fzf — Blazing Fast Command-Line Fuzzy Finder

What it is

fzf is a general-purpose command-line fuzzy finder written in Go. It reads any list from stdin and presents an interactive fuzzy search interface. You type a partial match, and fzf instantly narrows the list. It works with files, command history, git branches, processes, environment variables, and any command that produces text output.

fzf targets anyone who works in the terminal. It integrates with bash, zsh, and fish shells to enhance Ctrl+R history search, file finding, and directory navigation. The tool is composable with any Unix command through pipes.

How it saves time or tokens

fzf replaces manual searching through long command histories, directory trees, and process lists. Instead of typing exact names, you type partial fragments and fzf finds matches instantly. Shell integration replaces the default Ctrl+R with a fuzzy-searchable history. The preview window shows file contents or command details without leaving the picker.

How to use

1. Install fzf: brew install fzf on macOS, sudo apt install fzf on Ubuntu, or clone from GitHub.
2. Run fzf in any directory to fuzzy-find files, or pipe any command output to fzf.
3. Enable shell integration for enhanced Ctrl+R, Ctrl+T, and Alt+C keybindings.

Example

# Interactive file finder
fzf

# Search command history (with shell integration)
# Press Ctrl+R to activate

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

# Git branch checkout with preview
git branch | fzf --preview 'git log --oneline {}' | xargs git checkout

# Kill a process interactively
ps aux | fzf | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill

# Find files with preview
fzf --preview 'cat {}' --preview-window=right:60%

# Combine with ripgrep for content search
rg --files | fzf --preview 'head -50 {}'

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Common pitfalls

• Shell integration must be explicitly enabled after installation. Run the install script or source the keybinding files in your shell config.
• fzf uses an external file finder (find or fd) for directory traversal. Install fd for faster file finding and better .gitignore support.
• The default fzf command searches the current directory recursively. In large directories, set FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND to use fd or rg for faster results.