fzf — Interactive Command-Line Fuzzy Finder

fzf is an interactive fuzzy finder for the command line: you type a few characters and fzf filters any list in real time – files, command history, processes, git branches and anything you pipe into it. That turns tedious typing into a handful of keystrokes with a live preview and multi-select. Keep in mind that fzf is third-party software and not part of the base system – you install it separately (via your package manager or the git repository) and then set up the shell integration so that Ctrl+T, Ctrl+R, Alt+C and the ** trigger work. This guide walks you through the invocations and key bindings you actually use day to day, from a simple search to git and process workflows.

Basic Usage

fzf — Launch fuzzy finder on all files in the current directory (recursive).

fzf

<command> | fzf — Pipe any list into fzf for interactive selection.

ls -la | fzf

fzf --query '<string>' — Start with an initial search query.

fzf --query 'config'

fzf --filter '<string>' — Non-interactive filter mode (for scripting).

find . -name '*.py' | fzf --filter 'test'

fzf --multi — Enable multi-select (Tab to select, Enter to confirm).

fzf --multi

fzf --select-1 — Auto-select if there is only one match.

fzf --select-1 --query 'unique-name'

fzf --exit-0 — Exit immediately if there are no matches.

fzf --exit-0 --query 'nonexistent'

Search Syntax

abc — Fuzzy match: items containing a, b, c in that order.

Type 'cfg' to match 'config', 'configuration'

'<exact> — Exact match (prefix with single quote).

'config matches only lines containing 'config' literally

^<prefix> — Prefix match: must start with the string.

^src/ matches lines starting with 'src/'

<suffix>$ — Suffix match: must end with the string.

.json$ matches lines ending with '.json'

!<term> — Inverse match: exclude lines matching the term.

!test excludes lines containing 'test'

<term1> | <term2> — OR operator: match either term.

.js$ | .ts$ matches JavaScript or TypeScript files

<term1> <term2> — AND operator: match both terms (space-separated).

src config matches lines containing both 'src' and 'config'

Preview & Display

fzf --preview '<command> {}' — Show a preview of the selected item.

fzf --preview 'cat {}'

fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}' — Preview with syntax highlighting (requires bat).

fzf --preview 'bat --color=always --line-range=:100 {}'

fzf --preview-window <position> — Set preview position (up, down, left, right, hidden).

fzf --preview 'cat {}' --preview-window right:60%

fzf --height <percent> — Limit fzf to a portion of the screen (no fullscreen).

fzf --height 40%

fzf --layout reverse — Show results top-down instead of bottom-up.

fzf --layout reverse --height 40%

fzf --border — Draw a border around the fzf window.

fzf --border rounded --height 40%

Shell Integration (Ctrl Shortcuts)

Ctrl+T — Fuzzy find files and paste the selection to the command line.

vim [Ctrl+T] → select file → Enter

Ctrl+R — Fuzzy search shell command history.

[Ctrl+R] → type partial command → Enter to execute

Alt+C — Fuzzy find directories and cd into the selection.

[Alt+C] → select directory → Enter

<command> **<Tab> — Trigger fuzzy completion (files, dirs, hosts, etc.).

vim **[Tab] → fuzzy select file

cd **<Tab> — Fuzzy directory completion.

cd **[Tab] → select directory

ssh **<Tab> — Fuzzy hostname completion from known_hosts.

ssh **[Tab] → select host

Git Integration

git branch | fzf | xargs git checkout — Interactively select and checkout a branch.

git branch | fzf | xargs git checkout

git log --oneline | fzf --preview 'git show {1}' — Browse commits with preview.

git log --oneline | fzf --preview 'git show {1}'

git diff --name-only | fzf --preview 'git diff {}' — Browse changed files with diff preview.

git diff --name-only | fzf --multi --preview 'git diff {}'

git stash list | fzf | cut -d: -f1 | xargs git stash pop — Interactively select and pop a stash.

git stash list | fzf | cut -d: -f1 | xargs git stash pop

Common Patterns

vim $(fzf) — Find and open a file in vim.

vim $(fzf --preview 'cat {}')

kill -9 $(ps aux | fzf | awk '{print $2}') — Interactively select and kill a process.

kill -9 $(ps aux | fzf | awk '{print $2}')

docker stop $(docker ps | fzf | awk '{print $1}') — Interactively select and stop a Docker container.

docker stop $(docker ps | fzf | awk '{print $1}')

printenv | fzf — Browse and search environment variables.

printenv | fzf

cat <file> | fzf --multi | pbcopy — Select lines from a file and copy to clipboard.

cat urls.txt | fzf --multi | pbcopy

find . -name '*.json' | fzf --preview 'cat {}' | xargs code — Find, preview, and open a JSON file in VS Code.

find . -name '*.json' | fzf --preview 'cat {}' | xargs code

Environment Variables

FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND='<cmd>' — Set the default command for file listing.

export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND='fd --type f --hidden --exclude .git'

FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS='<opts>' — Set default fzf options.

export FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS='--height 40% --layout reverse --border'

FZF_CTRL_T_COMMAND='<cmd>' — Customize the file search for Ctrl+T.

export FZF_CTRL_T_COMMAND='fd --type f --hidden'

FZF_ALT_C_COMMAND='<cmd>' — Customize the directory search for Alt+C.

export FZF_ALT_C_COMMAND='fd --type d --hidden'

Conclusion

fzf makes searching and selecting in the terminal radically faster: you type fuzzily, see matches instantly, and pipe the selection into any other tool – from vim $(fzf) to interactive branch switching in git. Because fzf is third-party software, you have to install it once and enable the shell integration; only then do the shortcuts Ctrl+T, Ctrl+R, Alt+C and the ** completion trigger become available, and some examples assume further helpers such as fd, bat or pbcopy. Be careful with combinations like … | fzf | xargs git checkout or kill -9 $(…): fzf only provides the selection, the effect comes from the downstream command – so check what you actually run after selecting.