Fff.nvim
The fastest and the most accurate file search toolkit for AI agents, Neovim, Rust, C, and NodeJS
Install / Use
/learn @dmtrKovalenko/Fff.nvimREADME
FFF stands for ~~freakin fast fuzzy file finder~~ (pick 3) and it is an opinionated fuzzy file picker for your AI agent and Neovim. Just for file search, but we do the file search really fff well.
FFF is a tool for grepping, fuzzy file matching, globbing, and multigrepping with a strong focus on performance and useful search results. For humans - provides an unbelievable typo-resistant experience, for AI agents - implements the fastest file search with additional free memory suggesting the best search results based on various factors like frecency, git status, file size, definition matches, and more.
MCP
FFF is an amazing way to reduce the time and tokens by giving your AI agent a bit of memory built-in to their file search tools. It makes your AI harness to find the code faster and spend less tokens by doing less roundtrips and reading less useless files.
You can install FFF as a dependency for your AI agent using a simple bash script:
curl -L https://dmtrkovalenko.dev/install-fff-mcp.sh | bash
The installation script is here ./install-mcp.sh if you want to review it before running.
It will print out the instructions on how to connect it to your Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, etc. Once you have it connected just ask your agent to "use fff".
Here is an example addition to CLAUDE.md that works perfectly:
# CLAUDE.md
For any file search or grep in the current git indexed directory use fff tools
Neovim guide
Here is some demo on the linux repository (100k files, 8GB) but you better fill it yourself and see the magic
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/5d0e1ce9-642c-4c44-aa88-01b05bb86abb
Installation
FFF.nvim requires neovim 0.10.0 or higher
lazy.nvim
{
'dmtrKovalenko/fff.nvim',
build = function()
-- this will download prebuild binary or try to use existing rustup toolchain to build from source
-- (if you are using lazy you can use gb for rebuilding a plugin if needed)
require("fff.download").download_or_build_binary()
end,
-- if you are using nixos
-- build = "nix run .#release",
opts = { -- (optional)
debug = {
enabled = true, -- we expect your collaboration at least during the beta
show_scores = true, -- to help us optimize the scoring system, feel free to share your scores!
},
},
-- No need to lazy-load with lazy.nvim.
-- This plugin initializes itself lazily.
lazy = false,
keys = {
{
"ff", -- try it if you didn't it is a banger keybinding for a picker
function() require('fff').find_files() end,
desc = 'FFFind files',
},
{
"fg",
function() require('fff').live_grep() end,
desc = 'LiFFFe grep',
},
{
"fz",
function() require('fff').live_grep({
grep = {
modes = { 'fuzzy', 'plain' }
}
}) end,
desc = 'Live fffuzy grep',
},
{
"fc",
function() require('fff').live_grep({ query = vim.fn.expand("<cword>") }) end,
desc = 'Search current word',
},
}
}
vim.pack
vim.pack.add({ 'https://github.com/dmtrKovalenko/fff.nvim' })
vim.api.nvim_create_autocmd('PackChanged', {
callback = function(event)
if event.data.updated then
require('fff.download').download_or_build_binary()
end
end,
})
-- the plugin will automatically lazy load
vim.g.fff = {
lazy_sync = true, -- start syncing only when the picker is open
debug = {
enabled = true,
show_scores = true,
},
}
vim.keymap.set(
'n',
'ff',
function() require('fff').find_files() end,
{ desc = 'FFFind files' }
)
Configuration
FFF.nvim comes with sensible defaults. Here's the complete configuration with all available options:
require('fff').setup({
base_path = vim.fn.getcwd(),
prompt = '🪿 ',
title = 'FFFiles',
max_results = 100,
max_threads = 4,
lazy_sync = true, -- set to false if you want file indexing to start on open
layout = {
height = 0.8,
width = 0.8,
prompt_position = 'bottom', -- or 'top'
preview_position = 'right', -- or 'left', 'right', 'top', 'bottom'
preview_size = 0.5,
flex = { -- set to false to disable flex layout
size = 130, -- column threshold: if screen width >= size, use preview_position; otherwise use wrap
wrap = 'top', -- position to use when screen is narrower than size
},
show_scrollbar = true, -- Show scrollbar for pagination
-- How to shorten long directory paths in the file list:
-- 'middle_number' (default): uses dots for 1-3 hidden (a/./b, a/../b, a/.../b)
-- and numbers for 4+ (a/.4./b, a/.5./b)
-- 'middle': always uses dots (a/./b, a/../b, a/.../b)
-- 'end': truncates from the end (home/user/projects)
path_shorten_strategy = 'middle_number',
},
preview = {
enabled = true,
max_size = 10 * 1024 * 1024, -- Do not try to read files larger than 10MB
chunk_size = 8192, -- Bytes per chunk for dynamic loading (8kb - fits ~100-200 lines)
binary_file_threshold = 1024, -- amount of bytes to scan for binary content (set 0 to disable)
imagemagick_info_format_str = '%m: %wx%h, %[colorspace], %q-bit',
line_numbers = false,
cursorlineopt = 'both', -- the cursorlineopt used for lines in grep file previews, see :h cursorlineopt
wrap_lines = false,
filetypes = {
svg = { wrap_lines = true },
markdown = { wrap_lines = true },
text = { wrap_lines = true },
},
},
keymaps = {
close = '<Esc>',
select = '<CR>',
select_split = '<C-s>',
select_vsplit = '<C-v>',
select_tab = '<C-t>',
-- you can assign multiple keys to any action
move_up = { '<Up>', '<C-p>' },
move_down = { '<Down>', '<C-n>' },
preview_scroll_up = '<C-u>',
preview_scroll_down = '<C-d>',
toggle_debug = '<F2>',
-- grep mode: cycle between plain text, regex, and fuzzy search
cycle_grep_modes = '<S-Tab>',
-- goes to the previous query in history
cycle_previous_query = '<C-Up>',
-- multi-select keymaps for quickfix
toggle_select = '<Tab>',
send_to_quickfix = '<C-q>',
-- this are specific for the normal mode (you can exit it using any other keybind like jj)
focus_list = '<leader>l',
focus_preview = '<leader>p',
},
hl = {
border = 'FloatBorder',
normal = 'Normal',
cursor = 'CursorLine', -- Falls back to 'Visual' if CursorLine is not defined
matched = 'IncSearch',
title = 'Title',
prompt = 'Question',
frecency = 'Number',
debug = 'Comment',
combo_header = 'Number',
scrollbar = 'Comment',
directory_path = 'Comment',
-- Multi-select highlights
selected = 'FFFSelected',
selected_active = 'FFFSelectedActive',
-- Git text highlights for file names
git_staged = 'FFFGitStaged',
git_modified = 'FFFGitModified',
git_deleted = 'FFFGitDeleted',
git_renamed = 'FFFGitRenamed',
git_untracked = 'FFFGitUntracked',
git_ignored = 'FFFGitIgnored',
-- Git sign/border highlights
git_sign_staged = 'FFFGitSignStaged',
git_sign_modified = 'FFFGitSignModified',
git_sign_deleted = 'FFFGitSignDeleted',
git_sign_renamed = 'FFFGitSignRenamed',
git_sign_untracked = 'FFFGitSignUntracked',
git_sign_ignored = 'FFFGitSignIgnored',
-- Git sign selected highlights
git_sign_staged_selected = 'FFFGitSignStagedSelected',
git_sign_modified_selected = 'FFFGitSignModifiedSelected',
git_sign_deleted_selected = 'FFFGitSignDeletedSelected',
git_sign_renamed_selected = 'FFFGitSignRenamedSelected',
git_sign_untracked_selected = 'FFFGitSignUntrackedSelected',
git_sign_ignored_selected = 'FFFGitSignIgnoredSelected',
-- Grep highlights
grep_match = 'IncSearch', -- Highlight for matched text in grep results
grep_line_number = 'LineNr', -- Highlight for :line:col location
grep_regex_active = 'DiagnosticInfo', -- Highlight for keybind + label when regex is on
grep_plain_active = 'Comment', -- Highlight for keybind + label when regex is off
grep_fuzzy_active = 'DiagnosticHint', -- Highlight for keybind + label when fuzzy is on
-- Cross-mode suggestion highlights
suggestion_header = 'WarningMsg', -- Highlight for the "No results found. Suggested..." banner
},
-- Store file open frecency
frecency = {
enabled = true,
db_path = vim.fn.stdpa
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