Reputation: 10052

Opening files in Vim using Fuzzy Search

I'm looking for a way to make Vim have the ability to open a file by fuzzy-searching its name.

Basically, I want to be able to define a project once, and then have a shortcut which will give me a place to type a file name, and will match if any letters match up.

This kind of functionality exists in most editors I've seen, but for the life of me I can't understand how to get Vim to do this.

Note that I'm looking for something that won't require me to have any idea where in my directory tree a file is. I just want to be able to open it by the filename, regardless of what directory it's in.

Thanks

Upvotes: 68

Answers (5)

Razzi Abuissa

Reputation: 4092

fzf is a powerful tool for fuzzy file finding, and there is a vim integration. Check out the official installation instructions or keep reading for an abbreviated installation guide:

install plug package manager

curl -fLo ~/.vim/autoload/plug.vim --create-dirs \
    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junegunn/vim-plug/master/plug.vim

add the following to your vimrc

call plug#begin()
Plug 'junegunn/fzf', { 'do': { -> fzf#install() } }
Plug 'junegunn/fzf.vim'
call plug#end()

install plugins (like so, or by entering :PlugInstall in vim)

$ vim +:PlugInstall

Now you can run :Files in vim for a fuzzy file search.

You can add your own shortcut keys to your vimrc such as the following for control+p:

nnoremap <C-p> :Files<cr>

Upvotes: 1

Niels

Reputation: 316

Basic solution

Simply add this to your .vimrc

nnoremap <C-p> :find ./**/*

Pressing Ctrl+p will now allow you to fuzzyfind files in your current working directory and sub-directories thereof. Use the tab key to cycle through options.

Related solution

For those who want to keep it basic i.e. no plugins, this entertaining video shows another way to achieve fuzzy file find in vim.

They actually use

set path+=**
set wildmenu

in their .vimrc to find files in current sub-directories.

For example, with :find *Murph followd by tab, I would find the files KilianMurphy2012Why.R and KilianMurphy2014ROLE.R in subdir code which I can cycle through with the tab key. The first solution above has the advantage that the relative path is also shown.

Note that your current working directory will matter and that other files on your path (:set path?) will also be found with the this type of solution. The wildmenu option adds visual information and is not essential.

For a keyboard shortcut, add

nnoremap <C-p> :find *

to your .vimrc. Now you will be able to quickly search for files inside your project/current dir with Ctrl+p in normal mode.

Upvotes: 7

Chris Knadler

Reputation: 2847

There are two great vim plugins for this.

ctrlp:

Written in pure VimL
Works pretty much everywhere
Supports custom finders for improved performance
Most popular fuzzy search plugin for Vim

Command-T:

Written in C, VimL and Ruby
Fast out of the box
Requires +ruby support in Vim
Recommends Vim version >= 7.3

EDIT:

I use CtrlP with ag as my custom finder and it's incredibly quick (even on massive projects) and very portable.

An example of using ag with CtrlP:

if executable('ag')
  " Use Ag over Grep
  set grepprg=ag\ --nogroup\ --nocolor

  " Use ag in CtrlP for listing files. Lightning fast and respects .gitignore
  let g:ctrlp_user_command = 'ag %s -l --nocolor -g ""'
endif

Upvotes: 74