← Back to home

What is fzf?

fzf is a general-purpose command-line fuzzy finder written in Go by Junegunn Choi. It's an interactive filter program for any kind of list - files, command history, processes, hostnames, bookmarks, git commits, and more. With over 72k GitHub stars, it has become an essential tool for command-line productivity.

            🚀 Why Latest Versions Matter: fzf is actively developed with frequent releases containing performance improvements, new features, and enhanced integrations. The latest versions include improved preview capabilities, better shell integration, tmux support, and advanced customization options.
        

⚡ Key Features of fzf

📦 Portable & Fast

Single binary distribution with blazingly fast performance. Instantly processes millions of items with optimized Go implementation.

🛠️ Extremely Versatile

Fully customizable via event-action binding mechanism. Works with any kind of list input - files, processes, commands, etc.

🔋 Shell Integration

Built-in integration with bash, zsh, and fish. Includes key bindings for file search (Ctrl-T), command history (Ctrl-R), and directory navigation (Alt-C).

🖼️ Preview Window

Real-time preview of files, images, and content. Supports syntax highlighting, image display, and custom preview commands.

🎨 Highly Customizable

Multiple display modes, color schemes, layout options, and style presets. Theme playground available for interactive customization.

🔌 Editor Integration

Vim and Neovim plugins available. Seamless integration with popular editors and development workflows.

🆕 What's New in fzf 0.65.1+

Enhanced Preview: Improved image preview with multiple protocol support
Tmux Integration: Native tmux popup support with flexible positioning
Style Presets: Default, full, and minimal style presets for quick setup
Advanced Schemes: Specialized schemes for paths, history, and different input types
Better Performance: Optimized algorithms for handling large datasets
Enhanced Bindings: More flexible key binding system with event-action mechanism

📦 Installation from debian.griffo.io

Step 1: Add Repository

# Add GPG key
curl -sS https://debian.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/debian.griffo.io.gpg

# Add repository
echo "deb https://debian.griffo.io/apt $(lsb_release -sc 2>/dev/null) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.griffo.io.list

# Update package list
sudo apt update
            

Step 2: Install fzf

# Install latest fzf
sudo apt install fzf

# Verify installation
fzf --version
            

Step 3: Set Up Shell Integration

# For bash users
echo 'eval "$(fzf --bash)"' >> ~/.bashrc

# For zsh users  
echo 'source <(fzf --zsh)' >> ~/.zshrc

# For fish users
echo 'fzf --fish | source' >> ~/.config/fish/config.fish

# Reload shell
source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc
            

🎯 Basic Usage Examples

Interactive file finder:

# Find and edit files
vim $(fzf)

# Find files with preview
fzf --preview 'cat {}'

# Find files with syntax highlighting
fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}'
        

Shell integration keybindings:

# Ctrl-T: Find files and directories
# Type any command, then press Ctrl-T to insert selected files

# Ctrl-R: Search command history
# Press Ctrl-R to search and select from command history

# Alt-C: Change directory
# Press Alt-C to fuzzy find and cd into directories
        

Advanced usage:

# Search processes and kill
ps aux | fzf | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill

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

# Interactive ripgrep
rg --color=always --line-number . | fzf --ansi

# Multi-select mode
find . -type f | fzf -m
        

🔧 Tool Integrations

fzf works perfectly with other modern command-line tools:

fd: Use as file source for respecting .gitignore
ripgrep: Interactive grep with live reload
bat: Syntax-highlighted file previews
eza: Enhanced file listing with fzf filtering
zoxide: Smart directory jumping with fuzzy search

🚀 Why Choose debian.griffo.io?

📊 Repository Comparison:

Official Debian: Available but often outdated versions
Manual Installation: Requires Go toolchain or manual binary management
debian.griffo.io: Latest version (0.65.1+) with automatic updates

✅ Latest Features: Get newest fzf features and performance improvements
✅ No Manual Setup: Pre-built binaries, no Go compilation needed
✅ Automatic Updates: Packages updated within hours of upstream releases
✅ Complete Package: Includes shell integration scripts and documentation
✅ Multi-Distribution: Works on Bookworm, Trixie, and Sid
✅ Easy Maintenance: Standard apt commands for updates

🔗 Related Packages

Also available from debian.griffo.io:

eza - Modern ls replacement (great with fzf)
Yazi File Manager - Integrates with fzf for file searching
zoxide - Smart cd command (works with fzf)

            🎯 Perfect for: Command-line power users, developers who want faster file and command searching, anyone looking to improve terminal productivity, and users who appreciate fuzzy matching for navigation.
        

🔍 Install Latest fzf on Debian