Caja

What is Caja?

Caja originated as the successor to the Nautilus file manager when MATE forked from GNOME 3. It has been maintained since 2010 and is now the default file manager for the MATE desktop environment. The interface is similar to older versions of Windows Explorer, with a sidebar, toolbar, and context menu.

It is aimed at users who prefer a simple, stable file manager that works well on older hardware or low‑resource systems. The design is intentionally conservative, avoiding the heavy animations of modern GNOME or KDE file managers.

Compared to Wise Disk Cleaner, Caja does not clean or optimize disks; it simply manages files. If you’re used to Windows Explorer, Caja feels familiar, but it lacks many of the advanced features found in modern Windows tools.

Best for: Users who need a stable, lightweight file manager on older hardware or who prefer a classic interface.

Key features of Caja

• Sidebar with bookmarks and device shortcuts
• Context‑menu actions for copy, move, and rename
• File preview pane for images, PDFs, and text
• Search bar with instant filtering
• Support for ZIP, TAR, and other archives
• Drag‑and‑drop and keyboard shortcuts
• Customizable toolbar and view options
• Built‑in terminal integration (optional)

Tips for Windows users

If you come from Wise Disk Cleaner, you’ll notice Caja focuses on file navigation, not disk cleanup. File formats are the same as on Windows (e.g., .docx, .xlsx, .jpg). Use the sidebar to access drives, and the search bar to locate files quickly. Keyboard shortcuts mirror Windows Explorer: Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+X, and Shift+Delete for permanent removal. For batch operations, right‑click and choose ‘Batch Rename’ if you have the plugin installed.