fzf

Fuzzy Finders•

•Go

General-purpose command-line fuzzy finder.

Official Website

Features

Fuzzy SearchShell IntegrationVim PluginPreview Window

Installation

Homebrew

brew install fzf

APT (Debian/Ubuntu)

apt install fzf

Pacman (Arch)

pacman -S fzf

Why Use fzf?

fzf is a fuzzy finder that dramatically improves command-line efficiency. With fuzzy search, you can quickly find files without needing to remember exact filenames.

Ultra-Fast Search

Implemented in Go, instantly displays search results even for hundreds of thousands of files. Real-time filtering is comfortable.

Shell Integration

Provides ready-to-use key bindings including Ctrl+R for history search, Ctrl+T for file search, and Alt+C for directory navigation.

Universal Pipeline

Accepts any command output via pipe and filters it interactively. Unlimited usage possibilities.

Advanced Customization

Fine-tune preview display, colors, key bindings, and search algorithms to your preference.

Installation

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install fzf

# Install shell integration (Important!)
$(brew --prefix)/opt/fzf/install

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install fzf

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S fzf

# Install via Git (Latest version)
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/junegunn/fzf.git ~/.fzf
~/.fzf/install

Running the fzf/install script enables shell integration and key bindings.

Basic Usage

File Search

# Search for files in current directory and subdirectories
fzf

# Combine with find
find . -type f | fzf

# Search including hidden files
find . -type f -name ".*" | fzf

# Open selected file in editor
vim $(fzf)

# Multiple selection (Tab to select, Enter to confirm)
fzf -m

Pipeline Usage Examples

Pipeline

# Search command history
history | fzf

# Search and kill process
ps aux | fzf | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill

# Switch git branch
git branch | fzf | xargs git checkout

# Select commit from git log
git log --oneline | fzf | awk '{print $1}'

# Search environment variables
env | fzf

# Select docker container
docker ps | fzf | awk '{print $1}'

fzf Output Example

> main_

24/156

> src/main.rs

src/main_test.rs

docs/maintenance.md

lib/main_module.py

test/main_spec.js

Parts matching the input query "main" are highlighted and filtered in real-time.

Shell Integration

Running the fzf install script automatically sets up the following key bindings.

Key Binding	Function	Description
`Ctrl+R`	History Search	Fuzzy search command history and execute
`Ctrl+T`	File Search	Search for files and insert into command line
`Alt+C`	Directory Navigation	Search for directory and cd into it

Shell Configuration

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
# Enable fzf shell integration
[ -f ~/.fzf.bash ] && source ~/.fzf.bash  # bash
[ -f ~/.fzf.zsh ] && source ~/.fzf.zsh    # zsh

# Use fd for faster search (if fd is installed)
export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND='fd --type f --hidden --follow --exclude .git'
export FZF_CTRL_T_COMMAND="$FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND"
export FZF_ALT_C_COMMAND='fd --type d --hidden --follow --exclude .git'

Useful Aliases

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc

# Search files with preview
alias fzfp='fzf --preview "bat --color=always --style=numbers --line-range=:500 {}"'

# Switch git branch
alias gb='git branch | fzf | xargs git checkout'

# Interactive git add
alias ga='git status -s | fzf -m | awk "{print \$2}" | xargs git add'

# Kill process
alias fkill='ps aux | fzf | awk "{print \$2}" | xargs kill -9'

# Change directory
alias fcd='cd $(find . -type d | fzf)'

# Open recently edited file
alias fe='vim $(fzf)'

# Enter docker container via exec
alias dexec='docker exec -it $(docker ps | fzf | awk "{print \$1}") /bin/bash'

# Select SSH host
alias fssh='ssh $(grep "^Host " ~/.ssh/config | awk "{print \$2}" | fzf)'

Vim/Neovim Integration

Using the fzf.vim plugin enables fzf functionality within Vim/Neovim.

Installation

Plugin Configuration

" Using vim-plug
Plug 'junegunn/fzf', { 'do': { -> fzf#install() } }
Plug 'junegunn/fzf.vim'

" Using packer.nvim (Neovim)
use { 'junegunn/fzf', run = ':call fzf#install()' }
use { 'junegunn/fzf.vim' }

" Using lazy.nvim (Neovim)
{ 'junegunn/fzf', build = ':call fzf#install()' },
{ 'junegunn/fzf.vim' },

Main Commands

Command	Function
`:Files`	File search (within project)
`:GFiles`	Search files tracked by Git
`:Buffers`	Search open buffers
`:Rg`	Full text search with ripgrep
`:Lines`	Search lines in all buffers
`:History`	Search file history
`:Commands`	Search Vim commands

Key Mapping Examples

Key Mapping

" ~/.vimrc or init.vim

" File search
nnoremap <C-p> :Files<CR>
nnoremap <leader>f :Files<CR>

" Git file search
nnoremap <leader>g :GFiles<CR>

" Buffer search
nnoremap <leader>b :Buffers<CR>

" Full text search (ripgrep)
nnoremap <leader>r :Rg<CR>

" Line search
nnoremap <leader>l :Lines<CR>

" Command history
nnoremap <leader>h :History:<CR>

fzf Key Bindings

Key	Action
`Ctrl+J / Ctrl+N`	Move to next item
`Ctrl+K / Ctrl+P`	Move to previous item
`Enter`	Confirm selection
`Tab`	Multiple selection (with -m option)
`Ctrl+A`	Select all (with -m option)
`Ctrl+C / Esc`	Cancel
`Ctrl+U`	Clear input

Advanced Options

# Search with preview
fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}'

# Preview window position and size
fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}' --preview-window=right:60%

# Sort search results (default is by score)
fzf --sort

# Exact match search (disable fuzzy search)
fzf --exact

# Multi-line display
fzf --multi

# Change layout (reverse: top to bottom)
fzf --layout=reverse

# Height limit
fzf --height=40%

# Add border
fzf --border

# Customize colors
fzf --color=fg:#f8f8f2,bg:#282a36,hl:#bd93f9

Environment Variables

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc

# Default options
export FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS='
  --height=40%
  --layout=reverse
  --border
  --preview-window=right:50%
  --bind=ctrl-d:preview-page-down
  --bind=ctrl-u:preview-page-up
  --color=fg:#c0caf5,bg:#1a1b26,hl:#bb9af7
  --color=fg+:#c0caf5,bg+:#292e42,hl+:#7dcfff
  --color=info:#7aa2f7,prompt:#7dcfff,pointer:#7dcfff
  --color=marker:#9ece6a,spinner:#9ece6a,header:#9ece6a
'

# Default command (using fd)
export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND='fd --type f --hidden --follow --exclude .git'

# For Ctrl+T
export FZF_CTRL_T_COMMAND="$FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND"
export FZF_CTRL_T_OPTS="--preview 'bat --color=always --line-range :500 {}'"

# For Alt+C
export FZF_ALT_C_COMMAND='fd --type d --hidden --follow --exclude .git'
export FZF_ALT_C_OPTS="--preview 'eza --tree --color=always {} | head -200'"

Tips

•Prefix the search query with ' (single quote) for exact match search (e.g., 'exact)
•Use ^ for prefix match and $ for suffix match (e.g., ^src, .rs$)
•Use ! for exclusion/negation search (e.g., !test excludes items with test)
•Separate by space for AND search (e.g., src main includes both)
•Use | for OR search (e.g., rs$ | py$)
•Combining with fd or ripgrep enables faster and more flexible searches
•When using tmux, set FZF_TMUX=1 to display fzf in a tmux popup

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Features

Installation

Why Use fzf?

Ultra-Fast Search

Shell Integration

Universal Pipeline

Advanced Customization

Installation

Basic Usage

File Search

Pipeline Usage Examples

fzf Output Example

Shell Integration

Useful Aliases

Vim/Neovim Integration

Installation

Main Commands

Key Mapping Examples

fzf Key Bindings

Advanced Options

Environment Variables

Tips

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