CHADTree is a file manager plugin for Neovim, written in Python, aimed at developers who want a fast, feature-rich tree explorer as an alternative to NERDTree.

What it is

CHADTree is a file explorer that runs inside Neovim, written in Python and installed as a Neovim plugin on the chad branch. It replaces NERDTree as the sidebar tree you toggle with :CHADopen, and it lives in the Neovim plugin ecosystem, using a local Python runtime installed under chadtree/.vars/runtime for its dependencies.

The concrete problem it addresses is sluggish, blocking file trees: CHADTree performs a parallel filesystem scan and uses a React-like reconciling renderer that minimises the differences it redraws, so it never blocks the editor. Beyond navigation, it bundles the file operations people otherwise leave the tree for — create, copy, paste, delete and rename, along with visual mode selections and quickfix integration.

Key capabilities

• Parallel filesystem scan with a reconciling render engine that minimises redraw work and never blocks.
• Asynchronous git status parsing showing untracked, modified and staged files, with full support for git submodules.
• Filtering by glob, follow mode, bookmarks, and session support that saves open folders to disk so you resume where you stopped.
• Full $LS_COLOR support, GitHub-linguist-derived coloured icons covering over 600 colours, three built-in icon sets, and four built-in themes (nord, solarized, trapdoor, vim-syntax).
• Trash support via the trash or trash-cli utilities, ls -l statistics, and correct handling of symlinks.
• Mimetype warnings to stop you opening an image by accident, plus a validating config parser that reports schema errors.
• Built-in documentation through :CHADhelp in a floating window, :CHADhelp keybind for hotkeys, and :CHADhelp --web to open the docs in a browser.

Who uses it and how

• Developers running Neovim 0.4.3 or newer on Python 3.8.2 or newer who want a permanent file tree bound to a hotkey such as nnoremap v :CHADopen.
• Users who keep large working trees and rely on glob filtering and follow mode to keep the pane relevant while navigating.
• People working in git repositories who read status decorations directly in the tree, including repositories with submodules.
• Users who move files frequently and want selections preserved across copy and move operations, with quickfix integration for bulk edits.
• Anyone wanting an off-board escape hatch: :CHADrestore clears stuck decorations, and removing chadtree/ cleanly deletes everything the plugin put on disk.

Getting started

Install it with your plugin manager — for example Plug 'ms-jpq/chadtree', {'branch': 'chad', 'do': 'python3 -m chadtree deps'} — then run :CHADdeps when installing or updating to install dependencies inside chadtree/.vars/runtime, and open the tree with :CHADopen.

How it compares

CHADTree explicitly positions itself against NERDTree, the file explorer named throughout its own description, and its stated differentiators are speed — parallel scanning, a difference-minimising renderer, and no editor blocking — and breadth of built-in features such as git status, sessions and colour support. Among the tools named in its own material it stands as the faster, more fully featured tree, though the README names no other Neovim file managers to compare against directly.

When to use it — and when not

You are taking on a Python runtime inside Neovim: it needs virtualenv, Python 3.8.2 and Neovim 0.4.3 at minimum, and you must run :CHADdeps on every install or update; trash support additionally requires the external trash or trash-cli command. It is not a fit for users who want a dependency-free pure-Lua plugin, and the project carries 93 open issues alongside a documented Windows quirk where decorations stick until :CHADrestore is run.

Plug 'ms-jpq/chadtree', {'branch': 'chad', 'do': 'python3 -m chadtree deps'}

nnoremap <leader>v <cmd>CHADopen<cr>

nnoremap <leader>l <cmd>call setqflist([])<cr>