Preview
Install these for broader file preview support.
SETUP
Optional tools
Install tools for the features you use
TOOLS
Optional feature tools
Nerd Font
Use a Nerd Font in your terminal so icons render correctly.
zoxide
Install it if you want z to jump through your directory history.
PREVIEW
Preview tools
| Tool | Commands elio uses | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Poppler | pdfinfo, pdftocairo | PDF metadata and rendered page previews |
| FFmpeg | ffprobe, ffmpeg | Audio/video metadata, album art, video thumbnails, and wider image support |
| resvg | resvg | SVG inline previews |
| 7-Zip | 7z | Archive previews, fallback archive listings, additional archive formats, and comic book archives |
INSTALL
Install preview tools
Arch
sudo pacman -S poppler ffmpeg resvg 7zipFedora
sudo dnf install poppler-utils ffmpeg resvg 7zipDebian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install poppler-utils ffmpeg resvg 7zipresvg availability varies by distro release. Without it, elio still works; SVG previews use fallback paths when available.
Homebrew
brew install poppler ffmpeg resvg sevenzipFreeBSD
pkg install poppler-utils ffmpeg resvg 7-zipWindows
Scoop
scoop install poppler ffmpeg resvg 7zipWinGet
winget install --id oschwartz10612.Poppler -e
winget install --id Gyan.FFmpeg -e
winget install --id 7zip.7zip -eWinGet covers Poppler, FFmpeg, and 7-Zip. Install resvg separately if you need SVG previews.
FALLBACKS
Fallback preview tools
Install these only if a specific preview format still needs another path on your system.
| Tool | Command | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| ImageMagick | magick | SVG fallback when resvg is unavailable |
| libarchive | bsdtar | Rare archive formats and ISO fallback |
| cdrtools / cdrkit | isoinfo | Additional ISO listing fallback |
| unrar | unrar | RAR/CBR fallback for 7-Zip builds without RAR support |