Enhanced searches with fzf
Command Line – fzf

© Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash
Simplify your searches and get better results with fzf, a modern search tool based on fuzzy logic.
Search commands have always been essential to using computers. With the increased storage capacity of modern systems, they are more important than ever because there is more material to search. In fact, searches are so important that alternatives to time-honored commands are becoming increasingly common. One of the most effective of these recent alternatives is fzf
, a command-line "fuzzy finder" [1].
For most Linux users, the basic search tool for finding directories and files has been find
, which is most effective when you know exactly what you are looking for. If you do not know, then you need a way to allow variation in the output. Traditionally, variation in search tools like find
is provided by regular expressions (regexes), a concept first developed in the 1950s. Regexes are standard patterns that offer different types of variations in results. Most users are familiar with the simpler regexes, such as *
to mean zero or any character, so that apt*
might return apt
, apt-get
, apt-cache
, and probably many others. At a more advanced level, users might know that gray|grey
produces results with either spelling, or [b-e]
a range of characters. However, regexes are not consistent across applications and can rapidly become extremely complex to construct or type correctly, especially when all you want is a quick answer. For example, even with context, who can easily explain this randomly selected example:
(\W|^)[\w.\-]{0,25}@(yahoo|hotmail|gmail)\.com(\W|$)
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Price $2.95
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you've found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Armbian 23.05 is Now Available
Based on Debian 12, the latest version of the ARM/RISC-V distribution is now available to download and install.
-
Linux Mint Finally Receiving Support for Gestures
If you use the Linux Mint Cinnamon desktop, you'll be thrilled to know that 21.2 is getting support for gestures on touchscreen devices and touchpads.
-
An All-Snap Version of Ubuntu is In The Works
Along with the standard deb version of the open-source operating system, Canonical will release an-all snap version.
-
Mageia 9 Beta 2 Ready for Testing
The latest beta of the popular Mageia distribution now includes the latest kernel and plenty of updated applications.
-
KDE Plasma 6 Looks to Bring Basic HDR Support
The KWin piece of KDE Plasma now has HDR support and color management geared for the 6.0 release.
-
Bodhi Linux 7.0 Beta Ready for Testing
The latest iteration of the Bohdi Linux distribution is now available for those who want to experience what's in store and for testing purposes.
-
Changes Coming to Ubuntu PPA Usage
The way you manage Personal Package Archives will be changing with the release of Ubuntu 23.10.
-
AlmaLinux 9.2 Now Available for Download
AlmaLinux has been released and provides a free alternative to upstream Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
-
An Immutable Version of Fedora Is Under Consideration
For anyone who's a fan of using immutable versions of Linux, the Fedora team is currently considering adding a new spin called Fedora Onyx.
-
New Release of Br OS Includes ChatGPT Integration
Br OS 23.04 is now available and is geared specifically toward web content creation.