doc.txt

NAME

lf - terminal file manager

SYNOPSIS

lf [-command command] [-config path] [-cpuprofile path] [-doc] [-help]
[-last-dir-path path] [-log path] [-memprofile path] [-print-last-dir]
[-print-selection] [-remote command] [-selection-path path] [-server]
[-single] [-version] [cd-or-select-path]

DESCRIPTION

lf is a terminal file manager.

The source code can be found in the repository at
https://github.com/gokcehan/lf

This documentation can either be read from the terminal using lf -doc or
online at https://github.com/gokcehan/lf/blob/master/doc.md You can also
use the help command (default <f-1>) inside lf to view the documentation
in a pager. A man page with the same content is also available in the
repository at https://github.com/gokcehan/lf/blob/master/lf.1

OPTIONS

POSITIONAL ARGUMENTS

cd-or-select-path

    Set the starting location. If path is a directory, start in there.
    If it's a file, start in the file's parent directory and select the
    file. When no path is supplied, lf uses the current directory. Only
    accepts one argument.

META OPTIONS

-doc

    Show lf's documentation (same content as this file) and exit.

-help

    Show command-line usage and exit.

-version

    Show version information and exit.

STARTUP & CONFIGURATION

-command command

    Execute command during client initialization (i.e. after reading
    configuration, before on-init). To execute more than one command,
    you can either use the -command flag multiple times or pass multiple
    commands at once by chaining them with ";".

-config path

    Use the config file at path instead of the normal search locations.
    This only affects which lfrc is read at startup.

SHELL INTEGRATION

-print-last-dir

    Print the last directory to stdout when lf exits. This can be used
    to let lf change your shells working directory. See
    CHANGING DIRECTORY for more details.

-last-dir-path path

    Same as -print-last-dir, but write the directory to path instead of
    stdout.

-print-selection

    Print selected files to stdout when opening a file in lf. This can
    be used to use lf as an "open file" dialog. First, select the files
    you want to pass to another program. Then, confirm the selection by
    opening a file. This causes lf to quit and print out the selection.
    Quitting lf prematurely discards the selection.

-selection-path path

    Same as -print-selection, but write the newline-separated list to
    path instead of stdout.

SERVER

-remote command

    Send command to the running server (e.g. send, query or quit). See
    REMOTE COMMANDS for more details.

-server

    Start the (headless) server process explicitly. Runs in the
    foreground and writes server logs to stderr (or the file set with
    -log). Clients auto-start a server if none is running unless -single
    is used.

-single

    Start a stand-alone client without a server. Disables remote
    control.

DIAGNOSTICS

-log path

    Append runtime log messages to path.

-cpuprofile path

    Write a CPU profile to path. The profile can be used by
    go tool pprof.

-memprofile path

    Write a memory profile to path. The profile can be used by
    go tool pprof.

EXAMPLES

Use lf to select files (while hiding certain file types):

    lf -command 'set nohidden' -command 'set hiddenfiles "*mp4:*pdf:*txt"' -print-selection

Another sophisticated "open file" dialog focusing on design:

    lf -command 'set nopreview; set ratios 1; set drawbox; set promptfmt "Select files [%w] %S q: cancel, l: confirm"' -print-selection

Open Downloads and set sortby and info to creation date:

    lf -command 'set sortby btime; set info btime' ~/Downloads

Temporarily prevent lf from modifying the command history:

    lf -command 'set nohistory'

Use default settings and log current session:

    lf -config /dev/null -log /tmp/lf.log

Force-quit the server:

    lf -remote 'quit!'

Inherit lf's working directory in your shell:

    cd "$(lf -print-last-dir)"

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>')
    scroll-up                (default '<c-y>')
    down                     (default 'j' and '<down>')
    half-down                (default '<c-d>')
    page-down                (default '<c-f>' and '<pgdn>')
    scroll-down              (default '<c-e>')
    updir                    (default 'h' and '<left>')
    open                     (default 'l' and '<right>')
    jump-next                (default ']')
    jump-prev                (default '[')
    top                      (default 'gg' and '<home>')
    bottom                   (default 'G' and '<end>')
    high                     (default 'H')
    middle                   (default 'M')
    low                      (default 'L')
    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>')
    delete         (modal)
    rename         (modal)   (default 'r')
    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')
    filter         (modal)
    setfilter
    mark-save      (modal)   (default 'm')
    mark-load      (modal)   (default "'")
    mark-remove    (modal)   (default '"')
    tag
    tag-toggle               (default 't')
    echo
    echomsg
    echoerr
    cd
    select
    source
    push
    addcustominfo
    calcdirsize
    clearmaps
    tty-write
    visual                   (default 'V')

The following Visual mode commands are provided by lf:

    visual-accept            (default 'V')
    visual-unselect
    visual-discard           (default '<esc>')
    visual-change            (default 'o')

The following Command-line mode commands are provided by lf:

    cmd-insert
    cmd-escape               (default '<esc>')
    cmd-complete             (default '<tab>')
    cmd-menu-complete
    cmd-menu-complete-back
    cmd-menu-accept
    cmd-menu-discard
    cmd-enter                (default '<c-j>' and '<enter>')
    cmd-interrupt            (default '<c-c>')
    cmd-history-next         (default '<c-n>' and '<down>')
    cmd-history-prev         (default '<c-p>' and '<up>')
    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>')
    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-delete-word-back     (default '<a-backspace>')
    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 true)
    autoquit          bool      (default true)
    borderfmt         string    (default "\033[0m")
    cleaner           string    (default '')
    copyfmt           string    (default "\033[7;33m")
    cursoractivefmt   string    (default "\033[7m")
    cursorparentfmt   string    (default "\033[7m")
    cursorpreviewfmt  string    (default "\033[4m")
    cutfmt            string    (default "\033[7;31m")
    dircounts         bool      (default false)
    dirfirst          bool      (default true)
    dironly           bool      (default false)
    dirpreviews       bool      (default false)
    drawbox           bool      (default false)
    dupfilefmt        string    (default '%f.~%n~')
    errorfmt          string    (default "\033[7;31;47m")
    filesep           string    (default "\n")
    filtermethod      string    (default 'text')
    findlen           int       (default 1)
    hidden            bool      (default false)
    hiddenfiles       []string  (default '.*' for Unix and '' for Windows)
    history           bool      (default true)
    icons             bool      (default false)
    ifs               string    (default '')
    ignorecase        bool      (default true)
    ignoredia         bool      (default true)
    incfilter         bool      (default false)
    incsearch         bool      (default false)
    info              []string  (default '')
    infotimefmtnew    string    (default 'Jan _2 15:04')
    infotimefmtold    string    (default 'Jan _2  2006')
    menufmt           string    (default "\033[0m")
    menuheaderfmt     string    (default "\033[1m")
    menuselectfmt     string    (default "\033[7m")
    mouse             bool      (default false)
    number            bool      (default false)
    numberfmt         string    (default "\033[33m")
    period            int       (default 0)
    preload           bool      (default false)
    preserve          []string  (default "mode")
    preview           bool      (default true)
    previewer         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 false)
    reverse           bool      (default false)
    roundbox          bool      (default false)
    rulerfile         bool      (default false)
    rulerfmt          string    (default "  %a|  %p|  \033[7;31m %m \033[0m|  \033[7;33m %c \033[0m|  \033[7;35m %s \033[0m|  \033[7;36m %v \033[0m|  \033[7;34m %f \033[0m|  %i/%t")
    scrolloff         int       (default 0)
    searchmethod      string    (default 'text')
    selectfmt         string    (default "\033[7;35m")
    selmode           string    (default 'all')
    shell             string    (default 'sh' for Unix and 'cmd' for Windows)
    shellflag         string    (default '-c' for Unix and '/c' for Windows)
    shellopts         []string  (default '')
    showbinds         bool      (default true)
    sizeunits         string    (default 'binary')
    smartcase         bool      (default true)
    smartdia          bool      (default false)
    sortby            string    (default 'natural')
    statfmt           string    (default "\033[36m%p\033[0m| %c| %u| %g| %S| %t| -> %l")
    tabstop           int       (default 8)
    tagfmt            string    (default "\033[31m")
    tempmarks         string    (default '')
    timefmt           string    (default 'Mon Jan _2 15:04:05 2006')
    truncatechar      string    (default '~')
    truncatepct       int       (default 100)
    visualfmt         string    (default "\033[7;36m")
    waitmsg           string    (default 'Press any key to continue')
    watch             bool      (default false)
    wrapscan          bool      (default true)
    wrapscroll        bool      (default false)
    user_{option}     string    (default none)

The following environment variables are exported for shell commands:

    f
    fs
    fv
    fx
    id
    PWD
    OLDPWD
    LF_LEVEL
    OPENER
    VISUAL
    EDITOR
    PAGER
    SHELL
    lf
    lf_{option}
    lf_user_{option}
    lf_flag_{flag}
    lf_width
    lf_height
    lf_count
    lf_mode

The following special shell commands are used to customize the behavior
of lf when defined:

    open
    paste
    rename
    delete
    pre-cd
    on-cd
    on-load
    on-focus-gained
    on-focus-lost
    on-init
    on-select
    on-redraw
    on-quit

The following commands/keybindings are provided by default:

    Unix
    cmd open &$OPENER "$f"
    map e $$EDITOR "$f"
    map i $$PAGER "$f"
    map w $$SHELL
    cmd help $$lf -doc | $PAGER
    map <f-1> help
    cmd maps $lf -remote "query $id maps" | $PAGER
    cmd nmaps $lf -remote "query $id nmaps" | $PAGER
    cmd vmaps $lf -remote "query $id vmaps" | $PAGER
    cmd cmaps $lf -remote "query $id cmaps" | $PAGER
    cmd cmds $lf -remote "query $id cmds" | $PAGER

    Windows
    cmd open &%OPENER% %f%
    map e $%EDITOR% %f%
    map i !%PAGER% %f%
    map w $%SHELL%
    cmd help !%lf% -doc | %PAGER%
    map <f-1> help
    cmd maps !%lf% -remote "query %id% maps" | %PAGER%
    cmd nmaps !%lf% -remote "query %id% nmaps" | %PAGER%
    cmd vmaps !%lf% -remote "query %id% vmaps" | %PAGER%
    cmd cmaps !%lf% -remote "query %id% cmaps" | %PAGER%
    cmd cmds !%lf% -remote "query %id% cmds" | %PAGER%

The defaults for Windows are using cmd syntax. A PowerShell compatible
configuration file can be found at
https://github.com/gokcehan/lf/blob/master/etc/lfrc.ps1.example

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 sb :set sortby btime; set info btime
    map sc :set sortby ctime; set info ctime
    map se :set sortby ext; set info
    map gh cd ~
    nmap <space> :toggle; down

If the mouse option is enabled, mouse buttons have the following default
effects:

    Left mouse button
        Click on a file or directory to select it.

    Right mouse button
        Enter a directory or open a file. Also works on the preview pane.

    Scroll wheel
        Move up or down. If Ctrl is pressed, scroll up or 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\Roaming\lf\lfrc

The colors file should be located at:

    OS       system-wide               user-specific
    Unix     /etc/lf/colors            ~/.config/lf/colors
    Windows  C:\ProgramData\lf\colors  C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\lf\colors

The icons file should be located at:

    OS       system-wide               user-specific
    Unix     /etc/lf/icons             ~/.config/lf/icons
    Windows  C:\ProgramData\lf\icons   C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\lf\icons

The ruler file should be located at:

    OS       system-wide               user-specific
    Unix     /etc/lf/ruler             ~/.config/lf/ruler
    Windows  C:\ProgramData\lf\ruler   C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\lf\ruler

The selection file should be located at:

    Unix     ~/.local/share/lf/files
    Windows  C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\lf\files

The marks file should be located at:

    Unix     ~/.local/share/lf/marks
    Windows  C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\lf\marks

The tags file should be located at:

    Unix     ~/.local/share/lf/tags
    Windows  C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\lf\tags

The history file should be located at:

    Unix     ~/.local/share/lf/history
    Windows  C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\lf\history

You can configure these locations with the following variables given
with their order of precedences and their default values:

    Unix
        $LF_CONFIG_HOME
        $XDG_CONFIG_HOME
        ~/.config

        $LF_DATA_HOME
        $XDG_DATA_HOME
        ~/.local/share

    Windows
        %LF_CONFIG_HOME%
        %XDG_CONFIG_HOME%
        %APPDATA%

        %LF_DATA_HOME%
        %XDG_DATA_HOME%
        %LOCALAPPDATA%

A sample configuration file can be found at
https://github.com/gokcehan/lf/blob/master/etc/lfrc.example

COMMANDS

This section shows information about built-in 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>), scroll-up (default <c-y>), down (default j and <down>), half-down (default <c-d>), page-down (default <c-f> and <pgdn>), scroll-down (default <c-e>)

Move/scroll 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.

jump-next (default ]), jump-prev (default [)

Change the current working directory to the next/previous jumplist item.

top (default gg and <home>), bottom (default G and <end>)

Move the current file selection to the top/bottom of the directory. A
count can be specified to move to a specific line, for example, use 3G
to move to the third line.

high (default H), middle (default M), low (default L)

Move the current file selection to the high/middle/low of the screen.

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 affected 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, glob-unselect

Select/unselect files that match the given glob.

copy (default y)

Save the paths of selected files to the clipboard as files to be copied.
If there are no selected files, the path of the current file is used
instead.

cut (default d)

Save the paths of selected files to the clipboard as files to be moved.
If there are no selected files, the path of the current file is used
instead.

paste (default p)

Copy/Move files in the clipboard to the current working directory. A
custom paste command can be defined to override this default.

clear (default c)

Clear file paths in the clipboard.

sync

Synchronize copied/cut files with the 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.

delete (modal)

Remove the current file or selected file(s). A custom delete command can
be defined to override this default.

rename (modal) (default r)

Rename the current file using the built-in method. A custom rename
command can be defined to override this default.

read (modal) (default :)

Read a command to evaluate.

shell (modal) (default $)

Read a shell command to execute.

shell-pipe (modal) (default %)

Read a shell command to execute piping its standard I/O to the bottom
statline.

shell-wait (modal) (default !)

Read a shell command to execute and wait for a key press at the end.

shell-async (modal) (default &)

Read a shell command to execute asynchronously 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 filename match in the
forward/backward direction and jump to the next/previous match.

search (default /), search-back (default ?), search-next (default n), search-prev (default N)

Read a pattern to search for a filename match in the forward/backward
direction and jump to the next/previous match.

filter (modal), setfilter

Command filter reads a pattern to filter out and only view files
matching the pattern. Command setfilter does the same but uses an
argument to set the filter immediately. You can supply an argument to
filter to use as the starting prompt.

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.

tag

Tag a file with * or a single-width character given in the argument. You
can define a new tag-clearing command by combining tag with tag-toggle
(i.e. cmd tag-clear :tag; tag-toggle).

tag-toggle (default t)

Tag a file with * or a single-width character given in the argument if
the file is untagged, otherwise remove the tag.

echo

Print the given arguments to the message line at the bottom.

echomsg

Print the 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 as errorfmt 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.

source

Read the configuration file given in the argument.

push

Simulate key pushes given in the argument.

addcustominfo

Update the custom info field of the given file with the given string.
The info string may contain ANSI escape codes to further customize its
appearance. If no info is provided, clear the file's info instead.

calcdirsize

Calculate the total size for each of the selected directories. Option
info should include size and option dircounts should be disabled to show
this size. If the total size of a directory is not calculated, it will
be shown as -.

clearmaps

Remove all keybindings associated with the map, nmap and vmap command.
This command can be used in the config file to remove the default
keybindings. For safety purposes, : is left mapped to the read command,
and cmap keybindings are retained so that it is still possible to exit
lf using :quit.

tty-write

Write the given string to the tty. This is useful for sending escape
sequences to the terminal to control its behavior (e.g. OSC 0 to set the
window title). Using tty-write is preferred over directly writing to
/dev/tty because the latter is not synchronized and can interfere with
drawing the UI.

visual (default V)

Switch to Visual mode. If already in Visual mode, discard the visual
selection and stay in Visual mode.

VISUAL MODE COMMANDS

visual-accept (default V)

Add the visual selection to the selection list, quit Visual mode and
return to Normal mode.

visual-unselect

Remove the visual selection from the selection list, quit Visual mode
and return to Normal mode.

visual-discard (default <esc>)

Discard the visual selection, quit Visual mode and return to Normal
mode.

visual-change (default o)

Go to the other end of the current Visual mode selection.

COMMAND-LINE MODE COMMANDS

The prompt character specifies which of the several Command-line modes
you are in. For example, the read command takes you to the : mode.

When the cursor is at the first character in : mode, pressing one of the
keys !, $, %, or & takes you to the corresponding mode. You can go back
with cmd-delete-back (<backspace> by default).

The command line commands 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-insert

Insert the character given in the argument. This command is
automatically called when required.

cmd-escape (default <esc>)

Quit Command-line mode and return to Normal mode.

cmd-complete (default <tab>)

Autocomplete the current word.

cmd-menu-complete, cmd-menu-complete-back

Autocomplete the current word with the menu selection. You need to
assign keys to these commands (e.g.
cmap <tab> cmd-menu-complete; cmap <backtab> cmd-menu-complete-back).
You can use the assigned keys to display the menu and then cycle through
completion options.

cmd-menu-accept

Accept the currently selected match in menu completion and close the
menu.

cmd-menu-discard

Discard the currently selected match in menu completion and close the
menu.

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> and <down>), cmd-history-prev (default <c-p> and <up>)

Go to the next/previous entry in the command history. If part of the
command is already typed, then only matching entries will be considered,
and consecutive duplicate entries are skipped.

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 the line.

cmd-delete (default <c-d> and <delete>)

Delete the next character.

cmd-delete-back (default <backspace>)

Delete the previous character. When at the beginning of a prompt,
returns either to Normal mode or to : mode.

cmd-delete-home (default <c-u>), cmd-delete-end (default <c-k>)

Delete everything up to the beginning/end of the 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 the last two characters/words.

cmd-word (default <a-f>), cmd-word-back (default <a-b>)

Move the cursor by one word in the forward/backward direction.

cmd-delete-word (default <a-d>)

Delete the next word in the forward direction.

cmd-delete-word-back (default <a-backspace>)

Delete the previous word in the backward 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.

SETTINGS

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 true)

When this option is enabled, the find command starts matching patterns
from the beginning of filenames, otherwise, it can match at an arbitrary
position.

autoquit (bool) (default true)

Automatically quit the server when there are no clients left connected.

borderfmt (string) (default \033[0m)

Format string of the box drawing characters enabled by the drawbox
option.

cleaner (string) (default ``) (not called if empty)

Set the path of a cleaner file. The file should be executable. This file
is called if previewing is enabled, the previewer is set, and the
previously selected file has its preview cache disabled. The following
arguments are passed to the file, (1) current filename, (2) width, (3)
height, (4) horizontal position, (5) vertical position of preview pane
and (6) next filename to be previewed respectively. Preview cleaning is
disabled when the value of this option is left empty.

copyfmt (string) (default \033[7;33m)

Format string of the indicator for files to be copied.

cursoractivefmt (string) (default \033[7m), cursorparentfmt (string) (default \033[7m), cursorpreviewfmt (string) (default \033[4m)

Format strings for highlighting the cursor. cursoractivefmt applies in
the current directory pane, cursorparentfmt applies in panes that show
parents of the current directory, and cursorpreviewfmt applies in panes
that preview directories.

The default is to make the active cursor and the parent directory cursor
inverted. The preview cursor is underlined.

Some other possibilities to consider for the preview or parent cursors:
an empty string for no cursor, \033[7;2m for dimmed inverted text
(visibility varies by terminal), \033[7;90m for inverted text with grey
(aka "brightblack") background.

If the format string contains the characters %s, it is interpreted as a
format string for fmt.Sprintf. Such a string should end with the
terminal reset sequence. For example, \033[4m%s\033[0m has the same
effect as \033[4m.

cutfmt (string) (default \033[7;31m)

Format string of the indicator for files to be cut.

dircounts (bool) (default false)

When this option is enabled, directory sizes show the number of items
inside instead of the total size of the directory, which needs to be
calculated for each directory using calcdirsize. This information needs
to be calculated by reading the directory and counting the items inside.
Therefore, 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. 999 items are counted per
directory at most, and bigger directories are shown as 999+.

dirfirst (bool) (default true)

Show directories first above regular files. With dircounts enabled,
sorting by size always separates directories and files, regardless of
dirfirst.

dironly (bool) (default false)

Show only directories.

dirpreviews (bool) (default false)

If enabled, directories will also be passed to the previewer script.
This allows custom previews for directories.

drawbox (bool) (default false)

Draw boxes around panes with box drawing characters.

dupfilefmt (string) (default %f.~%n~)

Format string of filename when creating duplicate files. With the
default format, copying a file abc.txt to the same directory will result
in a duplicate file called abc.txt.~1~. Special expansions are provided,
%f as the file name, %b for the base name (file name without extension),
%e as the extension (including the dot) and %n as the number of
duplicates.

errorfmt (string) (default \033[7;31;47m)

Format string of error messages shown in the bottom message line.

If the format string contains the characters %s, it is interpreted as a
format string for fmt.Sprintf. Such a string should end with the
terminal reset sequence. For example, \033[4m%s\033[0m has the same
effect as \033[4m.

filesep (string) (default \n)

File separator used in environment variables fs, fv and fx.

filtermethod (string) (default text)

How filter command patterns are treated. Currently supported methods are
text (i.e. string literals), glob (i.e. shell globs) and regex (i.e.
regular expressions). See SEARCHING FILES for more details.

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.

hidden (bool) (default false)

Show hidden files. On Unix systems, hidden files are determined by the
value of hiddenfiles. On Windows, files with hidden attributes are also
considered hidden files.

hiddenfiles ([]string) (default .* for Unix and `` for Windows)

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. To add multiple
patterns, use : as a separator. Example: .*:lost+found:*.bak

history (bool) (default true)

Save command history.

icons (bool) (default false)

Show icons before each item in the list.

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 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 true)

Ignore case in sorting and search patterns.

ignoredia (bool) (default true)

Ignore diacritics in sorting and search patterns.

incfilter (bool) (default false)

Apply filter pattern after each keystroke during filtering.

incsearch (bool) (default false)

Jump to the first match after each keystroke during searching.

info ([]string) (default ``)

A list of information that is shown for directory items at the right
side of the pane.

The following information types are supported:

    perm      file permission
    user      user name
    group     group name
    size      file size
    time      time of last data modification
    atime     time of last access
    btime     time of file birth
    ctime     time of last status (inode) change
    custom    property defined via `addcustominfo` (empty by default)

Information is only shown when the pane width is more than twice the
width of information.

infotimefmtnew (string) (default Jan _2 15:04)

Format string of the file time shown in the info column when it matches
this year.

infotimefmtold (string) (default Jan _2  2006)

Format string of the file time shown in the info column when it doesn't
match this year.

menufmt (string) (default \033[0m)

Format string of the menu.

menuheaderfmt (string) (default \033[1m)

Format string of the header row in the menu.

menuselectfmt (string) (default \033[7m)

Format string of the currently selected item in the menu.

mouse (bool) (default false)

Send mouse events as input.

number (bool) (default false)

Show the position number for directory items on the left side of the
pane. When the relativenumber option is enabled, only the current line
shows the absolute position and relative positions are shown for the
rest.

numberfmt (string) (default \033[33m)

Format string of the position number for each line.

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.

preload (bool) (default false)

Allow previews to be generated in advance using the previewer script as
the user navigates through the filesystem.

preserve ([]string) (default mode)

List of attributes that are preserved when copying files. Currently
supported attributes are mode (i.e. access mode) and timestamps (i.e.
modification time and access time). Note that preserving other
attributes like ownership of change/birth timestamp is desirable, but
not portably supported in Go.

preview (bool) (default true)

Show previews of files and directories at the rightmost pane. If the
file has more lines than the preview pane, the 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. The following arguments
are passed to the file, (1) current filename, (2) width, (3) height, (4)
horizontal position, (5) vertical position, and (6) mode ("preview" or
"preload"). 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. If the preload option is enabled, then this will
be called with preload as the mode when preloading file previews. Refer
to the PREVIEWING FILES section for more information about how to
configure custom previews.

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.

The following special expansions are supported:

    %f        file name
    %h        host name
    %u        user name
    %w        working directory
    %d        working directory (with trailing path separator)
    %F        current filter
    %S        spacer to right-align the following parts (can be used once)

The home folder is shown as ~ in the working directory expansion.
Directory names are automatically shortened to a single character
starting from the leftmost parent when the prompt does not fit 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 the preview option is enabled, the
rightmost number is used for the width of the preview pane.

relativenumber (bool) (default false)

Show the position number relative to the current line. When number is
enabled, the current line shows the absolute position, otherwise nothing
is shown.

reverse (bool) (default false)

Reverse the direction of sort.

roundbox (bool) (default false)

Draw rounded outer corners when the drawbox option is enabled.

rulerfile (bool) (default false)

Use the ruler file instead of the rulerfmt and statfmt options when
drawing the ruler at the bottom. Refer to the RULER section for more
information about how the ruler file works.

rulerfmt (string) (default   %a|  %p|  \033[7;31m %m \033[0m|  \033[7;33m %c \033[0m|  \033[7;35m %s \033[0m|  \033[7;36m %v \033[0m|  \033[7;34m %f \033[0m|  %i/%t)

Format string of the ruler shown in the bottom right corner.

The following special expansions are supported:

    %a        pressed keys
    %p        progress of file operations
    %m        number of files to be cut (moved)
    %c        number of files to be copied
    %s        number of selected files
    %v        number of visually selected files
    %t        number of shown files in the current directory
    %h        number of hidden files in the current directory
    %f        current filter
    %i        cursor position
    %P        scroll percentage
    %d        amount of free disk space

Additional expansions are provided for environment variables exported by
lf, in the form %{lf_<name>} (e.g. %{lf_selmode}). This is useful for
displaying the current settings. Expansions are also provided for
user-defined options, in the form %{lf_user_<name>} (e.g.
%{lf_user_foo}). The | character splits the format string into sections.
Any section containing a failed expansion (result is a blank string) is
discarded and not shown.

scrolloff (int) (default 0)

Minimum number of offset lines shown at all times at the top and 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 half the
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.

searchmethod (string) (default text)

How search command patterns are treated. Currently supported methods are
text (i.e. string literals), glob (i.e. shell globs) and regex (i.e.
regular expressions). See SEARCHING FILES for more details.

selectfmt (string) (default \033[7;35m)

Format string of the indicator for files that are selected.

selmode (string) (default all)

Selection mode for commands. When set to all it will use the selected
files from all directories. When set to dir it will only use the
selected files in the current directory.

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.

showbinds (bool) (default true)

Show bindings associated with pressed keys.

sizeunits (string) (default binary)

Determines whether file sizes are displayed using binary units (1K is
1024 bytes) or decimal units (1K is 1000 bytes).

smartcase (bool) (default true)

Override ignorecase option when the pattern contains an uppercase
character. This option has no effect when ignorecase is disabled.

smartdia (bool) (default false)

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.

The following sort types are supported:

    natural   file name (track_2.flac comes before track_10.flac)
    name      file name (track_10.flac comes before track_2.flac)
    ext       file extension
    size      file size
    time      time of last data modification
    atime     time of last access
    btime     time of file birth
    ctime     time of last status (inode) change
    custom    property defined via `addcustominfo` (empty by default)

statfmt (string) (default \033[36m%p\033[0m| %c| %u| %g| %S| %t| -> %l)

Format string of the file info shown in the bottom left corner.

The following special expansions are supported:

    %p        file permission
    %c        link count
    %u        user name
    %g        group name
    %s        file size
    %S        file size (left-padded with spaces to a fixed width of 5 characters)
    %t        time of last data modification
    %l        link target
    %m        current mode
    %M        current mode (displaying `NORMAL` instead of a blank string in Normal mode)

The | character splits the format string into sections. Any section
containing a failed expansion (result is a blank string) is discarded
and not shown.

tabstop (int) (default 8)

Number of space characters to show for horizontal tabulation (U+0009)
character.

tagfmt (string) (default \033[31m)

Format string of the tags.

If the format string contains the characters %s, it is interpreted as a
format string for fmt.Sprintf. Such a string should end with the
terminal reset sequence. For example, \033[4m%s\033[0m has the same
effect as \033[4m.

tempmarks (string) (default ``)

Marks to be considered temporary (e.g. abc refers to marks a, b, and c).
These marks are not synced to other clients and they are not saved in
the bookmarks file. Note that the special bookmark ` is always treated
as temporary and it does not need to be specified.

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 ~)

The truncate character that is shown at the end when the filename does
not fit into the pane.

truncatepct (int) (default 100)

When a filename is too long to be shown completely, the available space
will be partitioned into two parts. truncatepct is a percentage value
between 0 and 100 that determines the size of the first part, which will
be shown at the beginning of the filename. The second part uses the rest
of the available space, and will be shown at the end of the filename.
Both parts are separated by the truncation character (truncatechar).
Truncation is not applied to the file extension.

For example, with the filename very_long_filename.txt:

- set truncatepct 100 -> very_long_filena~.txt (default)

- set truncatepct 50 -> very_lon~filename.txt

- set truncatepct 0 -> ~ry_long_filename.txt

visualfmt (string) (default \033[7;36m)

Format string of the indicator for files that are visually selected.

waitmsg (string) (default Press any key to continue)

String shown after commands of shell-wait type.

watch (bool) (default false)

Watch the filesystem for changes using fsnotify to automatically refresh
file information. FUSE is currently not supported due to limitations in
fsnotify.

wrapscan (bool) (default true)

Searching can wrap around the file list.

wrapscroll (bool) (default false)

Scrolling can wrap around the file list.

user_{option} (string) (default none)

Any option that is prefixed with user_ is a user-defined option and can
be set to any string. Inside a user-defined command, the value will be
provided in the lf_user_{option} environment variable. These options are
not used by lf and are not persisted.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

The following variables are exported for shell commands: These are
referred to 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).

fv

Visually selected file(s) separated with the value of filesep option as
full path(s).

fx

Selected file(s) (i.e. fs, never fv) 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, this is set to start in Windows, open in macOS, xdg-open in
others.

EDITOR

If VISUAL is set in the environment, use its value. Otherwise, use the
value of the environment variable EDITOR. If neither variable is set,
this is set to vi on Unix, notepad in Windows.

PAGER

If this variable is set in the environment, use the same value.
Otherwise, this is set to less on Unix, more in Windows.

SHELL

If this variable is set in the environment, use the same value.
Otherwise, this is set to sh on Unix, cmd in Windows.

lf

Absolute path to the currently running lf binary, if it can be found.
Otherwise, this is set to the string lf.

lf_{option}

Value of the {option}.

lf_user_{option}

Value of the user_{option}.

lf_flag_{flag}

Value of the command line {flag}.

lf_width, lf_height

Width/Height of the terminal.

lf_count

Value of the count associated with the current command.

lf_mode

Current mode that lf is operating in. This is useful for customizing
keybindings depending on what the current mode is. Possible values are
compmenu, delete, rename, filter, find, mark, search, command, shell,
pipe (when running a shell-pipe command), normal, visual and unknown.

SPECIAL COMMANDS

This section shows information about special shell commands.

open

This shell command can be defined to override the default open command
when the current file is not a directory.

paste

This shell command can be defined to override the default paste command.

rename

This shell command can be defined to override the default rename
command.

delete

This shell command can be defined to override the default delete
command.

pre-cd

This shell command can be defined to be executed before changing a
directory.

on-cd

This shell command can be defined to be executed after changing a
directory.

on-load

This shell command can be defined to be executed after loading a
directory. It provides the files inside the directory as arguments.

on-focus-gained

This shell command can be defined to be executed when the terminal gains
focus.

on-focus-lost

This shell command can be defined to be executed when the terminal loses
focus.

on-init

This shell command can be defined to be executed after initializing and
connecting to the server.

on-select

This shell command can be defined to be executed after the selection
changes.

on-redraw

This shell command can be defined to be executed after the screen is
redrawn or if the terminal is resized.

on-quit

This shell command can be defined to be executed before quitting.

PREFIXES

The following command prefixes are used by lf:

    :  read (default)  built-in/custom command
    $  shell           shell command
    %  shell-pipe      shell command running with the UI
    !  shell-wait      shell command waiting for a key press
    &  shell-async     shell command running asynchronously

The same evaluator is used for the command line and the configuration
file for reading 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. Visual mode mappings are defined the same way Normal
mode mappings are defined.

SYNTAX

Characters from # to newline are comments and ignored:

    # comments start with `#`

The following commands (set, setlocal, map, nmap, vmap, cmap, and cmd)
are used for configuration.

Command set is used to set an option which can be a boolean, integer, or
string:

    set hidden         # boolean enable
    set hidden true    # boolean enable
    set nohidden       # boolean disable
    set hidden false   # boolean disable
    set hidden!        # boolean toggle
    set scrolloff 10   # integer value
    set sortby time    # string value without quotes
    set sortby 'time'  # string value with single quotes (whitespace)
    set sortby "time"  # string value with double quotes (backslash escapes)

Command setlocal is used to set a local option for a directory which can
be a boolean or string. Currently supported local options are dircounts,
dirfirst, dironly, hidden, info, reverse and sortby. Adding a trailing
path separator (i.e. / for Unix and \ for Windows) sets the option for
the given directory along with its subdirectories:

    setlocal /foo/bar hidden         # boolean enable
    setlocal /foo/bar hidden true    # boolean enable
    setlocal /foo/bar nohidden       # boolean disable
    setlocal /foo/bar hidden false   # boolean disable
    setlocal /foo/bar hidden!        # boolean toggle
    setlocal /foo/bar sortby time    # string value without quotes
    setlocal /foo/bar sortby 'time'  # string value with single quotes (whitespace)
    setlocal /foo/bar sortby "time"  # string value with double quotes (backslash escapes)
    setlocal /foo/bar  hidden        # for only '/foo/bar' directory
    setlocal /foo/bar/ hidden        # for '/foo/bar' and its subdirectories (e.g. '/foo/bar/baz')

Command map is used to bind a key in Normal and Visual mode to a command
which can be a built-in command, custom command, or shell command:

    map gh cd ~        # built-in command
    map D trash        # custom command
    map i $less $f     # shell command
    map U !du -csh *   # waiting shell command

Command nmap does the same but for Normal mode only.

Command vmap does the same but for Visual mode only.

Overview of which map command works in which mode:

    map                Normal, Visual
    nmap               Normal
    vmap               Visual
    cmap               Command-line

Command cmap is used to bind a key on the command line to a command line
command or any other command:

    cmap <c-g> cmd-escape
    cmap <a-i> set incsearch!

You can delete an existing binding by leaving the expression empty:

    map gh             # deletes 'gh' mapping in Normal and Visual mode
    nmap v             # deletes 'v' mapping in Normal mode
    vmap o             # deletes 'o' mapping in Visual mode
    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 Ctrl key are prefixed with a 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
character 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 an a
character:

    map <a-a> down

It is possible to combine special keys with modifiers:

    map <a-enter> down

WARNING: Some key combinations will likely be intercepted by your OS,
window manager, or terminal. Other key combinations cannot be recognized
by lf due to the way terminals work (e.g. Ctrl+h combination sends a
backspace key instead). The easiest way to find out the name of a key
combination and whether it will work on your system is to press the key
while lf is running and read the name from the unknown mapping error.

Mouse buttons are prefixed with an 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 an 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 built-in keys
as well as other commands, it can be limiting at times. For this reason,
the 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 of is that since the 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 the
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 the 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 connect stdin, stdout,
and stderr of the command to the statline at 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, the 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 they 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 are neither connected
to the terminal nor 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 ${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR:-/tmp}/lf.${USER}.sock

Since such a client may not be available everywhere, lf comes bundled
with a command line flag to be used as such. When using lf, you do not
need to specify the address of the socket file. This is the recommended
way of using remote commands since it is shorter and immune to socket
file address changes:

    lf -remote 'send echo hello world'

In this command send is used to send the rest of the string as a command
to all connected clients. You can optionally give it an ID number to
send a command to a single client:

    lf -remote 'send 1234 echo hello world'

All clients have a unique ID number but you may not be aware of the ID
number when you are writing a command. For this purpose, an $id variable
is exported to the environment for shell commands. The value of this
variable is set to the process ID of the client. You can use it to send
a remote command from a client to the server which in return sends a
command back to itself. So now you can display a message in the current
client by calling the following in a shell command:

    lf -remote "send $id echo hello world"

Since lf does not have control flow syntax, remote commands are used for
such needs. For example, you can configure the number of columns in the
UI with respect to the terminal width as follows:

    cmd recol %{{
        if [ $lf_width -le 80 ]; then
            lf -remote "send $id set ratios 1:2"
        elif [ $lf_width -le 160 ]; then
            lf -remote "send $id set ratios 1:2:3"
        else
            lf -remote "send $id set ratios 1:2:3:5"
        fi
    }}

In addition, the query command can be used to obtain information about a
specific lf instance by providing its ID:

    lf -remote "query $id maps"

The following types of information are supported:

    maps     list of mappings created by the 'map', 'nmap' and 'vmap' command
    nmaps    list of mappings created by the 'nmap' and 'map' command
    vmaps    list of mappings created by the 'vmap' and 'map' command
    cmaps    list of mappings created by the 'cmap' command
    cmds     list of commands created by the 'cmd' command
    jumps    contents of the jump list, showing previously visited locations
    history  list of previously executed commands on the command line
    files    list of files in the currently open directory as displayed by lf, empty if dir is still loading

When listing mappings the characters in the first column are:

    n  Normal
    v  Visual
    c  Command-line

This is useful for scripting actions based on the internal state of lf.
For example, to select a previous command using fzf and execute it:

    map <a-h> ${{
        clear
        cmd=$(
            lf -remote "query $id history" |
            awk -F'\t' 'NR > 1 { print $NF}' |
            sort -u |
            fzf --reverse --prompt='Execute command: '
        )
        lf -remote "send $id $cmd"
    }}

There is also a quit command to quit the server when there are no
connected clients left, and a quit! command to force quit the server by
closing client connections first:

    lf -remote 'quit'
    lf -remote 'quit!'

Lastly, the commands conn and drop connect or disconnect ID to/from the
server:

    lf -remote 'conn $id'
    lf -remote 'drop $id'

These are internal and generally not needed by users.

FILE OPERATIONS

lf uses its own built-in copy and move operations by default. These are
implemented as asynchronous operations and progress is shown in the
bottom ruler. These commands do not overwrite existing files or
directories with the same name. Instead, a suffix that is compatible
with the --backup=numbered option in GNU cp is added to the new files or
directories. Only file modes and (some) timestamps can be preserved (see
preserve option), all other attributes are ignored including ownership,
context, and xattr. Special files such as character and block devices,
named pipes, and sockets are skipped and links are not followed. Moving
is performed using the rename operation of the underlying OS. For
cross-device moving, lf falls back to copying and then deletes the
original files if there are no errors. Operation errors are shown in the
message line as well as the log file and they do not prematurely
terminate the corresponding file operation.

File operations can be performed on the currently selected file or on
multiple files by selecting them first. When you copy a file, lf doesn't
actually copy the file on the disk, but only records its name to a file.
The actual file copying takes place when you paste. Similarly paste
after a cut operation moves the file.

You can customize copy and move operations by defining a paste command.
This is a special command that is called when it is defined instead of
the built-in implementation. You can use the following example as a
starting point:

    cmd paste %{{
        load=$(cat ~/.local/share/lf/files)
        mode=$(echo "$load" | sed -n '1p')
        list=$(echo "$load" | sed '1d')
        if [ $mode = 'copy' ]; then
            cp -R $list .
        elif [ $mode = 'move' ]; then
            mv $list .
            rm ~/.local/share/lf/files
            lf -remote 'send clear'
        fi
    }}

Some useful things to be considered are to use the backup (--backup)
and/or preserve attributes (-a) options with cp and mv commands if they
support it (i.e. GNU implementation), change the command type to
asynchronous, or use rsync command with progress bar option for copying
and feed the progress to the client periodically with remote echo calls.

By default, lf does not assign delete command to a key to protect new
users. You can customize file deletion by defining a delete command. You
can also assign a key to this command if you like. An example command to
move selected files to a trash folder and remove files completely after
a prompt is provided in the example configuration file.

SEARCHING FILES

There are two mechanisms implemented in lf to search a file in the
current directory. Searching is the traditional method to move the
selection to a file matching a given pattern. Finding is an alternative
way to search for a pattern possibly using fewer keystrokes.

The searching mechanism is implemented with commands search (default /),
search-back (default ?), search-next (default n), and search-prev
(default N). You can set searchmethod to glob to match using a glob
pattern. Globbing supports * to match any sequence, ? to match any
character, and [...] or [^...] to match character sets or ranges. You
can set searchmethod to regex to match using a regex pattern. For a full
overview of Go's RE2 syntax, see https://pkg.go.dev/regexp/syntax. You
can enable incsearch option to jump to the current match at each
keystroke while typing. In this mode, you can either use cmd-enter to
accept the search or use cmd-escape to cancel the search. You can also
map some other commands with cmap to accept the search and execute the
command immediately afterwards. For example, you can use the right arrow
key to finish the search and open the selected file with the following
mapping:

    cmap <right> :cmd-enter; open

The finding mechanism is implemented with commands find (default f),
find-back (default F), find-next (default ;), find-prev (default ,). You
can disable anchorfind option to match a pattern at an arbitrary
position in the filename instead of the beginning. You can set the
number of keys to match using findlen option. If you set this value to
zero, then the keys are read until there is only a single match. The
default values of these two options are set to jump to the first file
with the given initial.

Some options affect both searching and finding. You can disable wrapscan
option to prevent searches from being wrapped around at the end of the
file list. You can disable ignorecase option to match cases in the
pattern and the filename. This option is already automatically
overridden if the pattern contains uppercase characters. You can disable
smartcase option to disable this behavior. Two similar options ignoredia
and smartdia are provided to control matching diacritics in Latin
letters.

OPENING FILES

You can define an open command (default l and <right>) to configure file
opening. This command is only called when the current file is not a
directory, otherwise, the directory is entered instead. You can define
it just as you would define any other command:

    cmd open $vi $fx

It is possible to use different command types:

    cmd open &xdg-open $f

You may want to use either file extensions or MIME types from file
command:

    cmd open ${{
        case $(file --mime-type -Lb $f) in
            text/*) vi $fx;;
            *) for f in $fx; do xdg-open $f > /dev/null 2> /dev/null & done;;
        esac
    }}

You may want to use setsid before your opener command to have persistent
processes that continue to run after lf quits.

Regular shell commands (i.e. $) drop to the terminal which results in a
flicker for commands that finish immediately (e.g. xdg-open in the above
example). If you want to use asynchronous shell commands (i.e. &) but
also want to use the terminal when necessary (e.g. vi in the above
example), you can use a remote command:

    cmd open &{{
        case $(file --mime-type -Lb $f) in
            text/*) lf -remote "send $id \$vi \$fx";;
            *) for f in $fx; do xdg-open $f > /dev/null 2> /dev/null & done;;
        esac
    }}

Note that asynchronous shell commands run in their own process group by
default so they do not require the manual use of setsid.

The following command is provided by default:

    cmd open &$OPENER $f

You may also use any other existing file openers as you like. Possible
options are libfile-mimeinfo-perl (executable name is mimeopen), rifle
(ranger's default file opener), or mimeo to name a few.

PREVIEWING FILES

lf previews files on the preview pane by printing the file until the end
or until the preview pane is filled. This output can be enhanced by
providing a custom preview script for filtering. This can be used to
highlight source code, list contents of archive files or view PDF or
image files to name a few. For coloring lf recognizes ANSI escape codes.

To use this feature, you need to set the value of previewer option to
the path of an executable file. The following arguments are passed to
the file, (1) current filename, (2) width, (3) height, (4) horizontal
position, (5) vertical position, and (6) mode ("preview" or "preload").
The output of the execution is printed in the preview pane.

Different types of files can be handled by matching by extension (or
MIME type from the file command):

    #!/bin/sh

    case "$1" in
        *.tar*) tar tf "$1";;
        *.zip) unzip -l "$1";;
        *.rar) unrar l "$1";;
        *.7z) 7z l "$1";;
        *.pdf) pdftotext "$1" -;;
        *) highlight -O ansi "$1";;
    esac

Because files can be large, lf automatically closes the previewer script
output pipe with a SIGPIPE when enough lines are read. Note that some
programs may not respond well to SIGPIPE and will exit with a non-zero
return code, which avoids caching. You may add a trailing || true
command to avoid such errors:

    highlight -O ansi "$1" || true

You may also want to use the same script in your pager mapping as well:

    set previewer ~/.config/lf/pv.sh
    map i $~/.config/lf/pv.sh $f | less -R

For less pager, you may instead utilize LESSOPEN mechanism so that
useful information about the file such as the full path of the file can
still be displayed in the statusline below:

    set previewer ~/.config/lf/pv.sh
    map i $LESSOPEN='| ~/.config/lf/pv.sh %s' less -R $f

Since the preview script is called for each file selection change, it
may not generate previews fast enough if the user scrolls through files
quickly. To deal with this, the preload option can be set to enable file
previews to be preloaded in advance. If enabled, the preview script will
be run on files in advance as the user navigates through them. In this
case, if the exit code of the preview script is zero, then the output
will be cached in memory and displayed by lf (useful for text or sixel
previews). Otherwise, it will fallback to calling the preview script
again when the file is actually selected (useful for previews managed by
an external program).

CHANGING DIRECTORY

lf changes the working directory of the process to the current directory
so that shell commands always work in the displayed directory. After
quitting, it returns to the original directory where it is first
launched like all shell programs. If you want to stay in the current
directory after quitting, you can use one of the example lfcd wrapper
shell scripts provided in the repository at
https://github.com/gokcehan/lf/tree/master/etc

There is a special command on-cd that runs a shell command when it is
defined and the directory is changed. You can define it just as you
would define any other command:

    cmd on-cd &{{
        bash -c '
        # display git repository status in your prompt
        source /usr/share/git/completion/git-prompt.sh
        GIT_PS1_SHOWDIRTYSTATE=auto
        GIT_PS1_SHOWSTASHSTATE=auto
        GIT_PS1_SHOWUNTRACKEDFILES=auto
        GIT_PS1_SHOWUPSTREAM=auto
        git=$(__git_ps1 " (%s)")
        fmt="\033[32;1m%u@%h\033[0m:\033[34;1m%d\033[0m\033[1m%f$git\033[0m"
        lf -remote "send $id set promptfmt \"$fmt\""
        '
    }}

If you want to send escape sequences to the terminal, you can use the
tty-write command to do so. The following xterm-specific escape sequence
sets the terminal title to the working directory:

    cmd on-cd &{{
        lf -remote "send $id tty-write \"\033]0;$PWD\007\""
    }}

This command runs whenever you change the directory but not on startup.
You can add an extra call to make it run on startup as well:

    cmd on-cd &{{ ... }}
    on-cd

Note that all shell commands are possible but % and & are usually more
appropriate as $ and ! causes flickers and pauses respectively.

There is also a pre-cd command, that works like on-cd, but is run before
the directory is actually changed. Another related command is on-load
which gets executed when loading a directory.

LOADING DIRECTORY

Similar to on-cd there also is on-load that when defined runs a shell
command after loading a directory. It works well when combined with
addcustominfo.

The following example can be used to display git indicators in the info
column:

    cmd on-load &{{
        cd "$(dirname "$1")" || exit 1
        [ "$(git rev-parse --is-inside-git-dir 2>/dev/null)" = false ] || exit 0

        cmds=""

        for file in "$@"; do
            case "$file" in
                */.git|*/.git/*) continue;;
            esac

            status=$(git status --porcelain --ignored -- "$file" | cut -c1-2 | head -n1)

            if [ -n "$status" ]; then
                cmds="${cmds}addcustominfo \"${file}\" \"$status\"; "
            else
                cmds="${cmds}addcustominfo \"${file}\" ''; "
            fi
        done

        if [ -n "$cmds" ]; then
            lf -remote "send $id :$cmds"
        fi
    }}

Another use case could be showing the dimensions of images and videos:

    cmd on-load &{{
        cmds=""

        for file in "$@"; do
            mime=$(file --mime-type -Lb -- "$file")
            case "$mime" in
                # vector images cause problems
                image/svg+xml)
                    ;;
                image/*|video/*)
                    dimensions=$(exiftool -s3 -imagesize -- "$file")
                    cmds="${cmds}addcustominfo \"${file}\" \"$dimensions\"; "
                    ;;
            esac
        done

        if [ -n "$cmds" ]; then
            lf -remote "send $id :$cmds"
        fi
    }}

COLORS

lf tries to automatically adapt its colors to the environment. It starts
with a default color scheme and updates colors using values of existing
environment variables possibly by overwriting its previous values.
Colors are set in the following order:

1.  default
2.  LSCOLORS (macOS/BSD ls)
3.  LS_COLORS (GNU ls)
4.  LF_COLORS (lf specific)
5.  colors file (lf specific)

Please refer to the corresponding man pages for more information about
LSCOLORS and LS_COLORS. LF_COLORS is provided with the same syntax as
LS_COLORS in case you want to configure colors only for lf but not ls.
This can be useful since there are some differences between ls and lf,
though one should expect the same behavior for common cases. The colors
file (refer to the CONFIGURATION section) is provided for easier
configuration without environment variables. This file should consist of
whitespace-separated pairs with a # character to start comments until
the end of the line.

You can configure lf colors in two different ways. First, you can only
configure 8 basic colors used by your terminal and lf should pick up
those colors automatically. Depending on your terminal, you should be
able to select your colors from a 24-bit palette. This is the
recommended approach as colors used by other programs will also match
each other.

Second, you can set the values of environment variables or colors file
mentioned above for fine-grained customization. Note that
LS_COLORS/LF_COLORS are more powerful than LSCOLORS and they can be used
even when GNU programs are not installed on the system. You can combine
this second method with the first method for the best results.

Lastly, you may also want to configure the colors of the prompt line to
match the rest of the colors. Colors of the prompt line can be
configured using the promptfmt option which can include hardcoded colors
as ANSI escapes. See the default value of this option to have an idea
about how to color this line.

It is worth noting that lf uses as many colors advertised by your
terminal's entry in terminfo or infocmp databases on your system. If an
entry is not present, it falls back to an internal database. If your
terminal supports 24-bit colors but either does not have a database
entry or does not advertise all capabilities, you can enable support by
setting the $COLORTERM variable to truecolor or ensuring $TERM is set to
a value that ends with -truecolor.

Default lf colors are mostly taken from GNU dircolors defaults. These
defaults use 8 basic colors and bold attribute. Default dircolors
entries with background colors are simplified to avoid confusion with
current file selection in lf. Similarly, there are only file type
matchings and extension matchings are left out for simplicity. Default
values are as follows given with their matching order in lf:

    ln  01;36
    or  31;01
    tw  01;34
    ow  01;34
    st  01;34
    di  01;34
    pi  33
    so  01;35
    bd  33;01
    cd  33;01
    su  01;32
    sg  01;32
    ex  01;32
    fi  00

Note that lf first tries matching file names and then falls back to file
types. The full order of matchings from most specific to least are as
follows:

1.  Full Path (e.g. ~/.config/lf/lfrc)
2.  Dir Name (e.g. .git/) (only matches dirs with a trailing slash at
    the end)
3.  File Type (e.g. ln) (except fi)
4.  File Name (e.g. README*)
5.  File Name (e.g. *README)
6.  Base Name (e.g. README.*)
7.  Extension (e.g. *.txt)
8.  Default (i.e. fi)

For example, given a regular text file /path/to/README.txt, the
following entries are checked in the configuration and the first one to
match is used:

1.  /path/to/README.txt
2.  (skipped since the file is not a directory)
3.  (skipped since the file is of type fi)
4.  README.txt*
5.  *README.txt
6.  README.*
7.  *.txt
8.  fi

Given a regular directory /path/to/example.d, the following entries are
checked in the configuration and the first one to match is used:

1.  /path/to/example.d
2.  example.d/
3.  di
4.  example.d*
5.  *example.d
6.  example.*
7.  *.d
8.  fi

Note that glob-like patterns do not perform glob matching for
performance reasons.

For example, you can set a variable as follows:

    export LF_COLORS="~/Documents=01;31:~/Downloads=01;31:~/.local/share=01;31:~/.config/lf/lfrc=31:.git/=01;32:.git*=32:*.gitignore=32:*Makefile=32:README.*=33:*.txt=34:*.md=34:ln=01;36:di=01;34:ex=01;32:"

Having all entries on a single line can make it hard to read. You may
instead divide it into multiple lines in between double quotes by
escaping newlines with backslashes as follows:

    export LF_COLORS="\
    ~/Documents=01;31:\
    ~/Downloads=01;31:\
    ~/.local/share=01;31:\
    ~/.config/lf/lfrc=31:\
    .git/=01;32:\
    .git*=32:\
    *.gitignore=32:\
    *Makefile=32:\
    README.*=33:\
    *.txt=34:\
    *.md=34:\
    ln=01;36:\
    di=01;34:\
    ex=01;32:\
    "

The ln entry supports the special value target, which will use the link
target to select a style. Filename rules will still apply based on the
link's name -- this mirrors GNU's ls and dircolors behavior. Having such
a long variable definition in a shell configuration file might be
undesirable. You may instead use the colors file (refer to the
CONFIGURATION section) for configuration. A sample colors file can be
found at https://github.com/gokcehan/lf/blob/master/etc/colors.example
You may also see the wiki page for ANSI escape codes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI_escape_code

ICONS

Icons are configured using LF_ICONS environment variable or an icons
file (refer to the CONFIGURATION section). The variable uses the same
syntax as LS_COLORS/LF_COLORS. Instead of colors, you should use single
characters or symbols as values. The ln entry supports the special value
target, which will use the link target to select a icon. Filename rules
will still apply based on the link's name -- this mirrors GNU's ls and
dircolors behavior. The icons file (refer to the CONFIGURATION section)
should consist of whitespace-separated arrays with a # character to
start comments until the end of the line. Each line should contain 1-3
columns: a file type or file name pattern, the icon, and an optional
icon color. Using only one column disables all rules for that type or
name. Do not forget to add set icons true to your lfrc to see the icons.
Default values are listed below in the order lf matches them:

    ln  l
    or  l
    tw  t
    ow  d
    st  t
    di  d
    pi  p
    so  s
    bd  b
    cd  c
    su  u
    sg  g
    ex  x
    fi  -

A sample icons file can be found at
https://github.com/gokcehan/lf/blob/master/etc/icons.example

A sample colored icons file can be found at
https://github.com/gokcehan/lf/blob/master/etc/icons_colored.example

RULER

The ruler can be configured using a ruler file (refer to the
CONFIGURATION section). The contents of the ruler file should be a Go
template which is then rendered to create the actual output (refer to
https://pkg.go.dev/text/template for more details on the syntax). This
feature is currently experimental and must be enabled via the rulerfile
option.

The following data fields are exported:

    .Message          string              Includes internal messages, errors, and messages generated by the `echo`/`echomsg`/`echoerr` commands
    .Keys             string              Keys pressed by the user
    .Progress         []string            Progress indicators for copied, moved and deleted files
    .Copy             []string            List of files in the clipboard to be copied
    .Cut              []string            List of files in the clipboard to be moved
    .Select           []string            Selection list
    .Visual           []string            Visual selection
    .Index            int                 Index of the cursor
    .Total            int                 Number of visible files in the current directory
    .Hidden           int                 Number of hidden files in the current directory
    .LinePercentage   string              Line percentage (analogous to `%p` for the `statusline` option in Vim)
    .ScrollPercentage string              Scroll percentage (analogous to `%P` for the `statusline` option in Vim)
    .Filter           []string            Filter currently being applied
    .Mode             string              Current mode ("NORMAL" for Normal mode, and "VISUAL" for Visual mode)
    .Options          map[string]string   The value of options (e.g. `{{.Options.hidden}}`)
    .UserOptions      map[string]string   The value of user-defined options (e.g. `{{.UserOptions.foo}}`)
    .Stat.Path        string              Path of the current file
    .Stat.Name        string              Name of the current file
    .Stat.Size        uint64              Size of the current file
    .Stat.Permissions string              Permissions of the current file
    .Stat.ModTime     string              Last modified time of the current file (formatted based on the `timefmt` option)
    .Stat.LinkCount   string              Number of hard links for the current file
    .Stat.User        string              User of the current file
    .Stat.Group       string              Group of the current file
    .Stat.Target      string              Target if the current file is a symbolic link, otherwise a blank string

The following functions are exported:

    df       func() string                   Get an indicator representing the amount of free disk space available
    env      func(string) string             Get the value of an environment variable
    humanize func(uint64) string             Express a file size in a human-readable format
    join     func([]string, string) string   Join a string array by a separator
    lower    func(string) string             Convert a string to lowercase
    substr   func(string, int, int) string   Get a substring based on starting index and length
    upper    func(string) string             Convert a string to uppercase

The special identifier {{.SPACER}} can be used to divide the ruler into
sections that are spaced evenly from each other.

The default ruler file can be found at
https://github.com/gokcehan/lf/blob/master/etc/ruler.default