telescope-file-browser.nvim

telescope-file-browser.nvim is a file browser extension for telescope.nvim. It supports synchronized creation, deletion, renaming, and moving of files and folders powered by telescope.nvim and plenary.nvim.

More demo examples can be found in the showcase issue.

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Setup and Configuration
• Usage
• Mappings
• Documentation
• Workflow
• Multi-Selections
• File System Operations
• Exports
• Roadmap & Contributing

Installation

Install the plugin with your preferred package manager.

-- packer
use {
    "nvim-telescope/telescope-file-browser.nvim",
    requires = { "nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim", "nvim-lua/plenary.nvim" }
}

--lazy
{
    "nvim-telescope/telescope-file-browser.nvim",
    dependencies = { "nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim", "nvim-lua/plenary.nvim" }
}

Plug 'nvim-lua/plenary.nvim'
Plug 'nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim'
Plug 'nvim-telescope/telescope-file-browser.nvim'

Optional Dependencies

• telescope-file-browser optionally leverages fd if installed for faster, more async browsing
• nvim-web-devicons for file icons
• git to show the status of files directly in the file browser.

Setup and Configuration

You can configure the telescope-file-browser like any other telescope.nvim picker. Please see :h telescope-file-browser.picker for the full set of options dedicated to the picker. Unless otherwise stated, you can pass these options either to your configuration at extension setup or picker startup. For instance, you can map theme and mappings as you are used to from telescope.nvim.

-- You don't need to set any of these options.
-- IMPORTANT!: this is only a showcase of how you can set default options!
require("telescope").setup {
  extensions = {
    file_browser = {
      theme = "ivy",
      -- disables netrw and use telescope-file-browser in its place
      hijack_netrw = true,
      mappings = {
        ["i"] = {
          -- your custom insert mode mappings
        },
        ["n"] = {
          -- your custom normal mode mappings
        },
      },
    },
  },
}
-- To get telescope-file-browser loaded and working with telescope,
-- you need to call load_extension, somewhere after setup function:
require("telescope").load_extension "file_browser"

local fb_actions = require "telescope._extensions.file_browser.actions"

require("telescope").setup {
  extensions = {
    file_browser = {
      -- path
      -- cwd
      cwd_to_path = false,
      grouped = false,
      files = true,
      add_dirs = true,
      depth = 1,
      auto_depth = false,
      select_buffer = false,
      hidden = { file_browser = false, folder_browser = false },
      -- respect_gitignore
      -- browse_files
      -- browse_folders
      hide_parent_dir = false,
      collapse_dirs = false,
      prompt_path = false,
      quiet = false,
      dir_icon = "",
      dir_icon_hl = "Default",
      display_stat = { date = true, size = true, mode = true },
      hijack_netrw = false,
      use_fd = true,
      git_status = true,
      mappings = {
        ["i"] = {
          ["<A-c>"] = fb_actions.create,
          ["<S-CR>"] = fb_actions.create_from_prompt,
          ["<A-r>"] = fb_actions.rename,
          ["<A-m>"] = fb_actions.move,
          ["<A-y>"] = fb_actions.copy,
          ["<A-d>"] = fb_actions.remove,
          ["<C-o>"] = fb_actions.open,
          ["<C-g>"] = fb_actions.goto_parent_dir,
          ["<C-e>"] = fb_actions.goto_home_dir,
          ["<C-w>"] = fb_actions.goto_cwd,
          ["<C-t>"] = fb_actions.change_cwd,
          ["<C-f>"] = fb_actions.toggle_browser,
          ["<C-h>"] = fb_actions.toggle_hidden,
          ["<C-s>"] = fb_actions.toggle_all,
          ["<bs>"] = fb_actions.backspace,
        },
        ["n"] = {
          ["c"] = fb_actions.create,
          ["r"] = fb_actions.rename,
          ["m"] = fb_actions.move,
          ["y"] = fb_actions.copy,
          ["d"] = fb_actions.remove,
          ["o"] = fb_actions.open,
          ["g"] = fb_actions.goto_parent_dir,
          ["e"] = fb_actions.goto_home_dir,
          ["w"] = fb_actions.goto_cwd,
          ["t"] = fb_actions.change_cwd,
          ["f"] = fb_actions.toggle_browser,
          ["h"] = fb_actions.toggle_hidden,
          ["s"] = fb_actions.toggle_all,
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

Usage

You can use the telescope-file-browser as follows:

vim.api.nvim_set_keymap(
  "n",
  "<space>fb",
  ":Telescope file_browser<CR>",
  { noremap = true }
)

-- open file_browser with the path of the current buffer
vim.api.nvim_set_keymap(
  "n",
  "<space>fb",
  ":Telescope file_browser path=%:p:h select_buffer=true<CR>",
  { noremap = true }
)

Alternatively, you can also access the picker as a function via require "telescope".extensions.file_browser.file_browser natively in lua.

Mappings

telescope-file-browser.nvim comes with a lot of default mappings for discoverability. You can use telescope's which_key (insert mode: <C-/>, normal mode: ?) to list mappings attached to your picker.

• path denotes the folder the file_browser is currently in
• fb_actions refers to the table of provided telescope-file-browser.actions accessible via require "telescope".extensions.file_browser.actions

fb_actions.create_from_prompt requires that your terminal recognizes these keycodes (e.g. kitty). See :h tui-input for more information.

Remappings

As part of the setup, you can remap actions as you like. The default mappings can also be found in this file.

local fb_actions = require "telescope".extensions.file_browser.actions
-- mappings in file_browser extension of telescope.setup
...
      mappings = {
        ["i"] = {
          -- remap to going to home directory
          ["<C-h>"] = fb_actions.goto_home_dir
          ["<C-x>"] = function(prompt_bufnr)
            -- your custom function
          end
        },
        ["n"] = {
          -- unmap toggling `fb_actions.toggle_browser`
          f = false,
        },
...

Documentation

The documentation of telescope-file-browser can be be accessed from within Neovim via:

The documentation can be easily explored via :Telescope help_tags. Search for fb_actions, for instance, nicely lists available actions from within vimdocs. Very much recommended!

Please make sure to consult the docs prior to raising issues for asking questions.

Workflow

telescope-file-browser.nvim unifies a file_browser and a folder_browser into a single finder that can be toggled between:

1. file_browser: finds files and folders in the (currently) selected folder (denoted as path, default: cwd)
2. folder_browser: swiftly fuzzy find folders from cwd downwards to switch folders for the file_browser (i.e. set path to selected folder)

Within a single session, path always refers to the folder the file_browser is currently in and changes by selecting folders from within the file or folder_browser.

If you want to open the file_browser from within the folder of your current buffer, you should pass path = "%:p:h" to the opts table of the picker (Vimscript: :Telescope file_browser path=%:p:h) or to the extension setup configuration. Strings passed to path or cwd are expanded automatically.

By default, the folder_browser always launches from cwd, but it can be configured to launch from path via passing the cwd_to_path = true to picker opts table or at extension setup. The former corresponds to a more project-centric file browser workflow, whereas the latter typically facilitates file and folder browsing across the entire file system.

In practice, it mostly affects how you navigate the file system in multi-hop scenarios, for instance, when moving files from varying folders into a separate folder. The default works well in projects from which the folder_browser can easily reach any folder. cwd_to_path = true would possibly require returning to parent directories or cwd intermittently. However, if you move deeply through the file system, launching the folder_browser from cwd every time is tedious. Hence, it can be configured to follow path instead.

In general, telescope-file-browser.nvim intends to enable any workflow without comprise via opting in as virtually any component can be overriden.

Multi-Selections

Multiple files and directories can be selected at the same time using default bindings (<Tab>/<S-Tab>) from telescope.nvim.

One distinct difference to telescope.nvim is that multi-selections are preserved between browsers.

Hence, whenever you (de-)select a file or folder within {file, folder}_browser, respectively, this change persists across browsers (in a single session).

File System Operations

Note: path corresponds to the folder the file_browser is currently in.

Warning: Batch renaming or moving files with path inter-dependencies are not resolved! For instance, moving a folder somewhere while moving another file into the original folder in later order within same action will fail.

See fb_actions for a list of native actions and inspiration on how to write your own custom action. As additional reference, plenary's Path library powers a lot of the built-in actions.

For more information on telescope actions and remappings, see also the upstream documentation and associated vimdocs at :h telescope.defaults.mappings.

Additional information can also be found in telescope's developer documentation.

Exports

The extension exports the following attributes via :lua require "telescope".extensions.file_browser:

Roadmap & Contributing

Please see the associated issue on more immediate open TODOs for telescope-file-browser.nvim.

That said, the primary work surrounds on enabling users to tailor the extension to their individual workflow, primarily through opting in and possibly overriding specific components.