As someone who uses nnn (occasionally lf) all the time, terminal file managers make navigation (especially bookmarking) easier.

Think Nemo's my default file manager but with GUI file managers I find it hard to switch contexts. I always used to have two splits open with Nemo but if I need to open a new context I'd have to open another instance of Nemo and then I gotta switch between the instances now.

Now, nnn gives me 4 contexts, which can be easily switched between using 1-4. I've added zoxide within nnn to pretty much jump to any directory within my system. This isn't really possible with a GUI file manager. Guess you can add integration to other tools as well to the list of pros of a terminal file manager.

File preview needs a mention as well. It's easier when you can quickly glance a file and move on instead of opening it.

It saves time when you're dealing with multiple files with different names. Also, MC is a clone of NC and I've been using either of them since early 90s. Habits.

I had a similar thought. I got a plugin for neovim that lets you manage files and folders with nvim and seems like a quick way to easily move a bunch of files and folders around.

I haven’t really used it, as you said I stick with shell commands. But I could see some people getting used to that. Especially when dealing with a lot of files or photos and you really like vim lol

I like them better than repetitive or complicated CLI commands, but I just never remember to install or use them when I'm doing a bunch of stuff on a server.

Norton/Midnight/Total Commander are epic for navigation and basic file operations.

I tend to write scripts for anything more than a one liner. It takes time up front, but I have so many now they become their own one liners

I use ranger to navigate around and view large source trees. I like its miller columns like Finder.

The keybinds you can set up in e.g Ranger for navigating or moving files are incredibly fast and easy. Sure you could just use shell commands/aliases etc. but the visual representation of the file system that a TUI provides, I find really useful.

For the most part, I just use the terminal directly. However, copying and moving is sometimes easier through a GUI/TUI. Although, personally I'd just use a GUI over the TUI anyway if I needed the functionality.