fzf Preview Windows, Key Bindings, and Actions

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Use previews, key bindings, execute actions, and dynamic UI changes to build powerful interactive pickers.

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Preview window

Show file or command previews beside the results list.

Preview file contents with bat

Render a syntax-highlighted preview for files.

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bashANYpreviewbatfiles

bash

fzf --preview 'bat --style=numbers --color=always --line-range :200 {}'

A common choice because bat provides color and line numbers.

Place preview on the right

Move the preview window and size it.

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bashANYpreview-windowlayout

bash

find . -type f | fzf --preview 'head -100 {}' --preview-window=right,60%

The preview window is highly configurable for position, size, wrap, border, and follow behavior.

Toggle preview visibility

Start with the preview hidden and toggle it on demand.

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bashANYtoggle-previewbindings

bash

find . -type f | fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}' --bind 'ctrl-/:toggle-preview'

Useful when you want a compact list by default but still need previews occasionally.

Scroll the preview pane

Add custom preview scrolling bindings.

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bashANYpreviewscrollbindings

bash

find . -type f | fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}' --bind 'ctrl-u:preview-half-page-up,ctrl-d:preview-half-page-down'

Helpful for long previews when you want keyboard-only navigation.

Bind actions

Attach commands and UI behavior to keys and events.

Select all items with a key binding

Bind a key to select all results in multi-select mode.

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bashANYbindselect-allmulti

bash

seq 100 | fzf -m --bind 'ctrl-a:select-all'

Bindings make fzf much more powerful than a passive filter.

Clear all selections

Bind a key to deselect all marked entries.

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bashANYbinddeselect-all

bash

seq 100 | fzf -m --bind 'ctrl-x:deselect-all'

Useful alongside multi-select workflows.

Run a command on the current item

Open the selected file without leaving fzf permanently.

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bashANYexecuteeditorbind

bash

find . -type f | fzf --bind 'enter:execute(vim {})'

The execute action launches a subprocess using the current item.

Replace fzf with another process

Turn the selection directly into a new foreground program.

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bashANYbecomeeditorbind

bash

find . -type f | fzf --bind 'enter:become(vim {})'

become is ideal when fzf is only a launcher and should hand control to the next process.

Change the prompt dynamically

Update the prompt based on a key or event.

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bashANYchange-promptuibind

bash

printf '%s
' files dirs | fzf --bind 'ctrl-f:change-prompt(Files> ),ctrl-d:change-prompt(Dirs> )'

Useful in advanced menus that switch modes.

Update the header dynamically

Modify informational text in response to events.

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bashANYheadertransformevents

bash

printf '%s
' alpha beta gamma | fzf --bind 'focus:transform-header:echo Focused on {1}'

Dynamic headers can make interactive dashboards more self-explanatory.

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