fzf Cheatsheet

Q: How do I install fzf?

Run git clone to ~/.fzf and run the install script. This sets up key bindings (CTRL-T, CTRL-R, ALT-C) and auto-completion. Or via Homebrew: brew install fzf.

Q: What do CTRL-T, CTRL-R, and ALT-C do?

CTRL-T: paste selected file/dir path. CTRL-R: search command history. ALT-C: cd into subdirectory. These work in bash, zsh, and fish.

Q: How do I preview files before selecting?

Use `--preview cat FILE` to preview file content. Replace cat with bat for syntax-highlighted previews. Set as default with FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS.

fzf is a general-purpose command-line fuzzy finder for interactively filtering lists. Search files, command history, processes — pipe any list into fzf for instant filtering.

Updated: 2026-07-20·15 commands

Quick Start

``bash # Interactive file search fzf

# Search with preview fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}'

# Pipe any list into fzf find . -name '*.py' | fzf --multi

# Search command history (default binding) # Press CTRL-R``

Startup & Modes(15)

Command	Level	Example
`fzf --help` Show fzf help	Basic	`fzf --help`
`fzf` Interactive fuzzy search files in current dir	Basic	`fzf`
`ctrl-t` Paste selected file path in shell (default binding)	Basic	`ctrl-t`
`ctrl-r` Search command history (default binding)	Basic	`ctrl-r`
`alt-c` Search and cd into subdirectories	Basic	`alt-c`
`find . -type f \| fzf` Pipe file list to fzf for filtering	Basic	`find . -type f \| fzf`
`cat **` Select file with fzf then cat (requires config)	Intermediate	`cat **<tab>`
`kill -9 **` Select process with fzf then kill	Intermediate	`kill -9 **<tab>`
`fzf --preview` Preview selected file content	Intermediate	`fzf --preview 'cat {}'`
`fzf --multi` Enable multi-select (Tab to mark)	Basic	`fzf --multi`
`fzf --query` Pre-fill search query	Basic	`fzf --query 'config'`
`fzf --filter` Non-interactive mode, output matches directly	Intermediate	`fzf --filter='.py' < filelist.txt`
`fzf --bind` Custom key bindings	Expert	`fzf --bind 'ctrl-d:reload(find . -type d)'`
`export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND` Set default search command	Intermediate	`export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND='fd --type f'`
`export FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS` Set default options	Intermediate	`export FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS='--height 40% --layout=reverse'`

FAQ

How do I install fzf?

What do CTRL-T, CTRL-R, and ALT-C do?

How do I preview files before selecting?

This cheatsheet is compiled from official tool documentation. Last updated: 2026-07-20.