fzf - Fuzzy Finder

Interactive command-line fuzzy finder with powerful integration capabilities.

Basic Usage

Simple filtering

# Pipe list to fzf
ls | fzf
Select file
find . -type f | fzf
Multi-select (Tab to select, Shift+Tab to deselect)
ls | fzf -m
Preview files while selecting
ls | fzf --preview 'cat {}'
With bat for syntax highlighting
ls | fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}'

Shell integration

# After installing, add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:
# source /path/to/fzf/shell/completion.bash
# source /path/to/fzf/shell/key-bindings.bash
Key bindings:
Ctrl+R - Command history
Ctrl+T - File search
Alt+C  - Directory navigation
Use in command line

vim **<TAB>      # File completion
cd **<TAB>       # Directory completion
kill -9 **<TAB>  # Process completion

Common Patterns

File selection

# Open file in vim
vim $(fzf)
Edit with preview
vim $(fzf --preview 'bat --color=always --line-range :500 {}')
Select and copy
fzf | xargs -I {} cp {} /destination/
Delete selected files
fzf -m | xargs rm

Directory navigation

# CD to selected directory
cd $(find . -type d | fzf)
Alias for quick nav
alias cdf='cd $(find . -type d | fzf)'
Or use Alt+C keybinding

Git integration

# Checkout branch
git branch | fzf | xargs git checkout
Show commit
git log --oneline | fzf | awk '{print $1}' | xargs git show
Add files interactively
git status -s | fzf -m | awk '{print $2}' | xargs git add
Fuzzy git log browser
alias gll='git log --oneline | fzf --preview "git show {1}"'

Process management

# Kill process
ps aux | fzf | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill
Kill multiple processes
ps aux | fzf -m | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill -9

Advanced Features

Preview window

# Preview on the right
fzf --preview 'cat {}'
Preview position and size
fzf --preview 'cat {}' --preview-window=right:50%
Preview with bat
fzf --preview 'bat --color=always --style=numbers --line-range=:500 {}'
Toggle preview with Ctrl+/
fzf --preview 'cat {}' --bind 'ctrl-/:toggle-preview'
Preview directory contents
find . -type d | fzf --preview 'ls -la {}'

Custom key bindings

# Execute action on selection
fzf --bind 'enter:execute(vim {})'
Multiple bindings
fzf --bind 'ctrl-e:execute(vim {})' 

--bind 'ctrl-o:execute(open {})'
Reload on key press
fzf --bind 'ctrl-r:reload(find . -type f)'
Accept non-matching input
fzf --print0 --bind 'enter:print-query'

Filtering options

# Case-insensitive (default)
fzf -i
Case-sensitive
fzf +i
Exact match
fzf -e
Inverse match (exclude)
fzf --query='!pattern'
OR operator
fzf --query='py$ | js$'  # .py or .js files
AND operator
fzf --query='test .py'  # Contains both 'test' and '.py'

Integration Examples

With ripgrep

# Search content and open in vim
rg --line-number . | fzf | awk -F: '{print "+"$2, $1}' | xargs vim
Search and preview matches
rg --line-number . | fzf --delimiter : 

--preview 'bat --color=always {1} --highlight-line {2}' 

--preview-window +{2}-/2

With fd

# Find and preview files
fd --type f | fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}'
Find files modified today
fd --changed-within 1d | fzf --preview 'bat {}'

With docker

# Select and enter container
docker ps | fzf | awk '{print $1}' | xargs -I {} docker exec -it {} bash
Remove selected images
docker images | fzf -m | awk '{print $3}' | xargs docker rmi
View logs
docker ps | fzf | awk '{print $1}' | xargs docker logs -f

With kubectl

# Select pod
kubectl get pods | fzf | awk '{print $1}' | xargs kubectl describe pod
Get logs
kubectl get pods | fzf | awk '{print $1}' | xargs kubectl logs -f
Delete pods
kubectl get pods | fzf -m | awk '{print $1}' | xargs kubectl delete pod

Useful Aliases

Add to your shell config:

# Fuzzy file search and open in vim
alias fv='vim $(fzf --preview "bat --color=always --style=numbers {}")'
Fuzzy directory change
alias fcd='cd $(find . -type d | fzf)'
Fuzzy git checkout
alias gco='git branch | fzf | xargs git checkout'
Fuzzy process kill
alias fkill='ps aux | fzf | awk "{print $2}" | xargs kill -9'
Fuzzy history search (Ctrl+R is built-in)
alias fh='history | fzf | awk "{print $2}" | xargs -I {} sh -c "{}"'
Find and edit
alias fe='fd --type f | fzf --preview "bat --color=always --style=numbers {}" | xargs -r $EDITOR'

Configuration

Environment variables

# Default options
export FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS='
  --height 40%
  --layout=reverse
  --border
  --inline-info
  --preview "bat --style=numbers --color=always --line-range :500 {}"
'
Use fd instead of find
export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND='fd --type f --hidden --follow --exclude .git'
For Ctrl+T
export FZF_CTRL_T_COMMAND="$FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND"
For Alt+C

export FZF_ALT_C_COMMAND='fd --type d --hidden --follow --exclude .git'

Color scheme

export FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS='
  --color=bg+:#313244,bg:#1e1e2e,spinner:#f5e0dc,hl:#f38ba8
  --color=fg:#cdd6f4,header:#f38ba8,info:#cba6f7,pointer:#f5e0dc
  --color=marker:#f5e0dc,fg+:#cdd6f4,prompt:#cba6f7,hl+:#f38ba8
'

Advanced Workflows

Project file browser

# Smart file browser with preview
fzf \
  --preview 'bat --color=always --style=numbers --line-range=:500 {}' \
  --preview-window='right:60%:wrap' \
  --bind 'enter:execute(vim {})' \
  --bind 'ctrl-y:execute-silent(echo {} | pbcopy)+abort' \
  --header 'Enter: edit | Ctrl+Y: copy path'

Multi-purpose search

# Search in files and navigate to line
rg --line-number --no-heading . | \
  fzf --delimiter=: \
      --preview 'bat --color=always --style=numbers --highlight-line {2} {1}' \
      --preview-window='+{2}-/2' \
      --bind 'enter:execute(vim {1} +{2})'

Docker container manager

#!/bin/bash
# docker-fzf.sh
container=$(docker ps --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Image}}" | fzf --header-lines=1 | awk '{print $1}')
if [ -n "$container" ]; then
    docker exec -it "$container" bash
fi

Tips

Use
```
--preview
```
for visual context
Combine with
```
bat
```
,
```
rg
```
,
```
fd
```
for powerful workflows
Press
```
?
```
in fzf to see keybindings
Use
```
Tab
```
for multi-select
```
Ctrl+/
```
to toggle preview (if bound)
```
Ctrl+K
```
/
```
Ctrl+J
```
to navigate
Start query with
```
'
```
for exact match
Start with
```
!
```
to exclude
Use
```
|
```
for OR, space for AND
Set
```
FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS
```
for persistent config

Performance

# For large file lists, use fd or rg
export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND='fd --type f'
Limit depth for faster results
export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND='fd --type f --max-depth 5'
Use parallel preview

fzf --preview 'bat {}' --preview-window 'hidden'

Documentation

GitHub: https://github.com/junegunn/fzf Wiki: https://github.com/junegunn/fzf/wiki Examples: https://github.com/junegunn/fzf/wiki/examples

Fzf Fuzzy Finder

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fzf - Fuzzy Finder

Basic Usage

Simple filtering

Select file

Multi-select (Tab to select, Shift+Tab to deselect)

Preview files while selecting

With bat for syntax highlighting

Shell integration

Key bindings:

Ctrl+R - Command history

Ctrl+T - File search

Alt+C - Directory navigation

Use in command line

Common Patterns

File selection

Edit with preview

Select and copy

Delete selected files

Directory navigation

Alias for quick nav

Or use Alt+C keybinding

Git integration

Show commit

Add files interactively

Fuzzy git log browser

Process management

Kill multiple processes

Advanced Features

Preview window

Preview position and size

Preview with bat

Toggle preview with Ctrl+/

Preview directory contents

Custom key bindings

Multiple bindings

Reload on key press

Accept non-matching input

Filtering options

Case-sensitive

Exact match

Inverse match (exclude)

OR operator

AND operator

Integration Examples

With ripgrep

Search and preview matches

With fd

Find files modified today

With docker

Remove selected images

View logs

With kubectl

Get logs

Delete pods

Useful Aliases

Fuzzy directory change

Fuzzy git checkout

Fuzzy process kill

Fuzzy history search (Ctrl+R is built-in)

Find and edit

Configuration

Environment variables

Use fd instead of find

For Ctrl+T

For Alt+C

Color scheme

Advanced Workflows

Project file browser

Multi-purpose search

Docker container manager

Tips

Performance

Limit depth for faster results

Use parallel preview

Documentation

Quick Start

Manual Installation