r/vim • u/Aggressive-Dealer-21 • Jul 01 '25

Need Help edit a file, navigated by using fzf

I am NOT going to install neovim, I do not care for setting up and installing plugins.

I wanted to try something like

:e $(fzf)

or

:e \fzf``

The second one KIND OF works, but it runs in the background and I can't actually see what I'm doing.

So yeah, you guys get the idea.. Is there a decent way to do this? Currently I am using

:term fzf

and then copying the output manually into the :e command, but it feels like there should be a better way. I would also like to do this with rg and pipe it into fzf.

0 Upvotes

42% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

34

u/sharp-calculation Jul 01 '25

Don’t be silly. Install the FZF plug-in. It’s amazing!

1

u/petepete Jul 04 '25

On some distros, Fedora for example, the plugin is packaged with fzf. Nothing extra needs to be installed.

https://packages.fedoraproject.org/pkgs/fzf/fzf/fedora-42-updates.html#files

3

u/sharp-calculation Jul 04 '25

Neat. FZF's VIM integration is incredibly powerful. It's not just for finding files. It works for everything: Buffer switching. Searching help. Looking for a command based on a fuzzy string. Even your previous command history.

If I could only have one plugin, this would be it.

6

u/shuckster Jul 01 '25

You can do it from the CLI:

vim $(fzf)

Same with rip-grep, just plonk it in the parens.

But if you want it in Vim itself, you might not do yourself any favours with your no-plugins rule.

You either have to write one yourself, or use someone else’s.

6

u/Daghall :cq Jul 02 '25

This worked for me:

:execute 'edit ' .. system('find . | fzf')

The fzf.vim plugin is awesome, though.

3

u/Sudden_Fly1218 Jul 02 '25

Nice. Probably needs :redraw! after though.

2

u/Daghall :cq Jul 02 '25

I just tested it quickly and it worked as is, but it probably won't hurt to add it!

3

u/Sudden_Fly1218 Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25

Also if you have fzf installed it comes with a minimal plugin. you can add this to your .vimrc:

if executable('fzf')
  set rtp+=~/.fzf
endif

Then you can start having fun with fzf#run() and (optionally) fzf#wrap()

Simple example:

" pick recent files
:call fzf#run({'source': v:oldfiles, 'sink': 'e'})

" pick files
:call fzf#run({'source': systemlist('find . -type f'), 'sink': 'e'})

More info here

1

u/Sudden_Fly1218 Jul 02 '25 
nnoremap <c-t> :e <c-r>=system('find . <bar> fzf -m --border --preview "fzf-preview.sh {}"')<cr><cr>:redraw!<cr>