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.

Demo

The demo shows multi-selecting files across various folders and then moving them to the lastly entered directory. More examples can be found in the showcase issue.

Installation

packer

use { "nvim-telescope/telescope-file-browser.nvim" }

Vim-Plug

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

Optional Dependencies

telescope-file-browser optionally levers fd if installed for more faster and async browsing, most noticeable in larger repositories.

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. For instance, you of course 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",
      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"

Usage

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

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

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

Documentation

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

What	Vimdoc	Comment
Introduction	`:h telescope-file-browser.nvim`
Picker options	`:h fb_picker.file_browser`	For `extension` setup
Actions	`:h fb_actions`	Explore mappable actions
Finders	`:h fb_finders`	Lower level for customization

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:

file_browser: finds files and folders in the (currently) selected folder (denoted as path, default: cwd)
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

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). Eventually, some means to inspect multi-selections will be provided natively (see PR).

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.

Action (incl. GIF)	Docs	Comment
creation	`:h fb_action.create`	Levers `vim.ui.input`, trailing path separator (e.g. `/` on unix) creates folder
copying	`:h fb_action.copy`	Supports copying current selection in `path` & multi-selections to respective `path`
moving	`:h fb_action.move`	Move multi-selected files to `path`
removing	`:h fb_action.remove`	Remove (multi-)selected files
renaming	`:h fb_action.rename`	Rename (multi-)selected files

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.

Insert / Normal	Action
`<A-c>/c`	Create file/folder at current `path` (trailing path separator creates folder)
`<A-r>/r`	Rename multi-selected files/folders
`<A-m>/m`	Move multi-selected files/folders to current `path`
`<A-y>/y`	Copy (multi-)selected files/folders to current `path`
`<A-d>/d`	Delete (multi-)selected files/folders
`<C-o>/o`	Open file/folder with default system application
`<C-g>/g`	Go to parent directory
`<C-e>/e`	Go to home directory
`<C-w>/w`	Go to current working directory (cwd)
`<C-t>/t`	Change nvim's cwd to selected folder/file(parent)
`<C-f>/f`	Toggle between file and folder browser
`<C-h>/h`	Toggle hidden files/folders
`<C-s>/s`	Toggle all entries ignoring `./` and `../`

path denotes the folder the file_browser is currently in.

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,
        },
...

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:

Export	Description
`file_browser`	main picker
`actions`	file browser actions (often referred to as `fb_actions`) for e.g. remapping
`finder`	file, folder, and unified finder for user customization
`_picker`	Unconfigured equivalent of `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.

pauljacobson / telescope-file-browser.nvim