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fzf Command-line fuzzy finder for interactive filtering of any list. Use when interactively selecting files, searching command history (CTRL-R), creating selection interfaces in scripts, building interactive menus, or integrating fuzzy search with tools like ripgrep, fd, and git. Triggers on mentions of fzf, fuzzy finder, ** completion, interactive filtering, or shell keybindings CTRL-T/CTRL-R/ALT-C.

fzf - Command-Line Fuzzy Finder

Overview

fzf is a general-purpose command-line fuzzy finder. It reads a list of items from STDIN, allows interactive selection using fuzzy matching, and outputs the selected item(s) to STDOUT. Think of it as an interactive grep.

Key characteristics:

  • Fast: Processes millions of items instantly
  • Portable: Single binary, works everywhere
  • Versatile: Customizable via event-action binding mechanism
  • Integrated: Built-in shell integrations for bash, zsh, and fish

When to Use This Skill

Use fzf when:

  • Selecting files interactively: vim $(fzf) or fuzzy completion with **<TAB>
  • Searching command history: CTRL-R for fuzzy history search
  • Navigating directories: ALT-C to cd into selected directory
  • Building interactive scripts: Create selection menus for any list
  • Filtering output: Pipe any command output through fzf
  • Integrating with other tools: ripgrep, fd, git, etc.

Prerequisites

CRITICAL: Before proceeding, you MUST verify that fzf is installed:

fzf --version

If fzf is not installed:

  • DO NOT attempt to install it automatically
  • STOP and inform the user that fzf is required
  • RECOMMEND manual installation with the following instructions:
# macOS
brew install fzf

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install fzf

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S fzf

# From source
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/junegunn/fzf.git ~/.fzf
~/.fzf/install

# Other systems: see https://github.com/junegunn/fzf#installation

If fzf is not available, exit gracefully and do not proceed with the workflow below.

Shell Integration

fzf provides shell integration that enables powerful keybindings (CTRL-T, CTRL-R, ALT-C) and fuzzy completion (**<TAB>). These features require the user to configure their shell.

Note: Shell integration setup is the user's responsibility. If keybindings don't work, RECOMMEND the user add the appropriate line to their shell config:

# Bash (~/.bashrc)
eval "$(fzf --bash)"

# Zsh (~/.zshrc)
source <(fzf --zsh)

# Fish (~/.config/fish/config.fish)
fzf --fish | source

Key Bindings (requires shell integration)

Key Function Description
CTRL-T File selection Paste selected files/directories onto command line
CTRL-R History search Fuzzy search command history
ALT-C Directory jump cd into selected directory

CTRL-R extras:

  • Press CTRL-R again to toggle sort by relevance
  • Press ALT-R to toggle raw mode (see surrounding items)
  • Press CTRL-/ or ALT-/ to toggle line wrapping

Fuzzy Completion (**<TAB>)

Trigger fuzzy completion with ** followed by TAB:

# Files under current directory
vim **<TAB>

# Files under specific directory
vim ../fzf**<TAB>

# Directories only
cd **<TAB>

# Process IDs (for kill)
kill -9 **<TAB>

# SSH hostnames
ssh **<TAB>

# Environment variables
export **<TAB>

Search Syntax

fzf uses extended-search mode by default. Multiple search terms are separated by spaces.

Token Match Type Description
sbtrkt Fuzzy match Items matching sbtrkt
'wild Exact match Items containing wild exactly
'wild' Exact boundary Items with wild at word boundaries
^music Prefix match Items starting with music
.mp3$ Suffix match Items ending with .mp3
!fire Inverse match Items NOT containing fire
!^music Inverse prefix Items NOT starting with music
!.mp3$ Inverse suffix Items NOT ending with .mp3

OR operator: Use | to match any of several patterns:

# Files starting with 'core' and ending with go, rb, or py
^core go$ | rb$ | py$

Escape spaces: Use \ to match literal space characters.

Basic Usage

Simple Selection

# Select a file and open in vim
vim $(fzf)

# Safer with xargs (handles spaces, cancellation)
fzf --print0 | xargs -0 -o vim

# Using become() action (best approach)
fzf --bind 'enter:become(vim {})'

Multi-Select

# Enable multi-select with -m
fzf -m

# Select with TAB, deselect with Shift-TAB
# Selected items printed on separate lines

Preview Window

# Basic preview
fzf --preview 'cat {}'

# With syntax highlighting (requires bat)
fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}'

# Customize preview window position/size
fzf --preview 'cat {}' --preview-window=right,50%
fzf --preview 'cat {}' --preview-window=up,40%,border-bottom

Display Modes

Height Mode

# Use 40% of terminal height
fzf --height 40%

# Adaptive height (shrinks for small lists)
seq 5 | fzf --height ~100%

# With layout options
fzf --height 40% --layout reverse --border

tmux Mode

# Open in tmux popup (requires tmux 3.3+)
fzf --tmux center         # Center, 50% width/height
fzf --tmux 80%            # Center, 80% width/height
fzf --tmux left,40%       # Left side, 40% width
fzf --tmux bottom,30%     # Bottom, 30% height

Essential Options

Layout and Appearance

--height=HEIGHT[%]     # Non-fullscreen mode
--layout=reverse       # Display from top (default: bottom)
--border[=STYLE]       # rounded, sharp, bold, double, block
--margin=MARGIN        # Margin around finder
--padding=PADDING      # Padding inside border
--info=STYLE           # default, inline, hidden

Search Behavior

-e, --exact            # Exact match (disable fuzzy)
-i                     # Case-insensitive
+i                     # Case-sensitive
--scheme=SCHEME        # default, path, history
--algo=TYPE            # v2 (quality), v1 (performance)

Input/Output

-m, --multi            # Enable multi-select
--read0                # Read NUL-delimited input
--print0               # Print NUL-delimited output
--ansi                 # Enable ANSI color processing

Field Processing

--delimiter=STR        # Field delimiter (default: AWK-style)
--nth=N[,..]           # Limit search to specific fields
--with-nth=N[,..]      # Transform display of each line

Event Bindings

Customize behavior with --bind:

# Basic syntax
fzf --bind 'KEY:ACTION'
fzf --bind 'EVENT:ACTION'
fzf --bind 'KEY:ACTION1+ACTION2'  # Chain actions

# Examples
fzf --bind 'ctrl-a:select-all'
fzf --bind 'ctrl-d:deselect-all'
fzf --bind 'ctrl-/:toggle-preview'
fzf --bind 'enter:become(vim {})'

Key Actions (Selection)

Action Description
accept Accept current selection
abort Abort and exit
toggle Toggle selection of current item
select-all Select all matches
deselect-all Deselect all
toggle-all Toggle all selections

Useful Actions

Action Description
reload(cmd) Reload list from command
become(cmd) Replace fzf with command
execute(cmd) Run command, return to fzf
execute-silent(cmd) Run command silently
preview(cmd) Change preview command
toggle-preview Show/hide preview
change-prompt(str) Change prompt string

Events

Event Triggered When
start fzf starts
load Input loading completes
change Query string changes
focus Focused item changes
result Result list updates

For complete action reference, see references/actions.md.

Environment Variables

Core Configuration

# Default command when input is TTY
export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND='fd --type f --hidden --follow --exclude .git'

# Default options (applied to all fzf invocations)
export FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS='--height 40% --layout reverse --border'

# Options file (alternative to FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS)
export FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS_FILE=~/.fzfrc

Shell Integration Variables

# CTRL-T options
export FZF_CTRL_T_COMMAND="fd --type f"
export FZF_CTRL_T_OPTS="--preview 'bat --color=always {}'"

# CTRL-R options
export FZF_CTRL_R_OPTS="--bind 'ctrl-y:execute-silent(echo -n {2..} | pbcopy)+abort'"

# ALT-C options
export FZF_ALT_C_COMMAND="fd --type d"
export FZF_ALT_C_OPTS="--preview 'tree -C {}'"

Completion Customization

# Change trigger sequence (default: **)
export FZF_COMPLETION_TRIGGER='~~'

# Completion options
export FZF_COMPLETION_OPTS='--border --info=inline'

Common Patterns

Find and Edit Files

# Using fd for better performance
fd --type f | fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}' | xargs -o vim

# Or with become()
fd --type f | fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}' --bind 'enter:become(vim {})'

Search File Contents (with ripgrep)

# Basic ripgrep integration
rg --line-number . | fzf --delimiter : --preview 'bat --color=always {1} --highlight-line {2}'

# Open result in vim at line
rg --line-number . | fzf --delimiter : --bind 'enter:become(vim {1} +{2})'

Git Integration

# Select git branch
git branch | fzf | xargs git checkout

# Select commit
git log --oneline | fzf --preview 'git show {1}' | cut -d' ' -f1

# Stage files interactively
git status -s | fzf -m | awk '{print $2}' | xargs git add

Dynamic List Reloading

# Reload process list with CTRL-R
ps -ef | fzf --bind 'ctrl-r:reload(ps -ef)' --header 'Press CTRL-R to reload'

# Toggle between files and directories
fd | fzf --bind 'ctrl-d:reload(fd --type d)' --bind 'ctrl-f:reload(fd --type f)'

Interactive ripgrep Launcher

# fzf as ripgrep frontend (search updates on typing)
RG_PREFIX="rg --column --line-number --no-heading --color=always"
fzf --ansi --disabled \
    --bind "start:reload:$RG_PREFIX ''" \
    --bind "change:reload:$RG_PREFIX {q} || true" \
    --bind 'enter:become(vim {1} +{2})' \
    --delimiter :

Placeholders

Use in --preview, --bind, etc.:

Placeholder Description
{} Current selection (quoted)
{+} All selected items (space-separated)
{q} Current query string
{n} Zero-based index of current item
{1}, {2}, etc. Nth field (with --delimiter)
{-1} Last field
{1..3} Fields 1 through 3
{2..} Fields 2 to end

Flags:

  • {+} - All selected items
  • {f} - Write to temp file (for large lists)
  • {r} - Raw (unquoted) output

Advanced Topics

For detailed documentation on advanced features, see:

Troubleshooting

"Command not found: fzf"

  • fzf is not installed. See Prerequisites section for manual installation instructions
  • Do NOT attempt automatic installation

Shell keybindings not working (CTRL-T, CTRL-R, ALT-C):

  • Shell integration must be configured by the user
  • RECOMMEND adding the appropriate line to shell config (see Shell Integration section)
  • For bash, must be sourced after any PS1 modifications

Performance issues:

  • Avoid --ansi in FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS (slows initial scan)
  • Use --nth sparingly (requires tokenization)
  • Prefer string --delimiter over regex

Preview not showing:

  • Check preview command syntax
  • Use {} placeholder for current selection
  • Test preview command manually first

CTRL-R not finding old commands:

  • fzf searches shell history, not history file
  • Increase HISTSIZE and HISTFILESIZE

Resources

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