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//go:generate gen/docstring.sh
//go:generate gen/man.sh
/*
lf is a terminal file manager.
Source code can be found in the repository at https://github.com/gokcehan/lf.
This documentation can either be read from terminal using 'lf -doc' or online at https://godoc.org/github.com/gokcehan/lf.
You can also use 'doc' command (default '<f-1>') inside lf to view the documentation in a pager.
You can run 'lf -help' to see descriptions of command line options.
Quick Reference
The following commands are provided by lf:
quit (default 'q')
up (default 'k' and '<up>')
half-up (default '<c-u>')
page-up (default '<c-b>' and '<pgup>')
down (default 'j' and '<down>')
half-down (default '<c-d>')
page-down (default '<c-f>' and '<pgdn>')
updir (default 'h' and '<left>')
open (default 'l' and '<right>')
top (default 'gg' and '<home>')
bottom (default 'G' and '<end>')
toggle
invert (default 'v')
unselect (default 'u')
glob-select
glob-unselect
copy (default 'y')
cut (default 'd')
paste (default 'p')
clear (default 'c')
sync
draw
redraw (default '<c-l>')
load
reload (default '<c-r>')
echo
echomsg
echoerr
cd
select
delete (modal)
rename (modal) (default 'r')
source
push
read (modal) (default ':')
shell (modal) (default '$')
shell-pipe (modal) (default '%')
shell-wait (modal) (default '!')
shell-async (modal) (default '&')
find (modal) (default 'f')
find-back (modal) (default 'F')
find-next (default ';')
find-prev (default ',')
search (modal) (default '/')
search-back (modal) (default '?')
search-next (default 'n')
search-prev (default 'N')
mark-save (modal) (default 'm')
mark-load (modal) (default "'")
mark-remove (modal) (default `"`)
The following command line commands are provided by lf:
cmd-escape (default '<esc>')
cmd-complete (default '<tab>')
cmd-menu-complete
cmd-menu-complete-back
cmd-enter (default '<c-j>' and '<enter>')
cmd-interrupt (default '<c-c>')
cmd-history-next (default '<c-n>')
cmd-history-prev (default '<c-p>')
cmd-left (default '<c-b>' and '<left>')
cmd-right (default '<c-f>' and '<right>')
cmd-home (default '<c-a>' and '<home>')
cmd-end (default '<c-e>' and '<end>')
cmd-delete (default '<c-d>' and '<delete>')
cmd-delete-back (default '<backspace>' and '<backspace2>')
cmd-delete-home (default '<c-u>')
cmd-delete-end (default '<c-k>')
cmd-delete-unix-word (default '<c-w>')
cmd-yank (default '<c-y>')
cmd-transpose (default '<c-t>')
cmd-transpose-word (default '<a-t>')
cmd-word (default '<a-f>')
cmd-word-back (default '<a-b>')
cmd-delete-word (default '<a-d>')
cmd-capitalize-word (default '<a-c>')
cmd-uppercase-word (default '<a-u>')
cmd-lowercase-word (default '<a-l>')
The following options can be used to customize the behavior of lf:
anchorfind bool (default on)
autoquit bool (default off)
dircounts bool (default off)
dirfirst bool (default on)
drawbox bool (default off)
errorfmt string (default "\033[7;31;47m%s\033[0m")
filesep string (default "\n")
findlen int (default 1)
globsearch bool (default off)
hidden bool (default off)
hiddenfiles []string (default '.*')
icons bool (default off)
ifs string (default '')
ignorecase bool (default on)
ignoredia bool (default on)
incsearch bool (default off)
info []string (default '')
mouse bool (default off)
number bool (default off)
period int (default 0)
preview bool (default on)
previewer string (default '')
cleaner string (default '')
promptfmt string (default "\033[32;1m%u@%h\033[0m:\033[34;1m%d\033[0m\033[1m%f\033[0m")
ratios []int (default '1:2:3')
relativenumber bool (default off)
reverse bool (default off)
scrolloff int (default 0)
shell string (default 'sh' for unix and 'cmd' for windows)
shellflag string (default '-c' for unix and '/c' for windows)
shellopts []string (default '')
smartcase bool (default on)
smartdia bool (default off)
sortby string (default 'natural')
tabstop int (default 8)
timefmt string (default 'Mon Jan _2 15:04:05 2006')
truncatechar string (default '~')
waitmsg string (default 'Press any key to continue')
wrapscan bool (default on)
wrapscroll bool (default off)
The following environment variables are exported for shell commands:
f
fs
fx
id
PWD
OLDPWD
LF_LEVEL
OPENER
EDITOR
PAGER
SHELL
The following commands/keybindings are provided by default:
unix windows
cmd open &$OPENER "$f" cmd open &%OPENER% %f%
map e $$EDITOR "$f" map e $%EDITOR% %f%
map i $$PAGER "$f" map i !%PAGER% %f%
map w $$SHELL map w $%SHELL%
The following additional keybindings are provided by default:
map zh set hidden!
map zr set reverse!
map zn set info
map zs set info size
map zt set info time
map za set info size:time
map sn :set sortby natural; set info
map ss :set sortby size; set info size
map st :set sortby time; set info time
map sa :set sortby atime; set info atime
map sc :set sortby ctime; set info ctime
map se :set sortby ext; set info
map gh cd ~
map <space> :toggle; down
Configuration
Configuration files should be located at:
os system-wide user-specific
unix /etc/lf/lfrc ~/.config/lf/lfrc
windows C:\ProgramData\lf\lfrc C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\lf\lfrc
Selection file should be located at:
unix ~/.local/share/lf/files
windows C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\lf\files
Marks file should be located at:
unix ~/.local/share/lf/marks
windows C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\lf\marks
History file should be located at:
unix ~/.local/share/lf/history
windows C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\lf\history
You can configure the default values of following variables to change these
locations:
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME ~/.config
$XDG_DATA_HOME ~/.local/share
%ProgramData% C:\ProgramData
%LOCALAPPDATA% C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local
A sample configuration file can be found at
https://github.com/gokcehan/lf/blob/master/etc/lfrc.example.
Commands
This section shows information about builtin commands.
Modal commands do not take any arguments, but instead change the operation mode to read their input conveniently, and so they are meant to be assigned to keybindings.
quit (default 'q')
Quit lf and return to the shell.
up (default 'k' and '<up>')
half-up (default '<c-u>')
page-up (default '<c-b>' and '<pgup>')
down (default 'j' and '<down>')
half-down (default '<c-d>')
page-down (default '<c-f>' and '<pgdn>')
Move the current file selection upwards/downwards by one/half a page/full page.
updir (default 'h' and '<left>')
Change the current working directory to the parent directory.
open (default 'l' and '<right>')
If the current file is a directory, then change the current directory to it, otherwise, execute the 'open' command.
A default 'open' command is provided to call the default system opener asynchronously with the current file as the argument.
A custom 'open' command can be defined to override this default.
(See also 'OPENER' variable and 'Opening Files' section)
top (default 'gg' and '<home>')
bottom (default 'G' and '<end>')
Move the current file selection to the top/bottom of the directory.
toggle
Toggle the selection of the current file or files given as arguments.
invert (default 'v')
Reverse the selection of all files in the current directory (i.e. 'toggle' all files).
Selections in other directories are not effected by this command.
You can define a new command to select all files in the directory by combining 'invert' with 'unselect' (i.e. `cmd select-all :unselect; invert`), though this will also remove selections in other directories.
unselect (default 'u')
Remove the selection of all files in all directories.
glob-select
Select files that match the given glob.
glob-unselect
Unselect files that match the given glob.
copy (default 'y')
If there are no selections, save the path of the current file to the copy buffer, otherwise, copy the paths of selected files.
cut (default 'd')
If there are no selections, save the path of the current file to the cut buffer, otherwise, copy the paths of selected files.
paste (default 'p')
Copy/Move files in copy/cut buffer to the current working directory.
clear (default 'c')
Clear file paths in copy/cut buffer.
sync
Synchronize copied/cut files with server.
This command is automatically called when required.
draw
Draw the screen.
This command is automatically called when required.
redraw (default '<c-l>')
Synchronize the terminal and redraw the screen.
load
Load modified files and directories.
This command is automatically called when required.
reload (default '<c-r>')
Flush the cache and reload all files and directories.
echo
Print given arguments to the message line at the bottom.
echomsg
Print given arguments to the message line at the bottom and also to the log file.
echoerr
Print given arguments to the message line at the bottom in red color and also to the log file.
cd
Change the working directory to the given argument.
select
Change the current file selection to the given argument.
delete (modal)
Remove the current file or selected file(s).
rename (modal) (default 'r')
Rename the current file using the builtin method.
A custom 'rename' command can be defined to override this default.
source
Read the configuration file given in the argument.
push
Simulate key pushes given in the argument.
read (modal) (default ':')
Read a command to evaluate.
shell (modal) (default '$')
Read a shell command to execute.
(See also 'Prefixes' and 'Shell Commands' sections)
shell-pipe (modal) (default '%')
Read a shell command to execute piping its standard I/O to the bottom statline.
(See also 'Prefixes' and 'Piping Shell Commands' sections)
shell-wait (modal) (default '!')
Read a shell command to execute and wait for a key press in the end.
(See also 'Prefixes' and 'Waiting Shell Commands' sections)
shell-async (modal) (default '&')
Read a shell command to execute synchronously without standard I/O.
find (modal) (default 'f')
find-back (modal) (default 'F')
find-next (default ';')
find-prev (default ',')
Read key(s) to find the appropriate file name match in the forward/backward direction and jump to the next/previous match.
(See also 'anchorfind', 'findlen', 'wrapscan', 'ignorecase', 'smartcase', 'ignoredia', and 'smartdia' options and 'Searching Files' section)
search (default '/')
search-back (default '?')
search-next (default 'n')
search-prev (default 'N')
Read a pattern to search for a file name match in the forward/backward direction and jump to the next/previous match.
(See also 'globsearch', 'incsearch', 'wrapscan', 'ignorecase', 'smartcase', 'ignoredia', and 'smartdia' options and 'Searching Files' section)
mark-save (modal) (default 'm')
Save the current directory as a bookmark assigned to the given key.
mark-load (modal) (default "'")
Change the current directory to the bookmark assigned to the given key.
A special bookmark "'" holds the previous directory after a 'mark-load', 'cd', or 'select' command.
mark-remove (modal) (default `"`)
Remove a bookmark assigned to the given key.
Command Line Commands
This section shows information about command line commands.
These should be mostly compatible with readline keybindings.
A character refers to a unicode code point, a word consists of letters and digits, and a unix word consists of any non-blank characters.
cmd-escape (default '<esc>')
Quit command line mode and return to normal mode.
cmd-complete (default '<tab>')
Autocomplete the current word.
cmd-menu-complete
Autocomplete the current word, then you can press the binded key/s
again to cycle completition options.
cmd-menu-complete-back
Autocomplete the current word, then you can press the binded key/s
again to cycle completition options backwards.
cmd-enter (default '<c-j>' and '<enter>')
Execute the current line.
cmd-interrupt (default '<c-c>')
Interrupt the current shell-pipe command and return to the normal mode.
cmd-history-next (default '<c-n>')
cmd-history-prev (default '<c-p>')
Go to next/previous item in the history.
cmd-left (default '<c-b>' and '<left>')
cmd-right (default '<c-f>' and '<right>')
Move the cursor to the left/right.
cmd-home (default '<c-a>' and '<home>')
cmd-end (default '<c-e>' and '<end>')
Move the cursor to the beginning/end of line.
cmd-delete (default '<c-d>' and '<delete>')
cmd-delete-back (default '<backspace>' and '<backspace2>')
Delete the next character in forward/backward direction.
cmd-delete-home (default '<c-u>')
cmd-delete-end (default '<c-k>')
Delete everything up to the beginning/end of line.
cmd-delete-unix-word (default '<c-w>')
Delete the previous unix word.
cmd-yank (default '<c-y>')
Paste the buffer content containing the last deleted item.
cmd-transpose (default '<c-t>')
cmd-transpose-word (default '<a-t>')
Transpose the positions of last two characters/words.
cmd-word (default '<a-f>')
cmd-word-back (default '<a-b>')
Move the cursor by one word in forward/backward direction.
cmd-delete-word (default '<a-d>')
Delete the next word in forward direction.
cmd-capitalize-word (default '<a-c>')
cmd-uppercase-word (default '<a-u>')
cmd-lowercase-word (default '<a-l>')
Capitalize/uppercase/lowercase the current word and jump to the next word.
Options
This section shows information about options to customize the behavior.
Character ':' is used as the separator for list options '[]int' and '[]string'.
anchorfind bool (default on)
When this option is enabled, find command starts matching patterns from the beginning of file names, otherwise, it can match at an arbitrary position.
autoquit bool (default off)
Automatically quit server when there are no clients left connected.
dircounts bool (default off)
When this option is enabled, directory sizes show the number of items inside instead of the size of directory file.
The former needs to be calculated by reading the directory and counting the items inside.
The latter is directly provided by the operating system and it does not require any calculation, though it is non-intuitive and it can often be misleading.
This option is disabled by default for performance reasons.
This option only has an effect when 'info' has a 'size' field and the pane is wide enough to show the information.
A thousand items are counted per directory at most, and bigger directories are shown as '999+'.
dirfirst bool (default on)
Show directories first above regular files.
drawbox bool (default off)
Draw boxes around panes with box drawing characters.
errorfmt string (default "\033[7;31;47m%s\033[0m")
Format string of error messages shown in the bottom message line.
filesep string (default "\n")
File separator used in environment variables 'fs' and 'fx'.
findlen int (default 1)
Number of characters prompted for the find command.
When this value is set to 0, find command prompts until there is only a single match left.
globsearch bool (default off)
When this option is enabled, search command patterns are considered as globs, otherwise they are literals.
With globbing, '*' matches any sequence, '?' matches any character, and '[...]' or '[^...] matches character sets or ranges.
Otherwise, these characters are interpreted as they are.
hidden bool (default off)
Show hidden files.
On unix systems, hidden files are determined by the value of 'hiddenfiles'.
On windows, only files with hidden attributes are considered hidden files.
hiddenfiles []string (default '.*')
List of hidden file glob patterns.
Patterns can be given as relative or absolute paths.
Globbing supports the usual special characters, '*' to match any sequence, '?' to match any character, and '[...]' or '[^...] to match character sets or ranges.
In addition, if a pattern starts with '!', then its matches are excluded from hidden files.
icons bool (default off)
Show icons before each item in the list.
By default, only two icons, 🗀 (U+1F5C0) and 🗎 (U+1F5CE), are used for directories and files respectively, as they are supported in the unicode standard.
Icons can be configured with an environment variable named 'LF_ICONS'.
The syntax of this variable is similar to 'LS_COLORS'.
See the wiki page for an example icon configuration.
ifs string (default '')
Sets 'IFS' variable in shell commands.
It works by adding the assignment to the beginning of the command string as 'IFS='...'; ...'.
The reason is that 'IFS' variable is not inherited by the shell for security reasons.
This method assumes a POSIX shell syntax and so it can fail for non-POSIX shells.
This option has no effect when the value is left empty.
This option does not have any effect on windows.
ignorecase bool (default on)
Ignore case in sorting and search patterns.
ignoredia bool (default on)
Ignore diacritics in sorting and search patterns.
incsearch bool (default off)
Jump to the first match after each keystroke during searching.
info []string (default '')
List of information shown for directory items at the right side of pane.
Currently supported information types are 'size', 'time', 'atime', and 'ctime'.
Information is only shown when the pane width is more than twice the width of information.
mouse bool (default off)
Send mouse events as input.
number bool (default off)
Show the position number for directory items at the left side of pane.
When 'relativenumber' is enabled, only the current line shows the absolute position and relative positions are shown for the rest.
period int (default 0)
Set the interval in seconds for periodic checks of directory updates.
This works by periodically calling the 'load' command.
Note that directories are already updated automatically in many cases.
This option can be useful when there is an external process changing the displayed directory and you are not doing anything in lf.
Periodic checks are disabled when the value of this option is set to zero.
preview bool (default on)
Show previews of files and directories at the right most pane.
If the file has more lines than the preview pane, rest of the lines are not read.
Files containing the null character (U+0000) in the read portion are considered binary files and displayed as 'binary'.
previewer string (default '') (not filtered if empty)
Set the path of a previewer file to filter the content of regular files for previewing.
The file should be executable.
Five arguments are passed to the file, first is the current file name; the second, third, fourth, and fifth are width, height, horizontal position, and vertical position of preview pane respectively.
SIGPIPE signal is sent when enough lines are read.
If the previewer returns a non-zero exit code, then the preview cache for the given file is disabled. This means that if the file is selected in the future, the previewer is called once again.
Preview filtering is disabled and files are displayed as they are when the value of this option is left empty.
cleaner string (default '') (not called if empty)
Set the path of a cleaner file. This file will be called if previewing is enabled, the previewer is set, and the previously selected file had its preview cache disabled.
The file should be executable.
One argument is passed to the file; the path to the file whose preview should be cleaned.
Preview clearing is disabled when the value of this option is left empty.
promptfmt string (default "\033[32;1m%u@%h\033[0m:\033[34;1m%d\033[0m\033[1m%f\033[0m")
Format string of the prompt shown in the top line.
Special expansions are provided, '%u' as the user name, '%h' as the host name, '%w' as the working directory, '%d' as the working directory with a trailing path separator, and '%f' as the file name.
Home folder is shown as '~' in the working directory expansion.
Directory names are automatically shortened to a single character starting from the left most parent when the prompt does not fit to the screen.
ratios []int (default '1:2:3')
List of ratios of pane widths.
Number of items in the list determines the number of panes in the ui.
When 'preview' option is enabled, the right most number is used for the width of preview pane.
relativenumber bool (default off)
Show the position number relative to the current line.
When 'number' is enabled, current line shows the absolute position, otherwise nothing is shown.
reverse bool (default off)
Reverse the direction of sort.
scrolloff int (default 0)
Minimum number of offset lines shown at all times in the top and the bottom of the screen when scrolling.
The current line is kept in the middle when this option is set to a large value that is bigger than the half of number of lines.
A smaller offset can be used when the current file is close to the beginning or end of the list to show the maximum number of items.
shell string (default 'sh' for unix and 'cmd' for windows)
Shell executable to use for shell commands.
Shell commands are executed as 'shell shellopts shellflag command -- arguments'.
shellflag string (default '-c' for unix and '/c' for windows)
Command line flag used to pass shell commands.
shellopts []string (default '')
List of shell options to pass to the shell executable.
smartcase bool (default on)
Override 'ignorecase' option when the pattern contains an uppercase character.
This option has no effect when 'ignorecase' is disabled.
smartdia bool (default off)
Override 'ignoredia' option when the pattern contains a character with diacritic.
This option has no effect when 'ignoredia' is disabled.
sortby string (default 'natural')
Sort type for directories.
Currently supported sort types are 'natural', 'name', 'size', 'time', 'ctime', 'atime', and 'ext'.
tabstop int (default 8)
Number of space characters to show for horizontal tabulation (U+0009) character.
timefmt string (default 'Mon Jan _2 15:04:05 2006')
Format string of the file modification time shown in the bottom line.
truncatechar string (default '~')
Truncate character shown at the end when the file name does not fit to the pane.
waitmsg string (default 'Press any key to continue')
String shown after commands of shell-wait type.
wrapscan bool (default on)
Searching can wrap around the file list.
wrapscroll bool (default off)
Scrolling can wrap around the file list.
Environment Variables
The following variables are exported for shell commands:
These are referred with a '$' prefix on POSIX shells (e.g. '$f'), between '%' characters on Windows cmd (e.g. '%f%'), and with a '$env:' prefix on Windows powershell (e.g. '$env:f').
f
Current file selection as a full path.
fs
Selected file(s) separated with the value of 'filesep' option as full path(s).
fx
Selected file(s) (i.e. 'fs') if there are any selected files, otherwise current file selection (i.e. 'f').
id
Id of the running client.
PWD
Present working directory.
OLDPWD
Initial working directory.
LF_LEVEL
The value of this variable is set to the current nesting level when you run lf from a shell spawned inside lf.
You can add the value of this variable to your shell prompt to make it clear that your shell runs inside lf.
For example, with POSIX shells, you can use '[ -n "$LF_LEVEL" ] && PS1="$PS1""(lf level: $LF_LEVEL) "' in your shell configuration file (e.g. '~/.bashrc').
OPENER
If this variable is set in the environment, use the same value, otherwise set the value to 'start' in Windows, 'open' in MacOS, 'xdg-open' in others.
EDITOR
If this variable is set in the environment, use the same value, otherwise set the value to 'vi' on unix, 'notepad' in Windows.
PAGER
If this variable is set in the environment, use the same value, otherwise set the value to 'less' on unix, 'more' in Windows.
SHELL
If this variable is set in the environment, use the same value, otherwise set the value to 'sh' on unix, 'cmd' in Windows.
Prefixes
The following command prefixes are used by lf:
: read (default) builtin/custom command
$ shell shell command
% shell-pipe shell command running with the ui
! shell-wait shell command waiting for key press
& shell-async shell command running asynchronously
The same evaluator is used for the command line and the configuration file for read and shell commands.
The difference is that prefixes are not necessary in the command line.
Instead, different modes are provided to read corresponding commands.
These modes are mapped to the prefix keys above by default.
Syntax
Characters from '#' to newline are comments and ignored:
# comments start with '#'
There are three special commands ('set', 'map', and 'cmd') and their variants for configuration.
Command 'set' is used to set an option which can be boolean, integer, or string:
set hidden # boolean on
set nohidden # boolean off
set hidden! # boolean toggle
set scrolloff 10 # integer value
set sortby time # string value w/o quotes
set sortby 'time' # string value with single quotes (whitespaces)
set sortby "time" # string value with double quotes (backslash escapes)
Command 'map' is used to bind a key to a command which can be builtin command, custom command, or shell command:
map gh cd ~ # builtin command
map D trash # custom command
map i $less $f # shell command
map U !du -csh * # waiting shell command
Command 'cmap' is used to bind a key to a command line command which can only be one of the builtin commands:
cmap <c-g> cmd-escape
You can delete an existing binding by leaving the expression empty:
map gh # deletes 'gh' mapping
cmap <c-g> # deletes '<c-g>' mapping
Command 'cmd' is used to define a custom command:
cmd usage $du -h -d1 | less
You can delete an existing command by leaving the expression empty:
cmd trash # deletes 'trash' command
If there is no prefix then ':' is assumed:
map zt set info time
An explicit ':' can be provided to group statements until a newline which is especially useful for 'map' and 'cmd' commands:
map st :set sortby time; set info time
If you need multiline you can wrap statements in '{{' and '}}' after the proper prefix.
map st :{{
set sortby time
set info time
}}
Key Mappings
Regular keys are assigned to a command with the usual syntax:
map a down
Keys combined with the shift key simply use the uppercase letter:
map A down
Special keys are written in between '<' and '>' characters and always use lowercase letters:
map <enter> down
Angle brackets can be assigned with their special names:
map <lt> down
map <gt> down
Function keys are prefixed with 'f' character:
map <f-1> down
Keys combined with the control key are prefixed with 'c' character:
map <c-a> down
Keys combined with the alt key are assigned in two different ways depending on the behavior of your terminal.
Older terminals (e.g. xterm) may set the 8th bit of a character when the alt key is pressed.
On these terminals, you can use the corresponding byte for the mapping:
map á down
Newer terminals (e.g. gnome-terminal) may prefix the key with an escape key when the alt key is pressed.
lf uses the escape delaying mechanism to recognize alt keys in these terminals (delay is 100ms).
On these terminals, keys combined with the alt key are prefixed with 'a' character:
map <a-a> down
Please note that, some key combinations are not possible due to the way terminals work (e.g. control and h combination sends a backspace key instead).
The easiest way to find the name of a key combination is to press the key while lf is running and read the name of the key from the unknown mapping error.
Mouse buttons are prefixed with 'm' character:
map <m-1> down # primary
map <m-2> down # secondary
map <m-3> down # middle
map <m-4> down
map <m-5> down
map <m-6> down
map <m-7> down
map <m-8> down
Mouse wheel events are also prefixed with 'm' character:
map <m-up> down
map <m-down> down
map <m-left> down
map <m-right> down
Push Mappings
The usual way to map a key sequence is to assign it to a named or unnamed command.
While this provides a clean way to remap builtin keys as well as other commands, it can be limiting at times.
For this reason 'push' command is provided by lf.
This command is used to simulate key pushes given as its arguments.
You can 'map' a key to a 'push' command with an argument to create various keybindings.
This is mainly useful for two purposes.
First, it can be used to map a command with a command count:
map <c-j> push 10j
Second, it can be used to avoid typing the name when a command takes arguments:
map r push :rename<space>
One thing to be careful is that since 'push' command works with keys instead of commands it is possible to accidentally create recursive bindings:
map j push 2j
These types of bindings create a deadlock when executed.
Shell Commands
Regular shell commands are the most basic command type that is useful for many purposes.
For example, we can write a shell command to move selected file(s) to trash.
A first attempt to write such a command may look like this:
cmd trash ${{
mkdir -p ~/.trash
if [ -z "$fs" ]; then
mv "$f" ~/.trash
else
IFS="`printf '\n\t'`"; mv $fs ~/.trash
fi
}}
We check '$fs' to see if there are any selected files.
Otherwise we just delete the current file.
Since this is such a common pattern, a separate '$fx' variable is provided.
We can use this variable to get rid of the conditional:
cmd trash ${{
mkdir -p ~/.trash
IFS="`printf '\n\t'`"; mv $fx ~/.trash
}}
The trash directory is checked each time the command is executed.
We can move it outside of the command so it would only run once at startup:
${{ mkdir -p ~/.trash }}
cmd trash ${{ IFS="`printf '\n\t'`"; mv $fx ~/.trash }}
Since these are one liners, we can drop '{{' and '}}':
$mkdir -p ~/.trash
cmd trash $IFS="`printf '\n\t'`"; mv $fx ~/.trash
Finally note that we set 'IFS' variable manually in these commands.
Instead we could use the 'ifs' option to set it for all shell commands (i.e. 'set ifs "\n"').
This can be especially useful for interactive use (e.g. '$rm $f' or '$rm $fs' would simply work).
This option is not set by default as it can behave unexpectedly for new users.
However, use of this option is highly recommended and it is assumed in the rest of the documentation.
Piping Shell Commands
Regular shell commands have some limitations in some cases.
When an output or error message is given and the command exits afterwards, the ui is immediately resumed and there is no way to see the message without dropping to shell again.
Also, even when there is no output or error, the ui still needs to be paused while the command is running.
This can cause flickering on the screen for short commands and similar distractions for longer commands.
Instead of pausing the ui, piping shell commands connects stdin, stdout, and stderr of the command to the statline in the bottom of the ui.
This can be useful for programs following the unix philosophy to give no output in the success case, and brief error messages or prompts in other cases.
For example, following rename command prompts for overwrite in the statline if there is an existing file with the given name:
cmd rename %mv -i $f $1
You can also output error messages in the command and it will show up in the statline.
For example, an alternative rename command may look like this:
cmd rename %[ -e $1 ] && printf "file exists" || mv $f $1
Note that input is line buffered and output and error are byte buffered.
Waiting Shell Commands
Waiting shell commands are similar to regular shell commands except that they wait for a key press when the command is finished.
These can be useful to see the output of a program before the ui is resumed.
Waiting shell commands are more appropriate than piping shell commands when the command is verbose and the output is best displayed as multiline.
Asynchronous Shell Commands
Asynchronous shell commands are used to start a command in the background and then resume operation without waiting for the command to finish.
Stdin, stdout, and stderr of the command is neither connected to the terminal nor to the ui.
Remote Commands
One of the more advanced features in lf is remote commands.
All clients connect to a server on startup.
It is possible to send commands to all or any of the connected clients over the common server.
This is used internally to notify file selection changes to other clients.
To use this feature, you need to use a client which supports communicating with a UNIX-domain socket.
OpenBSD implementation of netcat (nc) is one such example.
You can use it to send a command to the socket file:
echo 'send echo hello world' | nc -U /tmp/lf.${USER}.sock
Since such a client may not be available everywhere, lf comes bundled with a command line flag to be used as such.