Caja is the default file manager for the MATE Linux desktop, forked from GNOME's Nautilus. Learn its features and how it differs from the unrelated,…
Caja is the default file manager for the MATE desktop environment, a project that forked GNOME 2's codebase around 2011 to preserve a traditional desktop interface after GNOME moved to the substantially redesigned GNOME 3. As part of that fork, Caja began life as a copy of GNOME's Nautilus file manager at the point MATE branched off, and it has since been maintained independently by the MATE community rather than tracking upstream Nautilus changes.
Because of this shared ancestry, Caja retains a number of features that were present in older versions of Nautilus but later removed as GNOME simplified that application's interface, including emblem support for marking files, a split-pane dual-view mode, and a traditional tree view of the filesystem. These retained features are one of the main reasons some Linux users specifically prefer MATE and Caja over more modern, minimalist file managers.
As a file manager, Caja handles the everyday operations users expect: browsing folders, organizing and renaming files, managing removable media like USB drives and optical discs, and connecting to remote filesystems over SSH, FTP, and WebDAV so remote servers can be navigated the same way as local folders. It also integrates with the MATE trash system and standard desktop conventions like drag-and-drop file operations.
Beyond file browsing, Caja also functions as a core piece of the MATE desktop shell itself, responsible for rendering the desktop background and desktop icons on systems where MATE is the active desktop environment. This dual role, file manager and desktop shell component, mirrors the role Nautilus historically played in GNOME 2, which is consistent with Caja's origins as a direct fork of that codebase.
Anyone researching Caja should be aware that the name is shared with an unrelated Google project, commonly called Google Caja, which was a JavaScript and HTML/CSS sandboxing framework designed to let websites safely embed third-party widgets in an isolated virtual iframe based on object-capability security principles. That project, associated with researchers Jasvir Nagra and Mark S. Miller, was formally archived by Google on January 31, 2021 due to known vulnerabilities and a lack of resources to keep it current with modern web security research.
The two projects share nothing beyond a name: Google Caja was a web security sandboxing library, discontinued for several years, while the MATE Caja file manager described in this profile is an actively maintained, open-source Linux desktop application. Given that Google's project has been dead since 2021, references to Caja in a current desktop-software or Linux context should be understood as referring to the MATE file manager rather than the defunct Google security project.
Caja is the default file manager for the MATE Linux desktop environment. It is a fork of GNOME's Nautilus file manager, created when MATE itself was forked from GNOME 2.
No. Google Caja was an unrelated JavaScript and HTML sandboxing security project that Google archived in January 2021. The MATE file manager Caja has no connection to it.
Yes, Caja is free and open-source software, distributed as a core component of the MATE desktop environment at no cost.
Caja is preinstalled on MATE-based distributions and desktop spins, most notably Ubuntu MATE and the MATE edition of Linux Mint.
Yes, Caja can browse remote filesystems over protocols including SSH (SFTP), FTP, and WebDAV alongside local files.
Caja began as a fork of Nautilus but has since diverged, retaining older Nautilus features like emblems, split-pane view, and tree view that were later removed from Nautilus as GNOME simplified its interface.
No, Google formally archived the Google Caja project on January 31, 2021, citing known vulnerabilities and recommending the Closure toolkit as a replacement.
Caja can technically be installed on other Linux desktops, but it is designed and primarily used as the default file manager within the MATE desktop environment.