fzf Layout, UI, and Styling

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Tune layout, borders, headers, sorting, and visual style for cleaner fuzzy-finder interfaces.

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Layout options

Shape the finder UI for different terminal sizes and workflows.

Use a compact reverse layout

Display fzf in the lower portion of the terminal with the prompt at the top.

↗#

bashANYheightlayoutreverse

bash

fzf --height=40% --layout=reverse

A widely used default that feels natural in terminal workflows.

Use full-screen mode

Open fzf in a full-screen interactive view.

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bashANYfullscreenheight

bash

fzf --height=100%

Best when you need maximum room for long lines or lots of results.

Add border and label

Decorate the UI with a border and title-like labels.

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bashANYborderlabelprompt

bash

fzf --border --border-label=' Search ' --prompt='❯ '

Useful for polished shell functions and scripts.

Show inline info and a header

Tighten the top section while keeping guidance visible.

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bashANYinfoheaderui

bash

fzf --info=inline --header='Type to filter, TAB to mark, Enter to accept'

Small usability upgrade for shared team scripts.

Preserve colored input

Interpret ANSI color codes from the input stream.

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bashANYansicolors

bash

git -c color.status=always status --short | fzf --ansi

Required when upstream commands already colorize their output.

Style and theme

Tune colors, pointer symbols, and list presentation.

Set UI defaults globally

Store your preferred UI settings in FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS.

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bashANYthemedefault-optscolor

bash

export FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS='--color=fg:#d0d0d0,bg:#101010,hl:#ffaf5f --pointer=▶ --marker=✓ --border'

Centralizes your theme and interface conventions.

Enable cyclic movement and sort

Make navigation wrap around and control sorting behavior.

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bashANYcyclesorttac

bash

fzf --cycle --tac

Useful for logs, history, and reverse chronological lists.

Disable result sorting

Keep input order instead of sorting matches by score.

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bashANYno-sorthistoryordering

bash

history | fzf --no-sort

Important when the original order already carries meaning.

Freeze top lines

Keep table headings pinned at the top while filtering the rest.

↗#

bashANYheader-linestables

bash

(printf 'PID CMD
'; ps -eo pid,comm) | fzf --header-lines=1

Excellent for tabular data so headings remain visible.

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