S8n System Manager

S8n is a fast, visually stunning System Manager, Unified Package Manager, and File Manager built in Rust. It provides native terminal gradients, Miller-column file browsing, and cross-package-manager fuzzy search — all from a single, beautiful terminal interface. It is designed specifically for Lilith Linux and Katie.

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Table of Contents

• Features
• Quick Start
• Installation
• Usage Guide
  • Main Menu
  • Package Manager
  • Installed Packages
  • File Manager
  • Theme Picker
• Keyboard Reference
• Supported Package Managers
• Configuration
• Building from Source
• Contributing
• Inspirations & Credits
• License

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Features

• Unified Package Manager — Search, install, and remove packages across 10+ package managers from a single interface (apt, flatpak, snap, brew, npm, pip, and more)
• Installed Packages View — See all system-wide installed packages at a glance, sorted alphabetically, with filtering and fuzzy search
• Animated Progress Displays — Theme-aware gradient progress bars and braille spinners during install/remove operations
• Miller-Column File Manager — Safe directory traversal with drill-down exploration, file editing ($EDITOR), moves, renames, and deletions
• Dynamic Theming Engine — Switch the aesthetic of the entire application live with 5 built-in themes: Fire, Ocean, Sunset, Forest, and Purple Dream
• Fuzzy Search — Integration with skim (sk) for fast fuzzy filtering of packages
• Keyboard-Native — Vim-style navigation (j/k/h/l) alongside arrow keys, designed for efficiency

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Quick Start

# Install (if binary is available)
s8n

# Or run directly
~/.local/bin/s8n

Navigate the main menu with arrow keys or j/k. Press Enter to select a mode. Press q or Esc to go back or quit.

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Installation

Binary Release (Recommended)

Download the pre-built binary from GitHub Releases:

# Download the latest release
curl -L -o s8n https://github.com/BlancoBAM/S8n-System/releases/latest/download/s8n-linux-amd64
chmod +x s8n
sudo mv s8n /usr/local/bin/

Or install via .deb package (available on the releases page):

sudo dpkg -i s8n_*.deb

From crates.io

cargo install s8n

Note: cargo install places the binary in ~/.cargo/bin/s8n — not in your current directory. Ensure ~/.cargo/bin is in your PATH:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc && source ~/.bashrc

Then run s8n directly.

From Source

git clone https://github.com/BlancoBAM/S8n-System.git
cd S8n-System
cargo build --release
cp target/release/s8n ~/.local/bin/s8n

Prerequisites

• Rust toolchain (for building from source): rustc and cargo
• skim (optional, for fuzzy search): Install sk and ensure it's in your PATH

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Usage Guide

Main Menu

Launch with s8n to see the main menu with three options:

Option	Description
Package Manager	Search, install, and manage packages across multiple sources
File Manager	Browse and manage files with Miller-column navigation
Color Theme	Preview and select a visual theme for the application

Package Manager

The package manager is the core feature. Upon entering, you'll see a search prompt.

Basic workflow:

1. Search — Type a package name and press Enter to search across all available package managers
2. Browse — Use ↑/↓ or j/k to navigate results. Use ←/→ or h/l to switch between sources or pages
3. Install — Select a package and press i or Enter to install. Confirm with the dialog
4. Remove — Select a package and press d or r to remove it
5. Filter — Press / to re-enter search mode and refine results

Source tabs: When a package is available from multiple sources, tabs appear at the top showing each source. Use ←/→ to switch between them.

Installed Packages

Press v at any time in the package manager to view all installed packages system-wide:

• Packages are collected from all available package managers
• Sorted alphabetically for easy browsing
• Press / to filter the list by name, source, or version
• Press Ctrl+F for fuzzy search with skim
• Press d or r on any package to remove it
• Press q or Esc to return to search/browse mode

Installed packages in search results are marked with a ✓ indicator and displayed in the theme's accent color.

File Manager

The Miller-column file manager lets you browse directories safely:

• Navigate — Use arrow keys or j/k to move through files
• Drill down — Press Enter or l to enter a directory
• Go back — Press h or Backspace to go up a level
• Edit — Press e to open a file in $EDITOR
• Rename — Press r to rename a file
• Delete — Press d to delete a file (with confirmation)
• Move — Press m to move a file to another location

Theme Picker

Access the theme picker from the main menu or by pressing t in the package manager:

• Use ↑/↓ or j/k to preview themes live
• Press Enter to save the selected theme
• Press q or Esc to return without saving

Available themes:

Theme	Description
Fire	Warm oranges and reds — the default Lilith Linux aesthetic
Ocean	Cool blues and cyans for a calm, deep-sea feel
Sunset	Rich warm gradients reminiscent of a golden hour
Forest	Natural greens and earth tones
Purple Dream	Vibrant purples and pinks — the original lipgloss vibe

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Keyboard Reference

Global

Key	Action
q / Esc	Go back or quit
↑ / k	Move up
↓ / j	Move down
Enter	Select / confirm

Package Manager — Browse Mode

Key	Action
i / Enter	Install selected package
d / r	Remove selected package
/	Search / filter
v	View all installed packages
Ctrl+F	Fuzzy search with skim
← / h	Previous source or page
→ / l	Next source or page
Tab	Switch tab / filter mode

Installed Packages View

Key	Action
d / r	Remove selected package
/	Filter installed packages
Ctrl+F	Fuzzy search with skim
q / Esc	Return to browse mode

File Manager

Key	Action
Enter / l	Enter directory
h / Backspace	Go up
e	Edit file in $EDITOR
r	Rename file
d	Delete file
m	Move file

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Supported Package Managers

S8n automatically detects which package managers are available on your system:

Manager	Binary	Search	Install	Remove	List Installed
apt	apt	✓	✓	✓	✓
flatpak	flatpak	✓	✓	✓	✓
snap	snap	✓	✓	✓	✓
brew	brew	✓	✓	✓	✓
npm	npm	✓	✓	✓	✓
pip	pip	✓	✓	✓	✓
pacstall	pacstall	✓	✓	✓	✓
soar	soar	✓	✓	✓	✓

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Configuration

S8n stores its configuration at ~/.config/s8n/:

~/.config/s8n/
└── theme.toml    # Current theme selection

The theme file is a simple TOML file:

theme = "Fire"

You can edit this file manually, or use the built-in theme picker.

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Building from Source

Requirements

• Rust 1.70+ (edition 2021)
• cargo

Build

# Debug build (faster compilation, larger binary)
cargo build

# Release build (optimized, smaller binary)
cargo build --release

Run tests

cargo test

Lint

cargo clippy
cargo fmt -- --check

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to:

• Report bugs via GitHub Issues
• Submit pull requests
• Request features or improvements

All contributions should follow the project's code style and pass cargo clippy and cargo fmt.

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Inspirations & Credits

The user interface and aesthetics for S8n were heavily inspired by the incredible ecosystem of Charmbracelet Labs.

Special thanks to the following Rust libraries and their authors:

• ratatui — Sleek terminal UIs in Rust
• bubbletea-rs by @whit3rabbit — Reference for smooth TUI package manager experiences and gradient progress bars
• lipgloss-rs by @whit3rabbit — Gradient generation and heat-mapping, shaping S8n's Fire aesthetic

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License

This software is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

Built specifically for Lilith Linux and Katie (aka S8n)