Like most Emacs users, I consider Dired the way of dealing with file operations. That means a lot coming from me because I’m an old timer used to dealing with such things from the command line. But even after a lifetime of learning and using the command line utilities, I find that Dired is simply better and easier. And I don’t have to leave Emacs.
Over at the Emacs Elements YouTube Channel, there’s a video demonstration of configuring and using Dired. As the video shows, there is a lot of configuration possible with Dired. You can hide files, turn off confirmation prompts, change the format of the output, and many other things. With a configuration adopted to your workflow, your Dired operations can have significantly less friction.
The other point of the video is how powerful Dired is. You can perform almost any file operation with a simple, short command. In most cases, you don’t have to remember any syntax because Dired prompts you for any information it needs. To me, one of the most magical of Dired tricks is that you can make the buffer writable and any changes you make will be applied to the files affected.
Even if you’re an experienced Dired user, the video may teach you something new. It’s just short of 18 minutes so plan accordingly.