Dired

Dired is a directory editor: a buffer that lists a directory's contents and lets you act on files directly — visit, rename, copy, delete, make directories. It's built on list-directory, the special-buffer model, and call-process for the filesystem operations.

Opening Dired#

Key	Command
C-x d	dired

You're prompted for a directory; Dired opens a listing where directories keep a trailing /.

Keys#

Key	Command	Action
Enter	dired-visit	Open the file or enter the directory
^	dired-up	Go to the parent directory
g	dired-refresh	Re-read the directory
d	dired-mark	Mark the file (for deletion)
u	dired-unmark	Remove the mark
x	dired-do-delete	Delete the marked files
R	dired-rename	Rename the file at point
C	dired-copy	Copy the file at point
+	dired-mkdir	Create a directory
n / p		Move down / up
q	kill-buffer	Close

Customizing#

Dired is on C-x d by default. Rebind it, or any key inside the listing (the "dired-mode" map), from your init.scm:

;; Rebind the global entry point:
(define-key "fundamental" "ctrl-x d" 'dired)

;; Rebind keys inside the listing — e.g. lowercase `r` to rename:
(define-key "dired-mode" "r" 'dired-rename)

Dired vs. the sidebar#

Dired is a buffer per directory focused on operating on files (mark, delete, rename, copy). If you want a persistent, expandable tree sidebar for navigation, use the bundled Dired sidebar instead — they complement each other.