sk(1) General Commands Manual sk(1) NAME sk - Fuzzy Finder in rust! SYNOPSIS sk [--tac] [--min-query-length] [--no-sort] [-t|--tiebreak] [-n|--nth] [--with-nth] [-d|--delimiter] [-e|--exact] [--regex] [--algo] [--case] [--typos] [--no-typos] [--normalize] [--split-match] [--last-match] [--scheme] [-b|--bind] [-m|--multi] [--no-multi] [--no-mouse] [-c|--cmd] [-i|--interactive] [-I ] [--color] [--no-hscroll] [--keep-right] [--skip-to-pattern] [--no-clear-if-empty] [--no-clear-start] [--no-clear] [--show-cmd-error] [--cycle] [--disabled] [--layout] [--reverse] [--height] [--no-height] [--min-height] [--margin] [-p|--prompt] [--cmd-prompt] [--selector] [--multi-selector] [--ansi] [--tabstop] [--info] [--no-info] [--inline-info] [--header] [--header-lines] [--border] [--wrap] [--history] [--history-size] [--cmd-history] [--cmd-history-size] [--preview] [--preview-window] [-q|--query] [--cmd-query] [--read0] [--print0] [--print-query] [--print-cmd] [--print-score] [--print-header] [--print-current] [--output-format] [--no-strip-ansi] [-1|--select-1] [-0|--exit-0] [--sync] [--pre-select-n] [--pre-select-pat] [--pre-select-items] [--pre-select-file] [-f|--filter] [--shell] [--shell-bindings] [--man] [--listen] [--remote] [--tmux] [--log-level] [--log-file] [--expect] [-h|--help] [-V|--version] OPTIONS -h, --help Print help (see a summary with '-h') -V, --version Print version SEARCH --tac Show results in reverse order Often used in combination with --no-sort --min-query-length Minimum query length to start showing results Only show results when the query is at least this many characters long --no-sort Do not sort the results Often used in combination with --tac Example: history | sk --tac --no-sort -t, --tiebreak [default: score,begin,end] Comma-separated list of sort criteria to apply when the scores are tied. * **score**: Score of the fuzzy match algorithm - Each criterion could be negated, e.g. (-index) - Each criterion should appear only once in the list [possible values: score, -score, begin, -begin, end, -end, length, -length, index, -index, pathname, -pathname] -n, --nth [default: ] Fields to be matched A field index expression can be a non-zero integer or a range expression (`[BEGIN]..[END]`). `--nth` and `--with-nth` take a comma-separated list of field index expressions. **Examples:** 1 The 1st field 2 The 2nd field -1 The last field -2 The 2nd to last field 3..5 From the 3rd field to the 5th field 2.. From the 2nd field to the last field ..-3 From the 1st field to the 3rd to the last field .. All the fields --with-nth [default: ] Fields to be transformed See nth for the details -d, --delimiter [default: [\t\n ]+] Delimiter between fields In regex format, default to AWK-style. Escape sequences like \x00, \t, \n are supported. -e, --exact Run in exact mode --regex Start in regex mode instead of fuzzy-match --algo [default: arinae] Fuzzy matching algorithm arinae (ari) Latest algorithm skim_v2 Legacy skim algorithm clangd Used in clangd for keyword completion fzy Algorithm from fzy (https://github.com/jhawthorn/fzy) Possible values: o skim_v2: Improved skim fuzzy matching algorithm (v2) o clangd: Clangd fuzzy matching algorithm o fzy: Fzy matching algorithm (https://github.com/jhawthorn/fzy) o frizbee: Frizbee matching algorithm, typo resistant o arinae: Arinae: typo-resistant & natural algorithm, default --case [default: smart] Case sensitivity Determines whether or not to ignore case while matching Note: this is not used for the Frizbee matcher, it uses a penalty system to favor case-sensitivity without enforcing it Possible values: o respect: Case-sensitive matching o ignore: Case-insensitive matching o smart: Smart case: case-insensitive unless query contains uppercase --typos [] [default: disabled] Enable typo-tolerant matching When passed without a value (--typos), uses adaptive formula (pattern_length / 4). When passed with a value (e.g. --typos=2), uses that exact number as the maximum allowed typos. --typos=0 explicitly disables typo tolerance. Applies to both fzy and frizbee matchers. --no-typos Disable typo-resistant matching --normalize Normalize unicode characters When set, normalize accents and other unicode diacritics/others --split-match [...] Enable split matching and set delimiter Split matching runs the matcher in splits: foo:bar will match all items matching foo, then :, then bar if the delimiter is present, or match normally if not. --last-match Highlight the last match found, not the first one This makes tiebreak more pertinent on path items where we want to prioritize a match on the last parts --scheme [default: default] Possible values: o default: Default scheme, no modifications to the options o path: Path scheme: will find the furthest match in the item and set pathname as the main tiebreak o history: History scheme: will force index as the first tiebreak INTERFACE -b, --bind [...] [default: ] Comma separated list of bindings You can customize key bindings of sk with `--bind` option which takes a comma-separated list of key binding expressions. Each key binding expression follows the following format: `:` See the [KEYBINDS] section for details **Example**: `sk --bind=ctrl-j:accept,ctrl-k:kill-line` ## Multiple actions can be chained using + separator. **Example**: `sk --bind 'ctrl-a:select-all+accept'` # Special behaviors With `execute(...)` and `reload(...)` action, you can execute arbitrary commands without leaving sk. For example, you can turn sk into a simple file browser by binding enter key to less command like follows: ```bash sk --bind "enter:execute(less {})" ``` Note: if no argument is supplied to reload, the default command is run. You can use the same placeholder expressions as in --preview. sk switches to the alternate screen when executing a command. However, if the command is ex- pected to complete quickly, and you are not interested in its output, you might want to use exe- cute-silent instead, which silently executes the command without the switching. Note that sk will not be responsive until the command is complete. For asynchronous execution, start your command as a background process (i.e. appending &). With if-query-empty and if-query-not-empty action, you could specify the action to execute de- pends on the query condition. For example: `sk --bind 'ctrl-d:if-query-empty(abort)+delete-char'` If the query is empty, skim will execute abort action, otherwise execute delete-char action. It is equal to `delete-char/eof`. -m, --multi Enable multiple selection Uses Tab and S-Tab by default for selection --no-multi Disable multiple selection --no-mouse Disable mouse -c, --cmd Command to invoke dynamically in interactive mode Will be invoked using sh -c -i, --interactive Start skim in interactive mode In interactive mode, sk will run the command specified by --cmd option and display the results. -I [default: {}] Replace replstr with the selected item in commands --color Set color theme Format: [BASE][,COLOR:ANSI[:ATTR1:ATTR2:..]] See [THEME] section for details --no-hscroll Disable horizontal scroll --keep-right Keep the right end of the line visible on overflow Effective only when the query string is empty --skip-to-pattern Show the matched pattern at the line start Line will start with the start of the matched pattern. Effective only when the query string is empty. Was designed to skip showing starts of paths of rg/grep results. e.g. sk -i -c "rg {q} --color=always" --skip-to-pattern '[^/]*:' --ansi --no-clear-if-empty Do not clear previous line if the command returns an empty result Do not clear previous items if new command returns empty result. This might be useful to reduce flickering when typing new commands and the half-complete commands are not valid. This is not the default behavior because similar use cases for grep and rg have already been op- timized where empty query results actually mean "empty" and previous results should be cleared. --no-clear-start Do not clear items on start --no-clear Do not clear screen on exit Do not clear finder interface on exit. If skim was started in full screen mode, it will not switch back to the original screen, so you'll have to manually run tput rmcup to return. This option can be used to avoid flickering of the screen when your application needs to start skim multiple times in order. --show-cmd-error Show error message if command fails --cycle Cycle the results by wrapping around when scrolling --disabled Disable matching entirely LAYOUT --layout [default: default] Set layout Possible values: o default: Display from the bottom of the screen o reverse: Display from the top of the screen o reverse-list: Display from the top of the screen, prompt at the bottom --reverse Shorthand for reverse layout --height [default: 100%] Height of skim's window Can either be a row count or a percentage --no-height Disable height (force full screen) --min-height [default: 10] Minimum height of skim's window Useful when the height is set as a percentage Ignored when --height is not specified --margin [default: 0] Screen margin For each side, can be either a row count or a percentage of the terminal size Format can be one of: - TRBL - TB,RL - T,RL,B - T,R,B,L Example: 1,10% -p, --prompt [default: > ] Set prompt --cmd-prompt [default: c> ] Set prompt in command mode --selector [default: >] Set selected item icon --multi-selector [default: >] Set selected item icon DISPLAY --ansi Parse ANSI color codes in input strings When using skim as a library, this has no effect and ansi parsing should be enabled by manually injecting a cmd_collector like so: use skim::prelude::*; let _options = SkimOptionsBuilder::default() .cmd("ls --color") .cmd_collector(Rc::new(RefCell::new(SkimItemReader::new( SkimItemReaderOption::default().ansi(true), ))) as Rc>) .build() .unwrap(); --tabstop [default: 8] Number of spaces that make up a tab --info [default: default] Set matching result count display position - hidden: do not display info - inline: display info in the same row as the input - default: display info in a dedicated row above the input [possible values: default, inline, hidden] --no-info Alias for --info=hidden --inline-info Alias for --info=inline --header
Set header, displayed next to the info The given string will be printed as the sticky header. The lines are displayed in the given order from top to bottom regardless of --layout option, and are not affected by --with-nth. ANSI color codes are processed even when --ansi is not set. --header-lines [default: 0] Number of lines of the input treated as header The first N lines of the input are treated as the sticky header. When --with-nth is set, the lines are transformed just like the other lines that follow. --border [...] Draw borders around the UI components [possible values: plain, rounded, double, thick, light-double-dashed, heavy-double-dashed, light-triple-dashed, heavy-triple-dashed, light-quadruple-dashed, heavy-quadruple-dashed, quadrant-inside, quadrant-outside] --wrap Wrap items in the item list --tmux [...] Run in a tmux popup Format: `sk --tmux [,SIZE[%]][,SIZE[%]]` Depending on the direction, the order and behavior of the sizes varies: Default: center,50% HISTORY --history History file Load search history from the specified file and update the file on completion. When enabled, CTRL-N and CTRL-P are automatically remapped to next-history and previous-history. --history-size [default: 1000] Maximum number of query history entries to keep --cmd-history Command history file Load command query history from the specified file and update the file on completion. When enabled, CTRL-N and CTRL-P are automatically remapped to next-history and previous-history. --cmd-history-size [default: 1000] Maximum number of query history entries to keep PREVIEW --preview Preview command Execute the given command for the current line and display the result on the preview window. {} in the command is the placeholder that is replaced to the single-quoted string of the current line. To transform the replace- ment string, specify field index expressions between the braces (See FIELD INDEX EXPRESSION for the details). **Examples**: ```bash sk --preview='head -$LINES {}' ls -l | sk --preview="echo user={3} when={-4..-2}; cat {-1}" --header-lines=1 --preview-window [default: right:50%] Preview window layout Format: [up|down|left|right][:SIZE[%]][:hidden][:[no]wrap][:[no]pty][:+SCROLL[-OFFSET]] Determine the layout of the preview window. If the argument ends with: hidden, the preview window will be hidden by default until toggle-preview action is triggered. Long lines are truncated by default. Line wrap can be enabled with :wrap flag. For more interactive commands or previews that draw complex interfaces, the preview can use a PTY with the :pty flag. Note: the preview will run in a PTY (interactive session) on linux and when wrap is unset If size is given as 0, preview window will not be visible, but sk will still execute the command in the background. +SCROLL[-OFFSET] determines the initial scroll offset of the preview window. SCROLL can be either a numeric integer or a single-field index expression that refers to a numeric integer. The optional -OFFSET part is for adjusting the base offset so that you can see the text above it. It should be given as a numeric integer (-INTEGER), or as a denom- inator form (-/INTEGER) for specifying a fraction of the preview window height. Examples: # Non-default scroll window positions and sizes sk --preview="head {}" --preview-window=up:30% sk --preview="file {}" --preview-window=down:2 # Initial scroll offset is set to the line number of each line of # git grep output *minus* 5 lines (-5) git grep --line-number '' | sk --delimiter: --preview 'nl {1}' --preview-window +{2}-5 # Preview with bat, matching line in the middle of the window (-/2) git grep --line-number '' | sk --delimiter : \ --preview 'bat --style=numbers --color=always --highlight-line {2} {1}' \ --preview-window +{2}-/2 SCRIPTING -q, --query Initial query --cmd-query Initial query in interactive mode --read0 Read input delimited by ASCII NUL(\0) characters --print0 Print output delimited by ASCII NUL(\0) characters --print-query Print the query as the first line --print-cmd Print the command as the first line (after print-query) --print-score Print the score after each item --print-header Print the header as the first line (after print-score) --print-current Print the current (highlighted) item as the first line (after print-header) --output-format Set the output format If set, overrides all print_ options Will be expanded the same way as preview or commands --no-strip-ansi Print the ANSI codes, making the output exactly match the input even when --ansi is on -1, --select-1 Do not enter the TUI if the query passed in -q matches only one item and return it -0, --exit-0 Do not enter the TUI if the query passed in -q does not match any item --sync Synchronous search for multi-staged filtering Synchronous search for multi-staged filtering. If specified, skim will launch ncurses finder only after the input stream is complete. e.g. sk --multi | sk --sync --pre-select-n [default: 0] Pre-select the first n items in multi-selection mode --pre-select-pat [default: ] Pre-select the matched items in multi-selection mode Check the doc for the detailed syntax: https://docs.rs/regex/1.4.1/regex/ --pre-select-items [default: ] Pre-select the items separated by newline character Example: 'item1\nitem2' --pre-select-file Pre-select the items read from this file -f, --filter Query for filter mode --shell Generate shell completion script Generate completion script for the specified shell: bash, zsh, fish, etc. The output can be directly sourced or saved to a file for automatic loading. Examples: source <(sk --shell bash) (immediate use) sk --shell bash >> ~/.bash_completion (persistent use) Supported shells: bash, zsh, fish, powershell, elvish Note: While PowerShell completions are supported, Windows is not supported for now. Possible values: o bash: Bourne Again SHell o elvish: Elvish shell o fish: Friendly Interactive SHell o nushell: Nushell (nu) o power-shell: PowerShell o zsh: Zsh --shell-bindings Generate shell key bindings - only for bash, zsh and fish Generate key bindings script after the shell completions See the shell option for more details --man Generate man page and output it to stdout --listen [...] Run an IPC socket with optional name (defaults to sk) The socket expects Actions in Ron format (similar to Rust code), see ./src/tui/event.rs for all possible Actions To write to it, see the --remote option or the man page --remote [...] Send commands to an IPC socket with optional name (defaults to sk) The commands are read from stdin, one per line, in the same format as the actions in the bind flag. They can also be chained using + as a separator. All other arguments will be ignored --log-level Set the log level --log-file Pipe log output to a file DEPRECATED --expect [default: ] Deprecated, kept for compatibility purposes. See accept() bind instead MODES Normal mode In normal mode, sk reads the input from stdin and displays the results interactively, and the query is then used to fuzzily filter among the input lines. Interactive mode Interactive mode is a special mode that allows you to run a command interactively and display the results. It is enabled by the `--interactive` (or `-i`) option or by binding the `toggle-interactive` action (default: ). The command is specified with the `--cmd` option. Example: `sk --cmd 'rg {} --color=always' --interactive` will use `rg` to search for the query in the current directory and display the results interactively. SEARCH By default, skim will start in `extended search`, giving some characters will have meaning. Example: `^test rs$ | sh$` will match items starting with test and ending with rs or sh. AND (space) A space between terms will act as an 'and' operator and will filter for items matching all terms. OR (|) A vertical bar between terms will act as an 'or' operator and will filter for items matching one of the terms. Exact match (') If a term is prefixed by a `'`, sk will search for exact occurrences of that term. Exact search can be enabled by default by the `--exact` command-line flag. In exact mode, `'` will disable exact matching for that term. Anchored match (^|$) If a term is prefixed by a `^` (resp. suffixed by a `$`), sk will search for matches starting (resp. ending) with that exact term. Negation (!) If a term is prefixed by `!`, sk will exclude the items that match this term. KEYBINDS Keybinds can be set by the `--bind` option, which takes a comma-separated list of [key]:[action[+action2]. Actions can take arguments, specified either between parentheses `reload(ls)` or after a colon `reload:ls` Available keys (aliases in parentheses) * ctrl-[a-z] * ctrl-space * ctrl-alt-[a-z] * alt-[a-zA-Z] * alt-[0-9] * f[1-12] * enter * space * bspace (bs) * alt-up * alt-down * alt-left * alt-right * alt-enter * alt-space * alt-bspace (alt-bs) * alt-/ * tab * btab (shift-tab) * esc * del * up * down * left * right * home * end * pgup * pgdn * shift-up * shift-down * shift-left * shift-right * alt-shift-up * alt-shift-down * alt-shift-left * alt-shift-right * any single character Actions[:default keys][*notes] * abort: ctrl-c ctrl-q esc * accept(...): enter *the argument will be printed when the binding is triggered* * append-and-select * backward-char: ctrl-b left * backward-delete-char: ctrl-h bspace * backward-delete-char/eof * backward-kill-word: alt-bs * backward-word: alt-b shift-left * beginning-of-line: ctrl-a home * clear-screen: ctrl-l * delete-char: del * delete-char/eof: ctrl-d * deselect-all * down: ctrl-j ctrl-n down * end-of-line: ctrl-e end * execute(...): *arg will be a command, see COMMAND EXPANSION for details * execute-silent(...): *arg will be a command, see COMMAND EXPANSION for details * forward-char: ctrl-f right * forward-word: alt-f shift-right * if-non-matched * if-query-empty * if-query-not-empty * ignore * kill-line * kill-word: alt-d * next-history: ctrl-n with `--history` or `--cmd-history` * page-down: pgdn * page-up: pgup * half-page-down * half-page-up * preview-up: shift-up * preview-down: shift-down * preview-left * preview-right * preview-page-down * preview-page-up * previous-history: ctrl-p with `--history` or `--cmd-history` * redraw * refresh-cmd * refresh-preview * reload(...) * select-all * select-row * set-preview-cmd(...): *arg will be a expanded expression, see COMMAND EXPANSION for details * set-query(...): *arg will be a expanded expression, see COMMAND EXPANSION for details * toggle * toggle-all * toggle+down: ctrl-i tab * toggle-in: (--layout=reverse ? toggle+up: toggle+down) * toggle-interactive * toggle-out: (--layout=reverse ? toggle+down: toggle+up) * toggle-preview * toggle-preview-wrap * toggle-sort * toggle+up: btab shift-tab * top * unix-line-discard: ctrl-u * unix-word-rubout: ctrl-w * up: ctrl-k ctrl-p up * yank: ctrl-y COMMAND EXPANSION In the `preview` flag, `execute`, `reload`, `set-query`... binds, sk will expand placeholders: * {} (or --replstr if used) will be expanded to the current item. * {q} (or {cq} for legacy reasons) will be expanded to the current query input. * {+} will be expanded to either the currently selected items in multi-select mode, or the current item in single-select. * {n} will be expanded to the index of the current item. * {+n} will be expanded to the index(es) of the corresponding {+} item(s). * {FIELD_INDEX_EXPRESSION} will be expanded to the field index expression run against the current item. * {+FIELD_INDEX_EXPRESSION} will be expanded to the field index expression run against the {+} item(s). Field index expression skim will expand some expressions between {..}. It will expand to the corresponding fields, separated by the `--delimiter|-d` option (see there for details). * `{n}` will be the n-th field. * `{n..m}` will be the fields from n to m, inclusive, separated by a space * `{-n}` will be the n-th, starting from the end, -1 will be the last field etc. ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES SKIM_DEFAULT_COMMAND If set, skim will collect items with this command if no input is piped in (defaults to `find .` if not set) SKIM_DEFAULT_OPTIONS Will be parsed and used as default options. Example: `--reverse --multi` SKIM_OPTIONS_FILE If the variable is set to the path of an existing file, the contents of this file will be parsed and used as default options. It supports `#` as a comment start, which can be escaped using `##`. Example: ``` # Preview --preview 'echo {}' --preview-window 'left:30%' # Preview window --reverse --prompt '## ' ``` NO_COLOR If set to a non-empty value, will disable coloring THEME Available themes: * none: base color scheme * molokai: molokai 256color * light: light 256color * 16: dark base16 theme * bw: black & white theme * dark | default: dark 256color, default value * all 4 catppuccin variants: * catppuccin-latte * catppuccin-macchiato * catppuccin-frappe * catppuccin-mocha Available color names: * normal (or empty string): normal text * matched (or hl): matched text * current (or fg+): current line foreground * bg+: current line background (special case, always sets background) * current_match (or hl+): matched text in current line * query: query text * spinner: spinner character * info: info text (match count) * prompt: prompt text * cursor (or pointer): cursor/pointer * selected (or marker): selected item marker * header: header text * border: border lines Adding `-fg`, `_fg`, `-bg`, `_bg`, `-underline`, `_underline` sets the corresponding part of the color. For instance, `normal-fg` (or simply `fg`) will set the foreground normal color. Color formats: * 0-255: ANSI terminal color * #rrggbb: 24-bit color Available attrs: * x | regular: resets the modifiers, use it before the others * b | bold * u | underline * c | crossed-out * d | dim * i | italic * r | reverse Example: `--color '16,normal-fg:0+bold,matched-fg:#ffffff+u,cursor-bg:#deadbe'` will start with the base 16 theme and override it with a bold ANSI color 0 foreground (black), a hex ffffff (full white) underlined foreground for matched parts and a #deadbe (pale rose, apparently) cursor background. LISTEN/REMOTE skim can be controlled from other processes, using the `--listen` (and optionally `--remote`) flags. To achieve this, run the server instance using `sk --listen optional_address` (the address defaults to `sk`). It will then start listening on a named socket for instructions. To send instructions, you can use `sk --remote optional_address` or any other tool that allows us to interact with such sockets, such as `socat` on linux: `echo 'ToggleIn' | socat -u STDIN ABSTRACT-CONNECT:optional_address`. Instructions correspond to skim's Actions and need to be sent in Ron format. When using `sk --remote`, pipe in action chains (see the KEYBINDS section), for instance `echo 'up+select-row' | sk --remote optional_address` EXIT CODES * 0: success * 1: no match * 130: interrupt (ctrl-c or esc) * others: error VERSION v4.0.0 sk 4.0.0 sk(1)