---
name: "mcview"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "mc"
version: "4.8.33-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/mcview"
---

# mcview(1)

Internal file viewer of GNU Midnight Commander.

## NAME

mcview - Internal file viewer of GNU Midnight Commander.

## SYNOPSIS

**mcview** \[-bcCdfhstVx?\] file

## DESCRIPTION

mcview is a link to **mc**, the main GNU Midnight Commander executable.  Executing GNU Midnight Commander under this name requests staring the internal viewer and opening the *file* specified on the command line.

## OPTIONS

- *-b*

  Force black and white display.

- *-c*

  Force color mode on terminals where **mcview** defaults to black and white.

- *-C \<keyword\>=\<fgcolor\>,\<bgcolor\>,\<attributes\>:\<keyword\>= ...*

  Specify a different color set.  See the **Colors** section in [mc(1)](/mc/1.md) for more information.

- *-d*

  Disable mouse support.

- *-f*

  Display the compiled-in search paths for Midnight Commander files.

- *-t*

  Used only if the code was compiled with S-Lang and terminfo: it makes Midnight Commander use the value of the **TERMCAP** variable for the terminal information instead of the information on the system wide terminal database

- *-V*

  Displays the version of the program.

- *-x*

  Forces xterm mode.  Used when running on xterm-capable terminals (two screen modes, and able to send mouse escape sequences).

## COLORS

The default colors may be changed by appending to the **MC\_COLOR\_TABLE** environment variable.  Foreground and background colors pairs may be specified for example with:

```
MC_COLOR_TABLE="$MC_COLOR_TABLE:\
normal=lightgray,black:\
selected=black,green"
```

## FILES

*/usr/share/mc/help/mc.hlp*

-

  The help file for the program.

*/usr/share/mc/mc.ini*

-

  The default system-wide setup for GNU Midnight Commander, used only if the user's own ~/.config/mc/ini file is missing.

*/usr/share/mc/mc.lib*

-

  Global settings for Midnight Commander. Settings in this file affect all users, whether they have ~/.config/mc/ini or not.

*~/.config/mc/ini*

-

  User's own setup.  If this file is present, the setup is loaded from here instead of the system-wide startup file.

## LICENSE

This program is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation.  See the built-in help of Midnight Commander for details on the License and the lack of warranty.

## AVAILABILITY

The latest version of this program can be found at http://ftp.midnight-commander.org/.

## SEE ALSO

[mc(1)](/mc/1.md), [mcedit(1)](/mcedit/1.md)

## BUGS

Bugs should be reported to https://www.midnight-commander.org/.