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 **\x3CTAB>      # File completion
cd **\x3CTAB>       # Directory completion
kill -9 **\x3CTAB>  # 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}}	{{.Status}}	{{.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