Fuzzy finding with fzf

1. What it is#

fzf (fuzzy finder) is a general-purpose command-line fuzzy search tool. Its operating model is simple: read a list from stdin → filter interactively → write the selected result to stdout.

ls | fzf        # 从文件列表中选一个

Compared with Ctrl+R (history search), fzf is general-purpose: it can search file lists, process lists, git branches, or any list of text.

2. Basic usage#

# 模糊搜文件然后用 vim 打开
IFS= read -r -d '' selected < <(find . -type f -print0 | fzf --read0 --print0) && nvim -- "$selected"

# 搜进程并 kill
ps -eo pid=,comm=,args= | fzf | awk '{print $1}' | xargs -r -p kill

# 从命令历史中选一条，先显示核对，再手动执行
history | fzf | awk '{$1=""; print $0}'

3. Common combinations#

# 快速 cd（配合 zoxide）
selected=$(zoxide query --list | fzf) && [ -n "$selected" ] && cd -- "$selected"

# 搜 git branch 并切换
git for-each-ref --format='%(refname:short)' refs/heads | fzf | xargs -r git switch

# 搜 commit 并 cherry-pick
git log --oneline | fzf | awk '{print $1}' | xargs -r -p git cherry-pick

# 搜文件内容并打开
rg -l -0 "" | fzf --read0 --print0 | xargs -0 -r -o nvim --

4. Keyboard shortcuts#

5. Common options#

fzf --multi                     # Tab 多选
fzf --preview 'cat -- {}'          # 右侧预览文件内容
fzf --preview 'bat --color=always -- {}'    # 语法高亮预览
fzf --preview 'ls -la -- {}'       # 预览目录内容
fzf --height 40%                # 占终端 40% 高度，不占全屏
fzf --layout=reverse            # 搜索框在顶部

6. Advanced bindings (shell integration)#

After installing fzf, enable shell integration to replace the default Ctrl+R and Ctrl+T:

# bash/zsh: 在 .bashrc 或 .zshrc 中添加
eval "$(fzf --bash)"   # 或 --zsh

# fish: fzf 自带 fish 集成，或在 config.fish 中
fzf --fish | source

Once enabled, you get:

• Ctrl+R — fuzzy-search command history (replaces the native binding)
• Ctrl+T — fuzzy-search files in the current directory and paste the path
• Alt+C — fuzzy-search directories and cd to one

Everyday use: quick reference#

The assignment, read -d, and process-substitution examples above use Bash. -r, -o, and -p are the GNU xargs options used here. Terminating processes and running cherry-pick change state, so first inspect the selected PID or commit and the working tree. fzf is only a selector; you still need to check the upstream list and downstream operation. Ordinary newline-delimited lists are unsuitable for filenames containing newlines. fzf --bash/--zsh/--fish requires a version that supports that interface; for older versions, enable integration using the scripts supplied by the installed package.