NAME¶

SYNOPSIS¶

DESCRIPTION¶

OPTIONS¶

<lwinpath>

Starts Vifm in the specified path.

<lwinpath> <rwinpath>

Starts Vifm in the specified paths.

-f

only used from the vifm.vim script. The selected files are written to $VIFM/vimfiles and vifm exits.

--logging

Log some errors to $VIFM/log. Also /var/log/vifm-startup-log (on *nix) and startup-log in the directory of executable (on Windows) is used to log startup process (when configuration directory isn't determined).

--remote

Sends the rest of command line to the active vifm server (one of already running instances if any). When there is no server, quits silently. There is no limit on how many arguments can be processed. One can combine --remote with -c <command> or +<command> to execute command in already running instance of vifm. See also "Client-Server" section below.

-c <command> or +<command>

Run command-line mode <command> on startup. Commands in such arguments are executed in the order they appear in command line. Commands with spaces or special symbols must be enclosed in double or single quotes or all special symbols should be escaped (the exact syntax strongly depends on shell).

--help, -h

Show an overview of the commandline options.

--version, -v

Show version information and quit.

--no-configs

Don't read vifmrc and vifminfo.

General keys¶

Ctrl-C or Escape

cancel most operations (see "Cancellation" section below), clear all selected files.

Ctrl-L

clear and redraw the screen.

Basic Movement¶

k, gk, or Ctrl-P

moves cursor up one line.

j, gj or Ctrl-N

moves cursor down one line.

h

when 'lsview' is off moves up one directory, otherwise moves left one file.

l

when 'lsview' is off moves into a directory or launches a file, otherwise moves left one file.

gg

move to the top of the file list.

gh

moves up one directory.

gl or Enter

moves into a directory or launches a file.

G

move to the bottom of the file list.

H

move to the first file in the window.

M

move to the file in the middle of the window.

L

move to the last file in the window.

Ctrl-F or Page Down

move forward one page.

Ctrl-B or Page Up

move back one page.

Ctrl-D

jump back one half page.

Ctrl-U

jump forward one half page.

n%

move to the file that is n percent from the top of the list (for example 25%).

0 or ^

move cursor to the first column. See 'lsview' option description.

$

move cursor to the last column. See 'lsview' option description.

Space Bar

toggles between the two file lists.

Movement with Count¶

Most movement commands also accept a count, 12j would move down 12 files.

[count]%

move to percent of the file list.

[count]j

move down count files.

[count]k

move up count files.

[count]G or [count]gg

move to list position count.

Scrolling panes¶

zt

redraw pane with file in top of list.

zz

redraw pane with file in center of list.

zb

redraw pane with file in bottom of list.

Ctrl-E

scroll pane one line down.

Ctrl-Y

scroll pane one line up.

Pane manipulation¶

Ctrl-W H

move the pane to the far left.

Ctrl-W J

move the pane to the very bottom.

Ctrl-W K

move the pane to the very top.

Ctrl-W L

move the pane to the far right.

Ctrl-W b

switch to bottom-right window.

Ctrl-W h

switch to the left pane.

Ctrl-W j

switch to the pane below.

Ctrl-W k

switch to the pane above.

Ctrl-W l

switch to the right pane.

Ctrl-W o

shortcut for :only

Ctrl-W p

switch to previous window.

Ctrl-W s

shortcut for :split

Ctrl-W t

switch to top-left window.

Ctrl-W v

shortcut for :vsplit

Ctrl-W w

switch to other pane.

Ctrl-W x

exchange panes.

Ctrl-W z

quit preview pane or view modes.

[count1]Ctrl-W[count2]+

increase size of the view by count1*count2.

[count1]Ctrl-W[count2]-

decrease size of the view by count1*count2..

[count1]Ctrl-W[count2]<

increase size of the view by count1*count2..

[count1]Ctrl-W[count2]>

decrease size of the view by count1*count2..

Ctrl-W |

maximize current view.

Ctrl-W _

maximize current view.

Ctrl-W =

make size of two views equal.

Marks¶

Marks are set the same way as they are in vi.

m[a-z][A-Z][0-9]

to set a mark for the file at the current cursor position.

'[a-z][A-Z][0-9]

moves to the file set for the mark.

-

´ (single quote) - previously visited directory of the view, thus hitting ´' allows switching between two last locations

-

< - the first file of the last visually selected block

-

> - the last file of the last visually selected block

Searching¶

/regular expression pattern[Return]

search for files matching regular expression in forward direction and advance cursor to next match.

/[Return]

perform forward search with top item of search pattern history.

?regular expression pattern[Return]

search for files matching regular expression in backward direction and advance cursor to previous match.

?[Return]

perform backward search with top item of search pattern history.

Matches are automatically selected if 'hlsearch' is set. Enabling 'incsearch' makes search interactive. 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' options affect case sensitivity of search queries.

[count]n

find the next match of / or ?.

[count]N

find the previous match of / or ?.

If 'hlsearch' option is set, hitting n/N to perform search and go to the first matching item resets current selection in normal mode. It is not the case if search was already performed on files in the directory, thus selection is not reset after clearing selection with escape key and hitting n/N key again.

[count]f[character]

search forward for file with [character] as first character in name. Search wraps around the end of the list.

[count]F[character]

search backward for file with [character] as first character in name. Search wraps around the end of the list.

[count];

find the next match of f or F.

[count],

find the previous match of f or F.

File Filters¶

-

dot files filter (excluding "." and ".." special directories, which appearance is controlled by the 'dotdirs' option)

-

manual filter for file names

-

automatic filter for file names

-

local filter for file names (see description of the "=" normal mode command)

Each file list has its own copy of each filter.

Filtered files are not checked in / search or :commands.

Files and directories are filtered separately. For this a slash is appended to a directory name before testing whether it matches the filter. Examples:

  " filter directories which names end with '.files'
  :filter /^.*\.files\/$/

  " filter files which names end with '.d'
  :filter /^.*\.d$/

  " filter files and directories which names end with '.o'
  :filter /^.*\.o\/?$/

zo

Show all of the dot files.

zf

Filter all of the selected files.

za

Toggle the showing and hiding of dot files.

zm

Filter all of the dot files.

zO

Show the files filtered out by filename filter.

zM

Filter the files matching the filename filter.

zR

Remove all filters.

=regular expression pattern[Return]

filter out files that don't match regular expression. Whether view is updated as regular expression is changed depends on the value of the 'incsearch' option. This kind of filter is automatically reset when directory is changed.

Other Normal Mode Keys¶

[count]:

enter command line mode. Count will add range.

q:

open external editor to prompt for command-line command. See "Command line editing" section for details.

q/

open external editor to prompt for search pattern to be searched in forward direction. See "Command line editing" section for details.

q?

open external editor to prompt for search pattern to be searched in backward direction. See "Command line editing" section for details.

q=

open external editor to prompt for filter pattern. See "Command line editing" section for details. Unlike other q{x} commands this one doesn't work in Visual mode.

[count]!! and [count]!<selector>

enter command line mode with entered ! command. Count will modify range.

Ctrl-O

go backward through directory history of current view. Nonexistent directories are automatically skipped.

Ctrl-I

if 'cpoptions' contains "t" flag, <tab> and <c-i> switch active pane just like <space> does, otherwise it goes forward through directory history of current view. Nonexistent directories are automatically skipped.

Ctrl-G

creates a window showing detailed information about the current file.

Shift-Tab

enters view mode (works only after activating view pane with :view command).

ga

calculate directory size. Uses cached directory sizes when possible for better performance.

gA

like ga, but force update. Ignores old values of directory sizes.

gf

find link destination (like l with 'followlinks' off, but also finds directories).

gr

only for MS-Windows

 

same as l key, but tries to run program with administrative privileges.

av

go to visual mode into selection amending state preserving current selection.

gv

go to visual mode restoring last selection.

gs

restore last t selection, like gv for visual mode selection.

gu<selector>

make names of selected files lowercase.

[count]guu and [count]gugu

make names of [count] files starting from the current one lowercase. Without [count] only current file is affected.

gU<selector>

make names of selected files uppercase.

[count]gUU and [count]gUgU

make names of [count] files starting from the current one uppercase. Without [count] only current file is affected.

e

explore file in the current pane.

i

opens file with associated program even if it's an executable.

cw

rename a file or files.

cW

change only name of file (without extension).

cl

change link target.

co

only for *nix

 

change file owner.

cg

only for *nix

 

change file group.

cp

change file attributes (permission on *nix and properties on Windows).

[count]C

clone file [count] times.

[count]dd or d[count]selector

moves the selected files to trash directory (if 'trash' option is set, otherwise delete). See "Trash directory" section below.

[count]DD or D[count]selector

removes the selected files.

Y, [count]yy or y[count]selector

yanks the selected files.

Y

same as yy.

p

will copy the yanked files to the current directory or move the files to the current directory if they were deleted with dd or :d[elete] or if the files were yanked from trash directory. See "Trash directory" section below.

P

moves the last yanked files. The advantage of using P instead of d followed by p is that P moves files only once. This isn't important in case you're moving files in the same file system where your home directory is, but using P to move files on some other file system (or file systems, in case you want to move files from fs1 to fs2 and your home is on fs3) can save your time.

al

puts symbolic links with absolute paths.

rl

puts symbolic links with relative paths.

t

select or unselect (tag) the current file.

u

undo last change.

Ctrl-R

redo last change.

v, V

enter visual mode, clears current selection.

[count]Ctrl-A

increment first number in file name by count (1 by default).

[count]Ctrl-X

decrement first number in file name by count (1 by default).

ZQ

same as :quit!

ZZ

same as :quit

.

repeat last command line command (not normal mode command) of this session (does nothing right after startup or :restart command). The command doesn't depend on command-line history and can be used with completely disabled history.

(

goto previous group. Groups are defined by primary sorting key. For name and iname members of each group have same first letter, for all other sorting keys vifm uses size, uid, ...

)

goto next group. See ( key description above.

Using Count¶

You can use count with commands like yy.

[count]yy

yank count files starting from current cursor position downward.

Or you can use count with motions passed to y, d or D.

d[count]j

delete (count + 1) files starting from current cursor position upward.

Registers¶

  "a2yy

  "Ad

  p or "ap or "Ap

Selectors¶

y, d, D, !, gu and gU commands accept selectors. You can combine them with any of selectors below to quickly remove or yank several files.

a

all files in current view.

s

selected files.

S

all files except selected.

 dj - delete file under cursor and one below.
 d2j - delete file under cursor and two below.
 y6gg - yank all files from cursor position to 6th file in the list.

 2d2j - delete file under cursor and four below.
 2dj - delete file under cursor and two below.
 2y6gg - yank all files from cursor position to 12th file in the list.

Visual Mode¶

-

plain selection as it is in Vim;

-

selection editing submode.

-

append - amend selection by selecting elements in selection region;

-

remove - amend selection by deselecting elements in selection region;

-

invert - amend selection by inverting selection of elements in selection region.

Enter

save selection and go back to normal mode not moving cursor.

av

leave visual mode if in amending mode (restores previous selection), otherwise switch to amending selection mode.

gv

restore previous visual selection.

v, V, Ctrl-C or Escape

leave visual mode if not in amending mode, otherwise switch to normal visual selection.

Ctrl-G

switche type of amending by round robin scheme: append -> remove -> invert.

:

enter command line mode. When you leave it selection will be cleared.

o

switch active selection bound.

O

switch active selection bound.

gu, u

make names of selected files lowercase.

gU, U

make names of selected files uppercase.

View Mode¶

Shift-Tab, Tab, q, Q, ZZ

go back to normal mode.

[count]e, [count]Ctrl-E, [count]j, [count]Ctrl-N, [count]Enter

forward one line (or [count] lines).

[count]y, [count]Ctrl-Y, [count]k, [count]Ctrl-K, [count]Ctrl-P

backward one line (or [count] lines).

[count]f, [count]Ctrl-F, [count]Ctrl-V, [count]Space Bar

forward one window (or [count] lines).

[count]b, [count]Ctrl-B, [count]Alt-V

backward one window (or [count] lines).

[count]z

forward one window (and set window to [count]).

[count]w

backward one window (and set window to [count]).

[count]Alt-Space

forward one window, but don't stop at end-of-file.

[count]d, [count]Ctrl-D

forward one half-window (and set half-window to [count]).

[count]u, [count]Ctrl-U

backward one half-window (and set half-window to [count]).

r, Ctrl-R, Ctrl-L

repaint screen.

R

reload view preserving scroll position.

[count]/pattern

search forward for ([count]‐th) matching line.

[count]?pattern

search backward for ([count]‐th) matching line.

[count]n

repeat previous search (for [count]‐th occurrence).

[count]N

repeat previous search in reverse direction.

[count]g, [count]<, [count]Alt-<

go to first line in file (or line [count]).

[count]G, [count]>, [count]Alt->

go to last line in file (or line [count]).

[count]p, [count]%

go to beginning of file (or N percent into file).

v

edit the current file with vim.

Ctrl-W H

move the pane to the far left.

Ctrl-W J

move the pane to the very bottom.

Ctrl-W K

move the pane to the very top.

Ctrl-W L

move the pane to the far right.

Ctrl-W h

switch to left pane.

Ctrl-W j

switch to pane below.

Ctrl-W k

switch to pane above.

Ctrl-W l

switch to right pane.

Ctrl-W b

switch to bottom-right window.

Ctrl-W t

switch to top-left window.

Ctrl-W p

switch to previous window.

Ctrl-W w

switch to other pane.

Ctrl-W o

leave only one pane.

Ctrl-W s

split window horizontally.

Ctrl-W v

split window vertically.

Ctrl-W x

exchange panes.

Ctrl-W z

quit preview pane or view modes.

Ctrl-W +

increase size of the view.

Ctrl-W -

decrease size of the view.

Ctrl-W <

increase size of the view.

Ctrl-W >

decrease size of the view.

Ctrl-W |

maximize current view.

Ctrl-W _

maximize current view.

Ctrl-W =

make size of two views equal.

Command line Mode¶

Esc, Ctrl-C

leave command line mode, cancels input. Cancelled input is saved into appropriate history and can be recalled later.

Ctrl-M, Enter

execute command and leave command line mode.

Ctrl-I, Tab

complete command or its argument.

Shift-Tab

complete in reverse order.

Ctrl-_

stop completion and return original input.

Ctrl-K

remove characters from cursor position till the end of line.

Ctrl-U

remove characters from cursor position till the beginning of line.

Ctrl-H, Backspace

remove character before the cursor.

Ctrl-D, Delete

remove character under the cursor.

Ctrl-B, Left

move cursor to the left.

Ctrl-F, Right

move cursor to the right.

Ctrl-A, Home

go to line beginning.

Ctrl-E, End

go to line end

Alt-B

go to the beginning of previous word.

Alt-F

go to the end of next word.

Ctrl-W

remove characters from cursor position till the beginning of previous word.

Alt-D

remove characters from cursor position till the beginning of next word.

Ctrl-T

swap the order of current and previous character and move cursor forward or, if cursor past the end of line, swap the order of two last characters in the line.

Alt-.

insert last part of previous command to current cursor position. Each next call will insert last part of older command.

Ctrl-G

edit command-line content in external editor. See "Command line editing" section for details.

Ctrl-N

recall more recent command-line from history.

Ctrl-P

recall older command-line from history.

Up

recall more recent command-line from history, that begins as the current command-line.

Down

recall older command-line from history, that begins as the current command-line.

Pasting special values¶

Ctrl-X c

name of the current file of the active pane.

Ctrl-X Ctrl-X c

name of the current file of the inactive pane.

Ctrl-X d

path to the current directory of the active pane.

Ctrl-X Ctrl-X d

path to the current directory of the inactive pane.

Ctrl-X e

extension of the current file of the active pane.

Ctrl-X Ctrl-X e

extension of the current file of the inactive pane.

Ctrl-X r

name root of current file of the active pane.

Ctrl-X Ctrl-X r

name root of current file of the inactive pane.

Ctrl-X t

the last component of path to the current directory of the active pane.

Ctrl-X Ctrl-X t

the last component of path to the current directory of the inactive pane.

Ctrl-X a

value of automatic filter of the active pane.

Ctrl-X m

value of manual filter of the active pane.

Ctrl-X =

value of local filter of the active pane.

Command line editing¶

1.

First line, which is either empty or contains text already entered in command-line.

2.

2nd and all other lines with history items starting with the most recent one. Altering this lines in any way won't change history items stored by vifm.

Commands¶

    :noh[lsearch]

-

":invert s" will most likely leave some files selected;

-

:if and :else commands doesn't affect selection on successful execution.

    if filetype('.') == 'reg' | execute '!!echo regular file' | endif

:[count]

:number

move to the file number.

 

:12 would move to the 12th file in the list.

 

:0 move to the top of the list.

 

:$ move to the bottom of the list.

:[count]command

The only builtin :[count]command are :[count]d[elete] and :[count]y[ank].

:d3

would delete three files starting at the current file position moving down.

:3d

would delete one file at the third line in the list.

:command [args]

:[range]!program

will execute the program in a shell

:[range]!command &

:!!

:[range]!! <program>

is the same as :! but will pause the screen before returning to Vifm.

:!!

will execute the last command.

:alink

:[range]alink[!?]

creates absolute symbolic links of files in directory of other view. With "?" vifm will open vi to edit filenames. "!" forces overwrite.

:[range]alink[!] path

creates absolute symbolic links of files in directory specified with the path (absolute or relative to directory of other view). "!" forces overwrite.

:[range]alink[!] name1 name2...

creates absolute symbolic links of files in directory of other view giving each next link a corresponding name from the argument list. "!" forces overwrite.

:apropos

:apropos manpage

will create a menu of items returned by the apropos command. Selecting an item in the menu will open the corresponding manpage. By default the command relies on the external "apropos" utility, which can be customized by altering value of the 'aproposprg' option.

:apropos

repeats last :apropos command.

:cd

:cd or :cd ~ or :cd $HOME

change to your home directory.

:cd -

go to previous directory.

:cd ~/dir

change directory to ~/dir.

:cd /curr/dir /other/dir

change directory of the current pane to /curr/dir and directory of the other pane to /other/dir. When using relative paths vifm assumes that both of them are relative to current directory of current view. Command will not fail if one of directories is invalid. Accepts macros.

:cd! /dir

same as :cd /dir /dir.

:change

:c[hange]

create a menu window to alter a files properties.

:chmod

:[range]chmod

 

shows file attributes (permission on *nix and properties on Windows) change dialog.

:[range]chmod[!] arg...

only for *nix

 

changes permissions for files. See 'man chmod' for arg format. "!" means set permissions recursively.

:chown

:[range]chown

only for *nix

 

same as co key in normal mode.

:[range]chown [user][:][group]

only for *nix

 

changes owner and/or group of files. Operates on directories recursively.

:clone

:[range]clone[!?]

clones files in current directory. With "?" vifm will open vi to edit filenames. "!" forces overwrite. Macros are expanded.

:[range]clone[!] path

clones files to directory specified with the path (absolute or relative to current directory). "!" forces overwrite. Macros are expanded.

:[range]clone[!] name1 name2...

clones files in current directory giving each next clone a corresponding name from the argument list. "!" forces overwrite. Macros are expanded.

:colorscheme

:colo[rscheme]?

prints current color scheme name in the status bar.

:colo[rscheme]

gives a menu with a list of available color schemes. You can choose primary color scheme here. It will be used for view if no path was configured for a specific color scheme. It's also used to set border color (except view titles) and colors in the menus and dialogs.

:colo[rscheme] color_scheme_name

changes primary color scheme to color_scheme_name. In case of errors (e.g. some colors are not supported by terminal) either nothing is changed or colo rscheme is reset to builtin colors to ensure that TUI is left in a usable state.

:colo[rscheme] color_scheme_name directory

associates directory with the color scheme. The directory argument can be both absolute or relative path when :colorscheme command is executed from command line, but mandatory should be an absolute path when the command is executed in scripts loaded at startup (until vifm is completely loaded).

:comclear

:comc[lear]

removes all user defined commands.

:command

:com[mand]

gives a menu of user commands.

:com[mand] beginning

shows user defined commands that start with the beginning.

:com[mand] name action

sets a new user command.

 

Trying to use a reserved command name will result in an error message.

 

Use :com[mand]! to overwrite a previously set command.

 

Unlike vim user commands do not have to start with a capital letter. User commands are run in a shell by default. To run a command in the background you must set it as a background command with & at the end of the commands action (:com rm rm %f &). Command name cannot contain numbers or special symbols (except '?' and '!').

:com[mand] name /pattern

sets search pattern.

:com[mand] name =pattern

sets local filter value.

:com[mand] name filter{:filter args}

sets file name filter (see :filter command description). For example:

 " display only audio files
 :command onlyaudio filter/.+.\(mp3|wav|mp3|flac|ogg|m4a|wma|ape\)$/i
 " display everything except audio files
 :command noaudio filter!/.+.\(mp3|wav|mp3|flac|ogg|m4a|wma|ape\)$/i
    

:com[mand] cmd :commands

will set kind of alias for internal command (like in a shell). Will pass range given to alias to an aliased command, so running :%cp after
:command cp :copy %a

 

equals
:%copy

:copy

:[range]co[py][!?][ &]

copies files to directory of other view. With "?" vifm will open vi to edit filenames. "!" forces overwrite.

:[range]co[py][!] path[ &]

copies files to directory specified with the path (absolute or relative to directory of other view). "!" forces overwrite.

:[range]co[py][!] name1 name2...[ &]

copies files to directory of other view giving each next file a corresponding name from the argument list. "!" forces overwrite.

:delete

:[range]d[elete][!][ &]

delete selected file or files. "!" means completely remove file.

:[range]d[elete][!] [reg] [count][ &]

will delete files to the reg register. "!" means completely remove file.

:delcommand

:delc[ommand] command_name

will remove the command_name user command.

:delmarks

:delm[arks]!

will delete all marks.

:delm[arks] marks ...

will delete specified marks, each argument is treated as a set of marks.

:display

:di[splay]

popup menu with registers content.

:di[splay] list ...

display the contents of the numbered and named registers that are mentioned in list (for example "az to display "", "a and "z content).

:dirs

:dirs

display directory stack.

:echo

:ec[ho] [<expr>...]

evaluates each argument as an expression and outputs them separated by a space. See help on :let command for a definition of <expr>.

:edit

:[range]e[dit] [file...]

will load the selected or passed file or files into vi. Accepts macros.

:else

:el[se]

executes commands until next matching :endif if they previously were not being executed. See also help on :if and :endif commands.

:empty

:empty

will permanently remove files from all existing non-empty trash directories. It will also remove all operations from undolist that have no sense after :empty and remove all records about files located inside directories from all registers. Removal is performed as background task with undetermined amount of work and can be checked via :jobs menu. See "Trash directory" section below.

:endif

:en[dif]

ends conditional block. See also help on :if and :else commands.

:execute

:exe[cute] [<expr>...]

evaluates each argument as an expression and joins results separated by a space to get a single string, which is then executed as a command-line command. See help on :let command for a definition of <expr>.

:exit

:exi[t][!]

same as :quit.

:file

:f[ile]

popup menu of programs set for the file type of the current file. Add ' &' at the end of command to run program in background.

:f[ile] arg

run associated command that begins with the arg without opening menu.

:filetype

:filet[ype] pat1,pat2,... [{descr}]def_prog[ &],[{descr}]prog2[ &],...

will associate given program list to each of the patterns. Associated program (command) is used by handlers of l and Enter keys (and also in the :file menu). If you need to insert comma into command just double it (",,"). Space followed by an ampersand as two last characters of a command means running of the command in the background. Optional description can be given to each command to ease understanding of what command will do in the :file menu. Vifm will try the rest of the programs for an association when the default isn't found. When program entry doesn't contain any of vifm macros, name of current file is appended as if program entry ended with %c macro on *nix and %"c on Windows. On Windows path to executables containing spaces can (and should be for correct work with such paths) be double quoted. See "Globs" section below for pattern definition. See also "Automatic FUSE mounts" section below. Example for zip archives and several actions:

 filetype *.zip,*.jar,*.war,*.ear
        \ {Mount with fuse-zip}
        \ FUSE_MOUNT|fuse-zip %SOURCE_FILE %DESTINATION_DIR,
        \ {View contents}
        \ zip -sf %c | less,
        \ {Extract here}
        \ tar -xf %c,
    

:filextype

:filex[type] pat1,pat2,... [{ description }] def_program,program2,...

same as :filetype, but vifm will ignore this command if it's not running in X. In X :filextype is equal to :filetype. See "Globs" section below for pattern definition. See also "Automatic FUSE mounts" section below.

For example, consider the following settings (the order might seem strange, but it's for the demonstration purpose):

 filetype *.html,*.htm
          {View in lynx}
          lynx
 filextype *.html,*.htm
          {Open with dwb}
          dwb %f %i &,
 filetype *.html,*.htm
          {View in links}
          links
 filextype *.html,*.htm
          {Open with firefox}
          firefox %f &,
          {Open with uzbl}
          uzbl-browser %f %i &,
    

If you're using vifm inside a terminal emulator that is running in graphical environment (when X is used on *nix; always on Windows), vifm will attempt to run application in this order:

1. lynx 2. dwb 3. links 4. firefox 5. uzbl

If there is no graphical environment (checked presence of $DISPLAY environment variable on *nix; never happens on Windows), the list will look like:

1. lynx 2. links

Just as if all :filextype commands were not there.

The purpose of such differentiation is to allow comfortable use of vifm with same settings in desktop environment/through remote connection (SSH)/ in native console.

:fileviewer

:filev[iewer] pat1,pat2,... command

will associate given command as a viewer to each of the patterns. Viewer is a command which output is captured and showed in the second pane of vifm after running :view command. When the command doesn't contain any of vifm macros, name of current file is appended as if command ended with %c macro. See "Globs" section below for pattern definition. Example for zip archives:

 fileviewer *.zip,*.jar,*.war,*.ear zip -sf %c
    

:filter

:filter[!] regular_expression_pattern

:filter[!] /regular_expression_pattern/[flags] will filter all the files out of the directory listing that match the regular expression. Using second variant you can use the bar ('|') symbol without escaping. Empty regular expression (specified by //, "" or '') means using of the last search pattern. Use '!' to control state of filter inversion after updating filter value (also see 'cpoptions' description). Filter is matched case sensitively on *nix and case insensitively on Windows.

Supported flags:
- "i" makes filter case insensitive;
- "I" makes filter case sensitive.

Flags might be repeated multiple times, later ones win (e.g. "iiiI" is equivalent to "I" and "IiIi" is the same as "i").

" filter all files ending in .o from the filelist.
:filter /.o$/
    

Note: vifm uses extended regular expressions.

:filter

reset filter (set it to empty string) and show all files.

:filter!

same as :invert.

:filter?

show information on local, name and auto filters.

:find

:[range]fin[d] pattern

will show results of find command in the menu. Searches among selected files if any. Accepts macros. By default the command relies on the external "find" utility, which can be customized by altering value of the 'findprg' option.

:[range]fin[d] -opt...

same as :find above, but user defines all find arguments. Searches among selected files if any.

:[range]fin[d] path -opt...

same as :find above, but user defines all find arguments. Ignores selection and range.

:[range]fin[d]

repeats last :find command.

:finish

:fini[sh]

Stop sourcing a script. Can only be used in a vifm script file. This is a quick way to skip the rest of the file.

:grep

:[range]gr[ep][!] pattern

will show results of grep command in the menu. Add "!" to request inversion of search (look for lines that do not match pattern). Searches among selected files if any and no range given. Ignores binary files by default. By default the command relies on the external "grep" utility, which can be customized by altering value of the 'grepprg' option.

:[range]gr[ep][!] -opt...

same as :grep above, but user defines all find arguments, which are not escaped. Searches among selected files if any.

:[range]gr[ep][!]

repeats last :grep command. "!" of this command inverts "!" in repeated command.

:help

:h[elp]

show the help file.

:h[elp] argument

is the same as using ':h argument' in vim. Use vifm-<something> to get help on vifm (tab completion works). This form of the command doesn't work when ´vimhelp' option is off.

:highlight

:hi[ghlight]

will show information about all highlight groups in the current directory.

:hi[ghlight] clear

will reset all highlighting to builtin defaults.

:hi[ghlight] group-name

will show information on given highlight group of the primary color scheme.

:hi[ghlight] group-name cterm=style | ctermfg=color | ctermbg=color

sets style (cterm), foreground (ctermfg) or/and background (ctermbg) parameters of highlight groups of the current primary color scheme.

:history

:his[tory]

creates a popup menu of directories visited.

:his[tory] x

x can be:

 

d[ir] or . show directory history.

 

c[md] or : show command line history.

 

s[earch] or / show search history and search forward on l key.

 

f[search] or / show search history and search forward on l key.

 

b[search] or ? show search history and search backward on l key.

 

i[nput] or @ show prompt history (e.g. on one file renaming).

 

fi[lter] or = show filter history (see description of the "=" normal mode command).

:if

:if {expr1}

starts conditional block. Commands are executed until next matching :else of :endif command if {expr1} evaluates to non-zero, otherwise they are ignored. See also help on :else and :endif commands.

Example:

  if $TERM == "screen.linux"
      highlight CurrLine ctermfg=lightwhite ctermbg=lightblack
  else
      highlight CurrLine cterm=bold,reverse ctermfg=black ctermbg=white
  endif
    

:invert

:invert [f]

invert file name filter.

:invert? [f]

show current filter state.

:invert s

invert selection.

:invert o

invert sorting order of the primary sorting key.

:invert? o

show sorting order of the primary sorting key.

:jobs

:jobs

shows menu of current backgrounded processes.

:let

:let $ENV_VAR = <expr>

sets environment variable. Warning: setting environment variable to an empty string on Windows removes it.

:let $ENV_VAR .= <expr>

append value to environment variable.

Where <expr> could be a single-quoted string, double-quoted string, an environment variable, function call or a concatanation of any of them in any order using the '.' operator. Any whitespace is ignored.

:locate

:locate filename

uses the locate command to create a menu of filenames Selecting a file from the menu will reload the current file list in vifm to show the selected file. By default the command relies on the external "locate" utility (it's assumed that its database is already built), which can be customized by altering value of the 'locateprg' option.

:locate

repeats last :locate command.

:mark

:[range]ma[rk][?] x [/full/path] [filename]

Set mark x (a-zA-Z0-9) at /full/path and filename. By default current directory is being used. If no filename was given and /full/path is current directory then last file in [range] is used. Using of macros is allowed. Question mark will stop command from overwriting existing marks.

:marks

:marks

create a popup menu of bookmarks.

:marks list ...

display the contents of the marks that are mentioned in list.

:messages

:mes[sages]

shows previously given messages (up to 50).

:mkdir

:mkdir[!] dir ...

creates directories with given names. "!" means make parent directories as needed. Macros are expanded.

:move

:[range]m[ove][!?][ &]

moves files to directory of other view. With "?" vifm will open vi to edit filenames. "!" forces overwrite.

:[range]m[ove][!] path[ &]

moves files to directory specified with the path (absolute or relative to directory of other view). "!" forces overwrite.

:[range]m[ove][!] name1 name2...[ &]

moves files to directory of other view giving each next file a corresponding name from the argument list. "!" forces overwrite.

:nohlsearch

:noh[lsearch]

clear selection in current pane.

:normal

:norm[al][!] commands

executes normal mode commands. If "!" is used, mappings will not be used. If the last command is unfinished it will be aborted as if <esc> or <c-c> was typed. A ":" should be completed as well. Commands can't start with a space, so put a count of 1 (one) before it.

:only

:on[ly]

changes the window to show only the current file directory.

:popd

:popd

remove pane directories from stack.

:pushd

:pushd[!] /curr/dir [/other/dir]

add pane directories to stack and process arguments like :cd command.

:pushd

exchanges the top two items of the directory stack.

:pwd

:pw[d]

show the present working directory.

:quit

:q[uit][!]

will exit vifm (add ! if you don't want to save changes or check if there are any of backgrounded commands still running).

:yank

:[range]y[ank] [reg] [count]

will yank files to the reg register.

:ls

:ls

lists windows of active terminal multiplexer (only when terminal multiplexer is used). This is achieved by issuing proper command for active terminal multiplexer, thus the list is not handled by vifm.

:lstrash

:lstrash

displays a menu with list of files in trash. Each element of the list is original path of a deleted file, thus the list can contain duplicates.

:registers

:reg[isters]

popup menu with registers content.

:reg[isters] list ...

display the contents of the numbered and named registers that are mentioned in list (for example "az to display "", "a and "z content).

:rename

:[range]rename[!]

rename files using vi to edit names. ! means go recursively through directories.

:[range]rename name1 name2...

rename each of selected files to a corresponding name.

:restart

:restart

will free a lot of things (histories, commands, etc.), reread vifminfo and vifmrc files and run startup commands passed in the argument list, thus losing all unsaved changes (e.g. recent history or keys mapped in current session).

:restore

:[range]restore

will restore file from trash directory, doesn't work in any other directory. See "Trash directory" section below.

:rlink

:[range]rlink[!?]

creates relative symbolic links of files in directory of other view. With "?" vifm will open vi to edit filenames. "!" forces overwrite.

:[range]rlink[!] path

creates relative symbolic links of files in directory specified with the path (absolute or relative to directory of other view). "!" forces overwrite.

:[range]rlink[!] name1 name2...

creates relative symbolic links of files in directory of other view giving each next link a corresponding name from the argument list. "!" forces overwrite.

:screen

:screen

toggles whether to use the terminal multiplexer or not.

 

A terminal multiplexer uses pseudo terminals to allow multiple windows to be used in the console or in a single xterm. Starting vifm from terminal multiplexer with appropriate support turned on will cause vifm to open a new terminal multiplexer window for each new file edited or program launched from vifm.

 

This requires screen version 3.9.9 or newer for the screen -X argument or tmux (version or newer 1.8 is recommented).

:screen?

shows whether integration with terminal multiplexers is enabled.

:set

:se[t]

shows all options that differ from their default value.

:se[t] all

shows all options.

:se[t] opt1=val1 opt2='val2' opt3="val3" ...

will set options to given values.

 

You can use following syntax:
- for all options - option, option? and option&
- for boolean options - nooption, invoption and option!
- for integer options - option=x, option+=x and option-=x
- for string options - option=x
- for string list options - option=x, option+=x and option-=x
- for enumeration options - option=x, option+=x and option-=x
- for enumeration options - option=x
- for set options - option=x, option+=x and option-=x
- for charset options - option=x, option+=x and option-=x

the meaning:
- option - turn option on (for boolean) or print its value (for all others)
- nooption - turn option off
- invoption - invert option state
- option! - invert option state
- option? - print option value
- option& - reset option to its default value
- option=x or option:x - set option to x
- option+=x - add x to option
- option-=x - remove (or subtract) x from option

Option name can be prepended and appended by any number of whitespace characters.

:shell

:sh[ell]

will start a shell.

:sort

:sor[t]

creates a popup menu of different sorting methods, when one can select primary sorting key. When 'viewcolumns' options is empty and 'lsview' is off, changing primary sorting key will also affect view look (in particular the second column of the view will be changed).

:source

:so[urce] file

reads command-line commands from the file.

:split

:sp[lit]

switch to a two window horizontal view.

:sp[lit]!

toggles window horizontal splitting.

:sp[lit] path

splits the window horizontally to show both file directories. And changes other pane to path (absolute or relative to current directory of active pane).

:substitute

:[range]s[ubstitute]/pattern/string/[flags]

for each file in range replace a match of pattern with string.

-

i - ignore case (the 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' options are not used)

-

I - don't ignore case (the 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' options are not used)

-

g - substitute all matches in each file name (each g toggles this)

:[range]s[ubstitute]//string/[flags]

will use previous pattern.

:[range]s[ubstitute]

will repeat previous substitution command.

:sync

:sync [relative path]

change the other panel to the current panel directory or to some path relative to the current directory. Using macros is allowed.

:sync!

change the other panel to the current panel directory and synchronize cursor position.

:touch

:touch file...

will create files. Aborts on errors and won't update time of existing files. Macros are expanded.

:tr

:[range]tr/pattern/string/

for each file in range transliterate the characters which appear in pattern to the corresponding character in string. When string is shorter than pattern, it's padded with its last character.

:trashes

:trashes

lists all valid trash directories in a menu. Only non-empty and writable trash directories are shown. This is exactly the list of directories that are cleared when :empty command is executed.

:undolist

:undol[ist]

show list of latest changes. Add ! to see commands.

:unlet

:unl[et][!] $ENV_VAR1 $ENV_VAR2 ...

remove environment variables. Add ! to omit displaying of warnings about nonexistent variables.

:version

:ve[rsion]

show menu with version information.

:vifm

:vifm

same as :version.

:view

:vie[w]

toggle on and off the quick file view.

:vie[w]!

turns on quick file view if it's off.

:volumes

:volumes

only for MS-Windows

 

will popup menu with volume list. Hitting l (or Enter) key will open appropriate volume in the current pane.

:vsplit

:vs[plit]

switch to a two window vertical view.

:vs[plit]!

toggles window vertical splitting.

:vs[plit] path

splits the window vertically to show both file directories. And changes other pane to path (absolute or relative to current directory of active pane).

:windo

:windo [command...]

Execute command for each pane (same as :winrun % command).

:winrun

:winrun type [command...]

Execute command for pane(s), which is determined by type argument:
- ^ - top-left pane
- $ - bottom-right pane
- % - all panes
- . - current pane
- , - other pane

:write

:w[rite]

write vifminfo file.

:wq

:wq[!]

same as :quit, but ! only disables check of backgrounded commands.

:xit

:x[it][!]

will exit Vifm (add ! if you don't want to save changes).

:map lhs rhs

:map lhs rhs

map lhs key sequence to rhs in normal and visual modes.

:map! lhs rhs

map lhs key sequence to rhs in command line mode.

:cm[ap] lhs rhs

map lhs to rhs in command line mode.

:mm[ap] lhs rhs

map lhs to rhs in menu mode.

:nm[ap] lhs rhs

map lhs to rhs in normal mode.

:qm[ap] lhs rhs

map lhs to rhs in view mode.

:vm[ap] lhs rhs

map lhs to rhs in visual mode.

:map

:cm[ap]

lists all maps in command line mode.

:mm[ap]

lists all maps in menu mode.

:nm[ap]

lists all maps in normal mode.

:qm[ap]

lists all maps in view mode.

:vm[ap]

lists all maps in visual mode.

:map beginning

:cm[ap] beginning

lists all maps in command line mode that start with the beginning.

:mm[ap] beginning

lists all maps in menu mode that start with the beginning.

:nm[ap] beginning

lists all maps in normal mode that start with the beginning.

:qm[ap] beginning

lists all maps in view mode that start with the beginning.

:vm[ap] beginning

lists all maps in visual mode that start with the beginning.

:noremap

:no[remap] lhs rhs

map the key sequence lhs to {rhs} for normal and visual modes, but disallow mapping of rhs.

:no[remap]! lhs rhs

map the key sequence lhs to {rhs} for command line mode, but disallow mapping of rhs.

:cno[remap] lhs rhs

map the key sequence lhs to {rhs} for command line mode, but disallow mapping of rhs.

:mn[oremap] lhs rhs

map the key sequence lhs to {rhs} for menu mode, but disallow mapping of rhs.

:nn[oremap] lhs rhs

map the key sequence lhs to {rhs} for normal mode, but disallow mapping of rhs.

:qn[oremap] lhs rhs

map the key sequence lhs to {rhs} for view mode, but disallow mapping of rhs.

:vn[oremap] lhs rhs

map the key sequence lhs to {rhs} for visual mode, but disallow mapping of rhs.

:unmap

:unm[ap] lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from normal and visual modes.

:unm[ap]! lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from command line mode.

:cu[nmap] lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from command line mode.

:mu[nmap] lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from menu mode.

:nun[map] lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from normal mode.

:qun[map] lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from view mode.

:vu[nmap] lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from visual mode.

Ranges¶

  :%delete

  :2,4delete

  :.,$delete

  :3delete4

Command macros¶

%a

User arguments. When user arguments contain macros, they are expanded before preforming substitution of %a.

%c %"c

The current file under the cursor.

%C %"C

The current file under the cursor in the other directory.

%f %"f

All of the selected files.

%F %"F

All of the selected files in the other directory list.

%b %"b

Same as %f %F.

%d %"d

Full path to current directory.

%D %"D

Full path to other file list directory.

%rx %"rx

Full paths to files in the register {x}. In case of invalid symbol in place of {x}, it's processed with the rest of the line and default register is used.

%m

Show command output in a menu.

%M

Same as %m, but l (or Enter) key is handled like for :locate and :find commands.

%S

Show command output in the status bar.

%s

Execute command in split window of active terminal multiplexer (ignored if not running inside one).

%n

forbid using of terminal multiplexer to run the command.

%i

Completely ignore command output.

-

:p - full path

-

:u - UNC name of path (e.g. "\\server" in "\\server\share"), Windows only. Expands to current computer name for not UNC paths.

-

:~ - relative to the home directory

-

:. - relative to current directory

-

:h - head of the filename

-

:t - tail of the filename

-

:r - root of the filename (without last extension)

-

:e - extension of the filename (last one)

-

:s?pat?sub? - substitute the first occurrence of pat with sub. You can use any character for '?', but it must not occur in pat or sub.

-

:gs?pat?sub? - like :s, but substitutes all occurrences of pat with sub.

See ':h filename-modifiers' in Vim's documentation for the detailed description.

Using %x means expand corresponding macro escaping all characters that have special meaning. And %"x means using of double quotes and escape only backslash and double quote characters, which is more useful on Windows systems.

Position and quantity (if there is any) of %m, %M, %S or %s macros in the command is unimportant. All their occurrences will be removed from the resulting command.

%c and %f macros are expanded to file names only, when %C and %F are expanded to full paths. %f and %F follow this in %b too.

:com move mv %f %D

would set the :move command to move all of the files selected in the current directory to the other directory.

The %a macro will substitute any arguments given in a command into the command. All arguments are considered optional. ":com lsl !!ls -l %a" will set the lsl command to execute ls -l with or without an argument.

:lsl<Return>

will list the directory contents of the current directory.

:lsl filename<Return>

will list only the given filename.

The macros can also be used in directly executing commands. ":!mv %f %D" would move the current directory selected files to the other directory.

Appending & to the end of a command will cause it to be executed in the background.Typically you want to run two kinds of external commands in thebackground:

- GUI applications that doesn't fork thus block vifm (:!sxiv %f &);
- console tools that do not work with terminal (:!mv %f %D &).

You don't want to run terminal commands, which require terminal input oroutput something because they will mess up vifm's TUI. Anyway, if you did runsuch a command, you can use Ctrl-L key to update vifm's TUI.

Rewriting the example command with macros given above with backgrounding:

 :!mv %f %D &
    

Command backgrounding¶

Cancellation¶

-

file system operations;

-

mounting with FUSE (but not unmounting as it can cause loss of data);

-

calls of external applications.

Globs¶

 :filetype Makefile make %c

 :filetype * less %c

 :filetype [*] less %c

 :fileviewer *.zip,*.jar zip -sf %c

 :fileviewer ?.out file %c

 :fileviewer *.[ch] highlight -O xterm256 -s dante --syntax c %c

 :fileviewer *.c,*.h highlight -O xterm256 -s dante --syntax c %c

 :filetype *.[!d]/ inspect_dir

 :filetype [0-9].jpg sxiv

:set options¶

Local options

These are kind of options that are local to a specific view. So you can set ascending sorting order for left pane and descending order for right pane.

aproposprg

type: string

 

default: "apropos %a"

 

Specifies format for an external command to be invoked by the :apropos command. The format supports expanding of macros, specific for a particular *prg option, and %% sequence for inserting percent sign literally. This option should include the %a macro to specify placement of arguments passed to the :apropos command. If the macro is not used, it will be implicitly added after a space to the value of this option.

autochpos

type: boolean

 

default: true

 

When disabled vifm will set cursor to the first line in the view after :cd and :pushd commands instead of saved cursor position. Disabling this will also make vifm clear information about cursor position in the view history on :cd and :pushd commands (and on startup if 'autochpos' is disabled in the vifmrc). l key in the ":history ." and ":trashes" menus is treated like :cd command. This option also affects bookmarks so that navigating to a bookmark doesn't restore cursor position.

columns co

type: int

 

default: terminal width on startup

 

Terminal width in characters.

cdpath cd

type: string list

 

default: value of $CDPATH with commas instead of colons

 

Specifies locations to check on changing directory with relative path that doesn't start with "./" or "../". When non-empty, current directory is examined after directories listed in the option.

This option doesn't affect completion of :cd command.

Example:

    set cdpath=~
    

This way ":cd bin" will switch to "~/bin" even if directory named "bin" exists in current directory, while ":cd ./bin" command will ignore value of 'cdpath'.

classify

type: string list

 

default: ":dir:/"

 

Specifies file name prefixes and suffixes depending on file types. The format is: [{prefix}]:{filetype}:[{suffix}]. Either {prefix} or {suffix} or both of them can be omitted (which is the default for all unspecified file types), this means empty {prefix} and/or {suffix}. {prefix} and {suffix} should consist exactly of one character. Elements are separated by commas. Neither prefixes nor suffixes are part of file names, so they don't affect commands which operate on file names in any way. Comma (',') character should not be used. List of file type names can be found in the description of filetype() function.

confirm cf

type: boolean

 

default: true

 

Ask about permanent deletion of files (on D or :delete! command or on undo/redo operation).

cpoptions cpo

type: charset

 

default: "fst"

 

Contains a sequence of single-character flags. Each flag enables behaviour of older versions of vifm. Flags:

 

f - when included, running :filter command results in not inverted (matching files are filtered out) and :filter! in inverted (matching files are left) filter, when omitted, meaning of the exclamation mark changes to the opposite;

 

s - when included, yy, dd and DD normal mode commands act on selection, otherwise they operate on current file only;

 

t - when included, <tab> (thus <c-i>) behave as <space> and switch active pane, otherwise <tab> and <c-i> go forward in the view history.

dotdirs

type: set

 

default: nonrootparent

 

Controls displaying of dot directories. The following values are possible:
- rootparent - show "../" in root directory of file system
- nonrootparent - show "../" in non-root directories of file system

 

Note that empty directories always contain "../" entry regardless of value of this option. "../" disappears at the moment at least one file is created.

fastrun

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

With this option turned on you can run partially entered commands with unambiguous beginning using :! (e.g. :!Te instead of :!Terminal or :!Te<tab>).

fillchars fcs

type: string list

 

default: ""

 

Sets characters used to fill borders.
item default Used for
vborder:c ' ' left, middle and right vertical borders

 

If value is omitted, its default value is used. Example:

 set fillchars=vborder:·
    

findprg

type: string

 

default: "find %s %a -print , -type d \( ! -readable -o ! -executable \) -prune"

 

Specifies format for an external command to be invoked by the :find command. The format supports expanding of macros, specific for a particular *prg option, and %% sequence for inserting percent sign literally. This option should include the %s macro to specify placement of list of paths to search in and %a or %A macro to specify placement of arguments passed to the :find command. If some of the macros are not used, they will be implicitly added after a space to the value of the option in the following order: %s, %a. Note that when neither %a nor %A are specified, it's %a which is added implicitly.

The macros can slightly change their meaning depending on :find command arguments. When the first argument points to an existing directory, %s is assigned all arguments and %a/%A are left empty. Otherwise, %s is assigned a dot (".") meaning current directory or list of selected filenames, if any. %a/%A are assigned arguments when first argument starts with a dash ("-"), otherwise %a gets an escaped version of arguments, prepended by "-name" (on *nix) or "-iname" (on Windows) predicate.

%a and %A macros contain almost the same value, the difference is that %a can be escaped and %A is never escaped. %A is to be used mainly on Windows, where shell escaping is a mess and can break command execution.

Starting from Windows Server 2003 a where command is available, one can configure vifm to use it in the following way:

    set findprg="where /R %s %A"
    

As the syntax of this command is rather limited, one can't use :find command with selection of more than one item in this case. The command looks for files only completely ignoring directories.

When using find port on Windows, another option is to setup 'findprg' like this:

    set findprg="find %s %a"
    

followlinks

type: boolean

 

default: true

 

Follow links on l or Enter.

fusehome

type: string

 

default: "($TMPDIR | $TEMP | $TEMPDIR | $TMP)/vifm_FUSE/"

 

Directory to be used as a root dir for FUSE mounts. Value of the option can contain environment variables (in form "$envname"), which will be expanded (prepend it with a slash to prevent expansion). The value should expand to an absolute path.

If you change this option, vifm won't remount anything. It affects future mounts only. See "Automatic FUSE mounts" section below for more information.

gdefault gd

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

When on, 'g' flag is on for :substitute by default.

grepprg

type: string

 

default: "grep -n -H -I -r %i %a %s"

 

Specifies format for an external command to be invoked by the :grep command. The format supports expanding of macros, specific for a particular *prg option, and %% sequence for inserting percent sign literally. This option should include the %i macro to specify placement of "-v" string when inversion of results is requested, %a or %A macro to specify placement of arguments passed to the :grep command and the %s macro to specify placement of list of files to search in. If some of the macros are not used, they will be implicitly added after a space to the value of the 'grepprg' option in the following order: %i, %a, %s. Note that when neither %a nor %A are specified, it's %a which is added implicitly.

See 'findprg' option for description of difference between %a and %A.

Example of setup to use ack (http://beyondgrep.com/) instead of grep:

    set grepprg=ack\ -H\ -r\ %i\ %a\ %s
    

or The Silver Searcher (https://github.com/ggreer/the_silver_searcher):

    set grepprg=ag\ --line-numbers\ %i\ %a\ %s
    

history hi

type: integer

 

default: 15

 

Maximum number of directories in the view history and lines in the prompt, command line and search histories.

hlsearch hls

type: bool

 

default: true

 

Highlight all matches of search pattern.

iec

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

Use KiB, MiB, ... instead of KB, MB, ...

ignorecase ic

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

Ignore case in search patterns (:substitute, / and ? commands) and characters after f and F commands. It doesn't affect file filtering.

incsearch is

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

When this option is set, search and view update for local filter is be performed starting from initial cursor position each time search pattern is changed.

laststatus ls

type: boolean

 

default: true

 

Controls if status bar is visible.

lines

type: int

 

default: terminal height on startup

 

Terminal height in lines.

locateprg

type: string

 

default: "locate %a"

 

Specifies format for an external command to be invoked by the :locate command. The format supports expanding of macros, specific for a particular *prg option, and %% sequence for inserting percent sign literally. This option should include the %a macro to specify placement of arguments passed to the :locate command. If the macro is not used, it will be implicitly added after a space to the value of this option.

lsview

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

type: local

 

When this option is set, directory view will be displayed in multiple columns with filenames similar to output of `ls -x` command. See ls-like view section below for format description.

number nu

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

type: local

 

Print line number in front of each filename when 'lsview' option is turned off. Use 'numberwidth' to control width of line number. Also see 'relativenumber'.

numberwidth nuw

type: integer

 

default: 4

 

type: local

 

Minimal number of characters for line number field.

relativenumber rnu

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

type: local

 

Print relative line number in front of each filename when 'lsview' option is turned off. Use 'numberwidth' to control width of line number. Various combinations of 'number' and 'relativenumber' lead to such results:

nonumber number

norelativenumber | first | 1 first
| second | 2 second
| third | 3 third

relativenumber | 1 first | 1 first
| 0 second |2 second
| 1 third | 1 third

rulerformat ruf

type: string

 

default: "%=%l-%S "

 

Determines the content of the ruler. Its width is 13 characters and it's right aligned. Following macros are supported:

 

%l - file number

 

%L - total number of files in view (including filtered)

 

%- - number of filtered files

 

%S - number of showed files

 

%= - separation point between left and right align items

 

%% - percent sign

 

Percent sign can be followed by optional minimum field width. Add '-' before minimum field width if you want field to be right aligned. Example:

 set rulerformat="%=%2l-%S [%L] "
    

runexec

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

Run executable file on Enter or l.

scrollbind scb

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

When this option is set, vifm will try to keep difference of scrolling positions of two windows constant.

scrolloff so

type: int

 

default: 0

 

Minimal number of screen lines to keep above and below the cursor. If you want cursor line to always be in the middle of the view (except at the beginning or end of the file list), set this option to some large value (e.g. 999).

shell sh

type: string

 

default: $SHELL or "sh" or "cmd" (on MS-Windows)

 

Full path to the shell to use to run external commands.

shortmess shm

type: charset

 

default: ""

 

Contains a sequence of single-character flags. Each flag enables shortening of some message displayed by vifm in the TUI. Flags:

 

T - truncate status-bar messages in the middle if they are too long to fit on the command line. "..." will appear in the middle.

slowfs

type: string list

 

default: ""

 

only for *nix

 

A list of mounter fs name beginnings (first column in /etc/mtab or /proc/mounts) or paths prefixes for fs/directories that work too slow for you. This option can be used to stop vifm from making some requests to particular kinds of file systems that can slow down file browsing. Currently this means don't check if directory has changed, skip check if target of symbolic links exists, assume that link target located on slow fs to be a directory (allows entering directories and navigating to files via gf).

Example for autofs root /mnt/autofs:

 set slowfs+=/mnt/autofs
    

smartcase scs

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

Overrides the ignorecase option if the search pattern contains at least one upper case character. Only used when ignorecase option is enabled. It doesn't affect file filtering.

sort

type: string list

 

default: +name on *nix and +iname on Windows

 

type: local

 

Sets list of sorting keys (first item is primary key, second is secondary key, etc.):
[+-]ext - extension
[+-]name - name (including extension)
[+-]iname - name (including extension, ignores case)
[+-]type - type (directory < file)
[+-]gid - group id (*nix only)
[+-]gname - group name (*nix only)
[+-]mode - mode (*nix only)
[+-]perms - permissions string (*nix only)
[+-]uid - owner id (*nix only)
[+-]uname - owner name (*nix only)
[+-]size - size
[+-]atime - time accessed (e.g. read, executed)
[+-]ctime - time changed (changes in metadata, e.g. mode)
[+-]mtime - time modified (when file contents is changed)

 set sort+=type

 set sort=-size,type

-

type key is added at the beginning;

-

default key is added at the end;

sortnumbers

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

type: local

 

Natural sort of (version) numbers within text.

statusline stl

type: string

 

default: ""

 

Determines the content of the status line (the line right above command-line). Empty string means use same format like in previous versions. Following macros are supported:

 set statusline="  %t%= %A %10u:%-7g %15s %20d "

Mappings¶

<cr>

Enter key

<bs>

Backspace key

<tab> <s-tab>

Tabulation and Shift+Tabulation keys

<esc> <space> <home> <end> <left> <right> <up> <down> <pageup> <pagedown>

Keys with obvious names.

<nop>

Provides a way to disable a mapping (by mapping it to <nop>).

<del> <delete>

Delete key. <del> and <delete> mean different codes, but <delete> is more common.

<c-a>,<c-b>,...,<c-z>,<c-[>,<c->,<c-]>,<c-^>,<c-_>

Control + some key.

<a-a>,<a-b>,...,<a-z>

<m-a>,<m-b>,...,<m-z> Alt + some key.

<a-c-a>,<a-c-b>,...,<a-c-z>

<m-c-a>,<m-c-b>,...,<m-c-z> only for *nix

 

Alt + Ctrl + some key.

<f0> - <f63>

Functional keys

<c-f1> - <c-f12>

only for MS-Windows

 

Functional keys with Control key pressed.

<a-f1> - <a-f12>

only for MS-Windows

 

Functional keys with Alt key pressed.

<s-f1> - <s-f12>

only for MS-Windows

 

Functional keys with Shift key pressed.

 cmap <f1> man<space>

Expression syntax¶

 'a' ==  'a'         == 1
 'a' >   'b'         == 1
 'a' ==  'b'         == 0
 '2' >   'b'         == 0
  2  >   'b'         == 1
  2  >   '1b'        == 1
  2  >   '9b'        == 0
 -1  == -'1'         == 1
  0  ==  '--1'       == 1

 'a' . 'b'           == 'ab'
 'aaa' . '' . 'c'    == 'aaac'

  --9                == 9
 ---9                == -9
  -+9                == 9
  !-9                == 0
  !''                == 1
 !'x'                == 0
  !!9                == 1

 0                   == 0
 0000                == 0
 01                  == 1
 123                 == 123
 10000               == 10000

 "\"Hello,\tWorld!\""
 "Hi,\nthere!"

 'All\slashes\are\saved.'
 'This string contains doubled single quotes ''here'''

  echo 'Terminal size: '.&columns.'x'.&lines
  if &columns > 100

 'This is my $PATH env: ' . $PATH
 'vifmrc at ' . $MYVIFMRC . ' is used.'

 "'" . filetype('.') . "'"
 filetype('.') == 'reg'

Functions¶

  " use custom default viewer script if it's available and installed
  " in predefined system directory, otherwise try to find it elsewhere
  if executable('/usr/local/bin/defviewer')
      fileview * /usr/local/bin/defviewer %c
  else
      if executable('defviewer')
          fileview * defviewer %c
      endif
  endif

  " percent sign
  :echo expand('%%')
  " the last part of directory name of the other pane
  :echo expand('%D:t')
  " $PATH environment variable (same as `:echo $PATH`)
  :echo expand('$PATH')

  " skip user/group on Windows
  if !has('win')
      let $RIGHTS = '%10u:%-7g '
  endif

  execute 'set' 'statusline="  %t%= %A '.$RIGHTS.'%15E %20d  "'

Menus and dialogs¶

-

* - checked flag.

-

X - means that it has different value for files in selection.

-

d (*nix only) - (only for execute flags) means u-x+X, g-x+X or o-x+X argument for the chmod program. If you want to remove execute right from all files, but preserve it for directories, set all execute flags to 'd' and check ´Set Recursively' flag.

Startup¶

Configure¶

  set
      \smartcase

  set<space here>
      \ smartcase

-

directory stack stored in the file is not overwritten unless something is changed in vifm session that performs merge;

-

each bookmark is marked with a timestamp, so that newer value is not overwritten by older one, thus no matter from where bookmark comes, the newer one wins.

Automatic FUSE mounts¶

  :filetype FUSE_MOUNT|fuse-zip %SOURCE_FILE %DESTINATION_DIR

  :filetype FUSE_MOUNT2|sshfs %PARAM %DESTINATION_DIR

    root@127.0.0.1:/

-

when vifm quits (with ZZ, :q, etc. or when killed by signal)

-

when you explicitly leave mount point going up to its parent directory (with h, Enter on "../" or ":cd ..") and other pane is not in the same directory or its child directories.

View look¶

-

in a table mode, when multiple columns can be set using 'viewcolumns' option (see Column view section below for details);

-

in a multicolumn list manner which looks almost like `ls -x` command output (see ls-like view section below for details).

ls-like view¶

Column view¶

-

left align

     set viewcolumns=-{name}
    

-

right align (default)

     set viewcolumns={name}
    

-

absolute size - column width is specified in characters

     set viewcolumns=-100{name},20.15{ext}
    

results in two columns with lengths of 100 and 20 and a reserved space of five characters on the left of second column.

-

relative (percent) size - column width is specified in percents of view width

     set viewcolumns=-80%{name},15%{ext},5%{mtime}
    

results in three columns with lengths of 80/100, 15/100 and 5/100 of view width.

-

auto size (default) - column width is automatically determined

     set viewcolumns=-{name},{ext},{mtime}
    

results in three columns with length of one third of view width. There is no size adjustment to content, since it will slow down rendering.

    {name},{ext},{mtime}

    set viewcolumns=-{name}..,6{}.

-

truncation - text is truncated

     set viewcolumns=-{name}.
    

results in truncation of names that are too long too fit in the view.

-

adding of ellipsis - ellipsis on the left or right are added when needed

     set viewcolumns=-{name}..
    

results in that ellipsis are added at the end of too long file names.

-

none (default) - text can pass column boundaries

     set viewcolumns=-{name}...,{ext}
    

results in that long file names can partially be written on the ext column.

Color schemes¶

-

as the primary color scheme

-

as local to a panel color scheme

-

:colorscheme color_scheme_name - for the primary color scheme

-

:colorscheme color_scheme_name directory - for local color schemes

-

Border, TopLineSel, TopLine, CmdLine, ErrorMsg, StatusLine and WildMenu are always determined by the primary color scheme

-

CurrLine, Selected, Directory, Link, BrokenLink, Socket, Device, Executable, Fifo and Win are determined by primary color scheme and a set of local color schemes, which can be empty

 ~
 `-- bin
    |
    `-- my

 # ~/.vifm/colors/for_bin
 highlight Win cterm=none ctermfg=white ctermbg=red
 highlight CurrLine cterm=none ctermfg=red ctermbg=black

 # ~/.vifm/colors/for_bin_my
 highlight CurrLine cterm=none ctermfg=green ctermbg=black

 colorscheme Default
 colorscheme for_bin ~/bin
 colorscheme for_bin_my ~/bin/my

-

~/ - Default color scheme

 

black background

 

cursor with blue background

-

~/bin/ - mix of Default and for_bin color schemes

 

red background

 

cursor with black background and red foreground

-

~/bin/my/ - mix of Default, for_bin and for_bin_my color schemes

 

red background

 

cursor with black background and green foreground

Trash directory¶

1.

As a place for storing files that were cut by "d" and may be inserted to some other place in file system.

2.

As a storage of files, that are deleted but not purged yet.

Client-Server¶

    vifm --remote -c 'cd /'
    vifm --remote '+cd /'

    vifm --remote /
    vifm --remote ~
    vifm --remote /usr/bin /tmp

Plugin¶

Reserved¶

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES¶

VIFM

Points to main configuration directory (usually ~/.vifm/).

MYVIFMRC

Points to main configuration file (usually ~/.vifm/vifmrc).

SEE ALSO¶

AUTHOR¶