Fzf Fuzzy Finder

Command-line fuzzy finder for interactive filtering and selection - integrates with shell, vim, and other tools.

Security Scan

The skill is an instruction-only guide for the fzf command-line fuzzy finder and is largely consistent with its stated purpose, but there are minor metadata inconsistencies and the runtime instructions include destructive/auto-execution examples that users should treat carefully.

Purpose & Capability

The SKILL.md and description consistently document fzf usage (shell, vim, git, docker, kubectl integrations). However the registry metadata shown to you earlier lists no required binaries/env, while the SKILL.md frontmatter declares a requirement for the 'fzf' binary and provides install steps (brew/apt). The examples also reference many optional tools (bat, fd, rg, docker, kubectl) that are reasonable for examples but are not declared as optional dependencies.

Instruction Scope

The instructions are typical usage examples but include commands that can be destructive or execute arbitrary code (e.g., piping fzf selection to xargs rm or kill, docker rmi, kubectl delete pod, aliases that run selected history entries with sh -c). Those are valid fzf use cases, but they broaden the risk surface: anyone who follows examples without review can delete files, kill processes, remove images, delete pods, or execute arbitrary commands. The SKILL.md also suggests sourcing shell files and modifying ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc which is expected but should be done carefully.

Install Mechanism

There is no top-level install spec in the registry entry, but the SKILL.md frontmatter includes install metadata pointing to standard package managers (brew formula 'fzf' and apt package 'fzf'), which are appropriate and lower-risk. The inconsistency between the registry install metadata and the SKILL.md frontmatter is a discrepancy worth noting. The skill does not attempt to download code from arbitrary URLs.

Credentials

The skill does not request credentials, secrets, or config paths. The only environment interactions are suggestions to set non-sensitive FZF_* environment variables for defaults, which are proportionate to the purpose.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill is user-invocable and not marked always:true. It does not request persistent privileges or to modify other skills. Suggested actions include editing shell startup files (normal for shell integration) but there is no attempt to force-enable itself or claim system-wide changes beyond the user's shell config.

Assessment

This SKILL.md is a legitimate usage guide for fzf, but before installing or copying examples into your shell config: 1) prefer installing fzf from your OS package manager (brew/apt) or the official GitHub release URL listed on the homepage; 2) review any example that executes or deletes things (xargs rm, kill, docker rmi, kubectl delete) — don't run them blindly; 3) be especially cautious with aliases that execute selected history lines or pipe selections to sh -c (these can run arbitrary commands); 4) if you rely on specific auxiliary tools (bat, fd, rg, docker, kubectl), install them separately and understand their privileges; and 5) correct the minor metadata discrepancy (registry lists no required binary but SKILL.md expects fzf) before relying on automated install tooling.

Interactive command-line fuzzy finder with powerful integration capabilities.

Basic Usage

Simple filtering

# Pipe list to fzf
ls | fzf

# Select file
find . -type f | fzf

# Multi-select (Tab to select, Shift+Tab to deselect)
ls | fzf -m

# Preview files while selecting
ls | fzf --preview 'cat {}'

# With bat for syntax highlighting
ls | fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}'

Shell integration

# After installing, add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:
# source /path/to/fzf/shell/completion.bash
# source /path/to/fzf/shell/key-bindings.bash

# Key bindings:
# Ctrl+R - Command history
# Ctrl+T - File search
# Alt+C  - Directory navigation

# Use in command line
vim **<TAB>      # File completion
cd **<TAB>       # Directory completion
kill -9 **<TAB>  # Process completion

Common Patterns

File selection

# Open file in vim
vim $(fzf)

# Edit with preview
vim $(fzf --preview 'bat --color=always --line-range :500 {}')

# Select and copy
fzf | xargs -I {} cp {} /destination/

# Delete selected files
fzf -m | xargs rm

Directory navigation

# CD to selected directory
cd $(find . -type d | fzf)

# Alias for quick nav
alias cdf='cd $(find . -type d | fzf)'

# Or use Alt+C keybinding

Git integration

# Checkout branch
git branch | fzf | xargs git checkout

# Show commit
git log --oneline | fzf | awk '{print $1}' | xargs git show

# Add files interactively
git status -s | fzf -m | awk '{print $2}' | xargs git add

# Fuzzy git log browser
alias gll='git log --oneline | fzf --preview "git show {1}"'

Process management

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

# Kill multiple processes
ps aux | fzf -m | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill -9

Advanced Features

Preview window

# Preview on the right
fzf --preview 'cat {}'

# Preview position and size
fzf --preview 'cat {}' --preview-window=right:50%

# Preview with bat
fzf --preview 'bat --color=always --style=numbers --line-range=:500 {}'

# Toggle preview with Ctrl+/
fzf --preview 'cat {}' --bind 'ctrl-/:toggle-preview'

# Preview directory contents
find . -type d | fzf --preview 'ls -la {}'

Custom key bindings

# Execute action on selection
fzf --bind 'enter:execute(vim {})'

# Multiple bindings
fzf --bind 'ctrl-e:execute(vim {})' \
    --bind 'ctrl-o:execute(open {})'

# Reload on key press
fzf --bind 'ctrl-r:reload(find . -type f)'

# Accept non-matching input
fzf --print0 --bind 'enter:print-query'

Filtering options

# Case-insensitive (default)
fzf -i

# Case-sensitive
fzf +i

# Exact match
fzf -e

# Inverse match (exclude)
fzf --query='!pattern'

# OR operator
fzf --query='py$ | js$'  # .py or .js files

# AND operator
fzf --query='test .py'  # Contains both 'test' and '.py'

Integration Examples

With ripgrep

# Search content and open in vim
rg --line-number . | fzf | awk -F: '{print "+"$2, $1}' | xargs vim

# Search and preview matches
rg --line-number . | fzf --delimiter : \
  --preview 'bat --color=always {1} --highlight-line {2}' \
  --preview-window +{2}-/2

With fd

# Find and preview files
fd --type f | fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}'

# Find files modified today
fd --changed-within 1d | fzf --preview 'bat {}'

With docker

# Select and enter container
docker ps | fzf | awk '{print $1}' | xargs -I {} docker exec -it {} bash

# Remove selected images
docker images | fzf -m | awk '{print $3}' | xargs docker rmi

# View logs
docker ps | fzf | awk '{print $1}' | xargs docker logs -f

With kubectl

# Select pod
kubectl get pods | fzf | awk '{print $1}' | xargs kubectl describe pod

# Get logs
kubectl get pods | fzf | awk '{print $1}' | xargs kubectl logs -f

# Delete pods
kubectl get pods | fzf -m | awk '{print $1}' | xargs kubectl delete pod

Useful Aliases

Add to your shell config:

# Fuzzy file search and open in vim
alias fv='vim $(fzf --preview "bat --color=always --style=numbers {}")'

# Fuzzy directory change
alias fcd='cd $(find . -type d | fzf)'

# Fuzzy git checkout
alias gco='git branch | fzf | xargs git checkout'

# Fuzzy process kill
alias fkill='ps aux | fzf | awk "{print \$2}" | xargs kill -9'

# Fuzzy history search (Ctrl+R is built-in)
alias fh='history | fzf | awk "{print \$2}" | xargs -I {} sh -c "{}"'

# Find and edit
alias fe='fd --type f | fzf --preview "bat --color=always --style=numbers {}" | xargs -r $EDITOR'

Configuration

Environment variables

# Default options
export FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS='
  --height 40%
  --layout=reverse
  --border
  --inline-info
  --preview "bat --style=numbers --color=always --line-range :500 {}"
'

# Use fd instead of find
export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND='fd --type f --hidden --follow --exclude .git'

# For Ctrl+T
export FZF_CTRL_T_COMMAND="$FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND"

# For Alt+C
export FZF_ALT_C_COMMAND='fd --type d --hidden --follow --exclude .git'

Color scheme

export FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS='
  --color=bg+:#313244,bg:#1e1e2e,spinner:#f5e0dc,hl:#f38ba8
  --color=fg:#cdd6f4,header:#f38ba8,info:#cba6f7,pointer:#f5e0dc
  --color=marker:#f5e0dc,fg+:#cdd6f4,prompt:#cba6f7,hl+:#f38ba8
'

Advanced Workflows

Project file browser

# Smart file browser with preview
fzf \
  --preview 'bat --color=always --style=numbers --line-range=:500 {}' \
  --preview-window='right:60%:wrap' \
  --bind 'enter:execute(vim {})' \
  --bind 'ctrl-y:execute-silent(echo {} | pbcopy)+abort' \
  --header 'Enter: edit | Ctrl+Y: copy path'

Multi-purpose search

# Search in files and navigate to line
rg --line-number --no-heading . | \
  fzf --delimiter=: \
      --preview 'bat --color=always --style=numbers --highlight-line {2} {1}' \
      --preview-window='+{2}-/2' \
      --bind 'enter:execute(vim {1} +{2})'

Docker container manager

#!/bin/bash
# docker-fzf.sh
container=$(docker ps --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Image}}" | fzf --header-lines=1 | awk '{print $1}')
if [ -n "$container" ]; then
    docker exec -it "$container" bash
fi

Tips

• Use --preview for visual context
• Combine with bat, rg, fd for powerful workflows
• Press ? in fzf to see keybindings
• Use Tab for multi-select
• Ctrl+/ to toggle preview (if bound)
• Ctrl+K / Ctrl+J to navigate
• Start query with ' for exact match
• Start with ! to exclude
• Use | for OR, space for AND
• Set FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS for persistent config

Performance

# For large file lists, use fd or rg
export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND='fd --type f'

# Limit depth for faster results
export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND='fd --type f --max-depth 5'

# Use parallel preview
fzf --preview 'bat {}' --preview-window 'hidden'

Documentation

GitHub: https://github.com/junegunn/fzf Wiki: https://github.com/junegunn/fzf/wiki Examples: https://github.com/junegunn/fzf/wiki/examples