GNOME Files, same as Nautilus, is a free and open-source software under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License.

[4] The Nautilus Desktop Shell is intended to supersede the GMC file manager (which was derived from the venerable Midnight Commander) in new versions of GNOME.

In earlier versions, Nautilus included original vectorized icons designed by Susan Kare.

Using the GIO library, Nautilus tracks modification of local files in real time, eliminating the need to refresh the display.

GIO internally supports Gamin and FAM, Linux's inotify and Solaris' File Events Notification system.