What it is
fzf takes any list, such as file names, command history or Git branches, and lets you filter it by typing a few letters in any order. You pick a line with the arrow keys and Enter, and fzf prints it so other commands can use it.
Why it’s here
- Find things without exact names. A few letters are enough to narrow thousands of entries.
- Works with everything. Pipe any command’s output into it.
- Shell shortcuts. Its key bindings make history search and path entry much quicker.
On CoreDesktop
fzf is installed from pacman, and CoreDesktop’s shell setup turns on its Bash key bindings: Ctrl-R searches your command history, Ctrl-T inserts a file path, and Alt-C changes into a directory you pick.
CoreDesktop also adds two aliases. ff fuzzy-finds a file with a bat preview of its contents, and eff opens the file you pick in your editor (Neovim unless you’ve set $EDITOR). update keeps fzf current with the pacman packages.