager.

$ flatpak install flathub org.kde.dolphin

Then execute the below command to run the Dolphin application.

$ flatpak run org.kde.dolphin

Starting Dolphin File Manager

In the Activities search bar type “Dolphin” and click on the icon to launch the application.

How to Uninstall Dolphin File Manager from Ubuntu 20.04

For some reason, If you want to uninstall Dolphin, refer following methods.

Method #1

If you have installed Dolphin from default ubuntu apt respository then uninstall by running the below command:

$ sudo apt remove dolphin

Method #2

If you have installed the application via Flatpak run the below command:

$ flatpak uninstall org.kde.dolphin

Visit home page for more detaild information.

Conclusion

I hope that now you have a good understanding of How to install Dolphin File Manager on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa.

If anyone does have any questions about what we covered in this guide then feel free to ask in the comment section below and I will do my best to answer those.