NAME

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

OPTIONS

-

Read list of files from standard input stream and compose custom view out of them (see "Custom views" section). Current working directory is used as a base for relative paths.

<path>

Starts Vifm in the specified path.

<path> <path>

Starts Vifm in the specified paths.

--select <path>

Open parent directory of the given path and select specified file in it.

-f

Makes vifm instead of opening files write selection to $VIFM/vimfiles and quit.

--choose-files <path>|-

Sets output file to write selection into on exit instead of opening files. "-" means standard output. Use empty value to disable it.

--choose-dir <path>|-

Sets output file to write last visited directory into on exit. "-" means standard output. Use empty value to disable it.

--delimiter <delimiter>

Sets separator for list of file paths written out by vifm. Empty value means null character. Default is new line character.

--on-choose <command>

Sets command to be executed on selected files instead of opening them. The command may use any of macros described in "Command macros" section below. The command is executed once for whole selection.

--logging[=<startup log path>]

Log some operational details $VIFM/log. If the optional startup log path is specified and permissions allow to open it for writing, then logging of early initialization (before value of $VIFM is determined) is put there.

--server-list

List available server names and exit.

--server-name <name>

Name of target or this instance (sequential numbers are appended on name conflict).

--remote

Sends the rest of the command line to another instance of vifm, --server-name is treated just like any other argument and should precede --remote on the command line. When there is no server, quits silently. There is no limit on how many arguments can be processed. One can combine --remote with -c <command> or +<command> to execute commands in already running instance of vifm. See also "Client-Server" section below.

--remote-expr

passes expression to vifm server and prints result. See also "Client-Server" section below.

-c <command> or +<command>

Run command-line mode <command> on startup. Commands in such arguments are executed in the order they appear in command line. Commands with spaces or special symbols must be enclosed in double or single quotes or all special symbols should be escaped (the exact syntax strongly depends on shell). "+" argument is equivalent to "$" and thus picks last item of of the view.

--help, -h

Show a brief command summary and exit vifm.

--version, -v

Show version information and quit.

--no-configs

Skip reading vifmrc and vifminfo.

General keys

Ctrl-C or Escape

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

Ctrl-L

clear and redraw the screen.

Basic Movement

k, gk, or Ctrl-P

move cursor up one line.

j, gj or Ctrl-N

move cursor down one line.

h

when 'lsview' is off move up one directory (moves to parent directory node in tree view), otherwise move left one file.

l

when 'lsview' is off move into a directory or launches a file, otherwise move right one file.

gg

move to the first line of the file list.

G

move to the last line in the file list.

gh

go up one directory.

gl or Enter

enter directory or launch a file.

H

move to the first file in the window.

M

move to the file in the middle of the window.

L

move to the last file in the window.

Ctrl-F or Page Down

move forward one page.

Ctrl-B or Page Up

move back one page.

Ctrl-D

jump back one half page.

Ctrl-U

jump forward one half page.

n%

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

0 or ^

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

$

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

Space

switch file lists.

Movement with Count

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

[count]%

move to percent of the file list.

[count]j

move down [count] files.

[count]k

move up [count] files.

[count]G or [count]gg

move to list position [count].

[count]h

go up [count] directories.

Scrolling panes

zt

redraw pane with file in top of list.

zz

redraw pane with file in center of list.

zb

redraw pane with file in bottom of list.

Ctrl-E

scroll pane one line down.

Ctrl-Y

scroll pane one line up.

Pane manipulation

Ctrl-W H

move the pane to the far left.

Ctrl-W J

move the pane to the very bottom.

Ctrl-W K

move the pane to the very top.

Ctrl-W L

move the pane to the far right.

Ctrl-W h

switch to the left pane.

Ctrl-W j

switch to the pane below.

Ctrl-W k

switch to the pane above.

Ctrl-W l

switch to the right pane.

Ctrl-W b

switch to bottom-right window.

Ctrl-W t

switch to top-left window.

Ctrl-W p

switch to previous window.

Ctrl-W w

switch to other pane.

Ctrl-W o

leave only one pane.

Ctrl-W s

split window horizontally.

Ctrl-W v

split window vertically.

Ctrl-W x

exchange panes.

Ctrl-W z

quit preview pane or view modes.

Ctrl-W -

decrease size of the view by count.

Ctrl-W +

increase size of the view by count.

Ctrl-W <

decrease size of the view by count.

Ctrl-W >

increase size of the view by count.

Ctrl-W |

set current view size to count.

Ctrl-W _

set current view size to count.

Ctrl-W =

make size of two views equal.

Marks

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

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

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

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

navigate to the file set for the mark.

Searching

/regular expression pattern

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

/

perform forward search with top item of search pattern history.

?regular expression pattern

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

?

perform backward search with top item of search pattern history.

Trailing slash for directories is taken into account, so /\/ searches for directories and symbolic links to directories. At the moment // works too, but this can change in the future, so consider escaping the slash if not typing pattern by hand.

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

[count]n

go to the next file matching last search pattern. Takes last search direction into account.

[count]N

go to the previous file matching last search pattern. Takes last search direction into account.

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

[count]f[character]

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

[count]F[character]

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

[count];

find the next match of f or F.

[count],

find the previous match of f or F.

File Filters

Each file list has its own copy of each filter.

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

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

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

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

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

za

toggle visibility of dot files.

zo

show dot files.

zm

hide dot files.

zf

add selected files to file name filter.

zO

show files hidden by file name filter.

zM

restore all filters.

zR

remove all filters.

zr

remove local filter.

zd

exclude selection or current file from a custom view. Does nothing for regular view. For tree view excluding directory excludes that sub-tree. For compare views zd hides group of adjacent identical files, count can be specified as 1 to exclude just single file or selected items instead. Files excluded this way are not counted as filtered out and can't be returned unless view is reloaded.

=regular expression pattern

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

Other Normal Mode Keys

[count]:

enter command line mode. [count] generates range.

q:

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

q/

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

q?

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

q=

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

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

enter command line mode with entered ! command. [count] modifies range.

Ctrl-O

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

Ctrl-I

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

Ctrl-G

create a window showing detailed information about the current file.

Shift-Tab

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

ga

calculate directory size. Uses cached directory sizes when possible for better performance. As a special case calculating size of ".." entry results in calculation of size of current directory.

gA

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

gf

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

gr

only for MS-Windows

 

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

av

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

gv

go to visual mode restoring last selection.

[reg]gs

when no register is specified, restore last t selection (similar to what gv does for visual mode selection). If register is present, then all files listed in that register and which are visible in current view are selected.

gu<selector>

make names of selected files lowercase.

[count]guu and [count]gugu

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

gU<selector>

make names of selected files uppercase.

[count]gUU and [count]gUgU

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

e

explore file in the current pane.

i

handle file (even if it's an executable and 'runexec' option is set).

cw

change word is used to rename a file or files.

cW

change WORD is used to change only name of file (without extension).

cl

change link target.

co

only for *nix

 

change file owner.

cg

only for *nix

 

change file group.

[count]cp

change file attributes (permission on *nix and properties on Windows). If [count] is specified, it's treated as numerical argument for non-recursive `chmod` command (of the form [0-7]{3,4}).

[count]C

clone file [count] times.

[count]dd or d[count]selector

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

[count]DD or D[count]selector

like dd and d<selector>, but omitting trash directory (even when 'trash' option is set).

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

yank selected files.

p

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

P

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

al

put symbolic links with absolute paths.

rl

put symbolic links with relative paths.

t

select or unselect (tag) the current file.

u

undo last change.

Ctrl-R

redo last change.

dp

in compare view of "ofboth grouppaths" kind, makes corresponding entry of the other pane equal to the current one. The semantics is as follows:
- nothing done for identical entries
- if file is missing in current view, its pair gets removed
- if file is missing or differs in other view, it's replaced
- file pairs are defined by matching relative paths

 

File removal obeys 'trash' option. When the option is enabled, the operation can be undone/redone (although results won't be visible automatically).

 

Unlike in Vim, this operation is performed on a single line rather than a set of adjacent changes.

do

same as dp, but applies changes in the opposite direction.

v or V

enter visual mode, clears current selection.

[count]Ctrl-A

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

[count]Ctrl-X

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

ZQ

same as :quit!.

ZZ

same as :quit.

.

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

(

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

)

go to next group. See ( key description above.

{

similar to ( key, but always considers whether entry is file or directory and thus speeds up navigation to closest previous entry of the opposite type.

}

same as {, but in forward direction.

[c

go to previous mismatched entry in directory comparison view or do nothing.

]c

go to next mismatched entry in directory comparison view or do nothing.

[d

go to previous directory entry or do nothing.

]d

go to next directory entry or do nothing.

[r

same as :siblprev.

]r

same as :siblnext.

[R

same as :siblprev!.

]R

same as :siblnext!.

[s

go to previous selected entry or do nothing.

]s

go to next selected entry or do nothing.

[z

go to first sibling of current entry.

]z

go to last sibling of current entry.

zj

go to next directory sibling of current entry or do nothing.

zk

go to previous directory sibling of current entry or do nothing.

Using Count

You can use count with commands like yy.

[count]yy

yank count files starting from current cursor position downward.

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

d[count]j

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

Registers

  "a2yy

  "Ad

  p or "ap or "Ap

Selectors

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

a

all files in current view.

s

selected files.

S

all files except selected.

Visual Mode

Enter

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

av

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

gv

restore previous visual selection.

v, V, Ctrl-C or Escape

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

Ctrl-G

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

:

enter command line mode. Selection is cleared on leaving the mode.

o

switch active selection bound.

O

switch active selection bound.

gu, u

make names of selected files lowercase.

gU, U

make names of selected files uppercase.

View Mode

Shift-Tab, Tab, q, Q, ZZ

return to normal mode.

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

scroll forward one line (or [count] lines).

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

scroll backward one line (or [count] lines).

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

scroll forward one window (or [count] lines).

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

scroll backward one window (or [count] lines).

[count]z

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

[count]w

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

[count]Alt-Space

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

[count]d, [count]Ctrl-D

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

[count]u, [count]Ctrl-U

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

r, Ctrl-R, Ctrl-L

repaint screen.

R

reload view preserving scroll position.

F

toggle automatic forwarding. Roughly equivalent to periodic file reload and scrolling to the bottom. The behaviour is similar to `tail -F` or F key in less.

[count]/pattern

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

[count]?pattern

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

[count]n

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

[count]N

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

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

scroll to the first line of the file (or line [count]).

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

scroll to the last line of the file (or line [count]).

[count]p, [count]%

scroll to the beginning of the file (or N percent into file).

v

invoke an editor to edit the current file being viewed. The command for editing is taken from the 'vicmd'/'vixcmd' option value and extended with middle line number prepended by a plus sign and name of the current file.

Command line Mode

Esc, Ctrl-C

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

Ctrl-M, Enter

execute command and leave command line mode.

Ctrl-I, Tab

complete command or its argument.

Shift-Tab

complete in reverse order.

Ctrl-_

stop completion and return original input.

Ctrl-B, Left

move cursor to the left.

Ctrl-F, Right

move cursor to the right.

Ctrl-A, Home

go to line beginning.

Ctrl-E, End

go to line end.

Alt-B

go to the beginning of previous word.

Alt-F

go to the end of next word.

Ctrl-U

remove characters from cursor position till the beginning of line.

Ctrl-K

remove characters from cursor position till the end of line.

Ctrl-H, Backspace

remove character before the cursor.

Ctrl-D, Delete

remove character under the cursor.

Ctrl-W

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

Alt-D

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

Ctrl-T

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

Alt-.

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

Ctrl-G

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

Ctrl-N

recall more recent command-line from history.

Ctrl-P

recall older command-line from history.

Up

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

Down

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

Ctrl-]

trigger abbreviation expansion.

Pasting special values

Ctrl-X c

name of the current file of the active pane.

Ctrl-X d

path to the current directory of the active pane.

Ctrl-X e

extension of the current file of the active pane.

Ctrl-X r

name root of current file of the active pane.

Ctrl-X t

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

Ctrl-X Ctrl-X c

name of the current file of the inactive pane.

Ctrl-X Ctrl-X d

path to the current directory of the inactive pane.

Ctrl-X Ctrl-X e

extension of the current file of the inactive pane.

Ctrl-X Ctrl-X r

name root of current file of the inactive pane.

Ctrl-X Ctrl-X t

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

Ctrl-X a

value of automatic filter of the active pane.

Ctrl-X m

value of manual filter of the active pane.

Ctrl-X =

value of local filter of the active pane.

Ctrl-X /

last pattern from search history.

Command line editing

More Mode

Enter, Ctrl-J, j or Down

scroll one line down.

Backspace, k or Up

scroll one line up.

d

scroll one page (half of a screen) down.

u

scroll one page (half of a screen) up.

Space, f or PageDown

scroll down a screen.

b or PageUp

scroll up a screen.

G

scroll to the bottom.

g

scroll to the top.

q, Escape or Ctrl-C

quit the mode.

:

switch to command-line mode.

Commands

  :noh[lsearch]

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

:[count]

:number

move to the file number.

 

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

 

:0 move to the top of the list.

 

:$ move to the bottom of the list.

:[count]command

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

:d3

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

:3d

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

:command [args]

:[range]!program

execute command via shell. Accepts macros.

:[range]!command &

:!!

:[range]!!command

same as :!, but pauses before returning.

:!!

repeat the last command.

:alink

:[range]alink[!?]

create absolute symbolic links to files in directory of inactive view. With "?" prompts for destination file names in an editor. "!" forces overwrite.

:[range]alink[!] path

create absolute symbolic links to files in directory specified by the path (absolute or relative to directory of inactive view).

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

create absolute symbolic links of files in directory of other view giving each next link a corresponding name from the argument list.

:apropos

:apropos keyword...

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

:autocmd

:au[tocmd] {event} {pat} {cmd}

register autocommand for the {event}, which can be:
- DirEnter - performed on entering a directory

 

Event name is case insensitive.

{pat} is a comma-separated list of modified globs patterns, which can contain tilde or environment variables. All paths use slash ('/') as directory separator. The pattern can start with a '!', which negates it. Patterns that do not contain slashes are matched against the last item of the path only (e.g. "dir" in "/path/dir"). Literal comma can be entered by doubling it. Two modifications to globs matching are as follows:
- * - never matches a slash (i.e., can signify single directory level)
- ** - matches any character (i.e., can match path of arbitrary depth)

{cmd} is a :command or several of them separated with '|'.

Examples of patterns:
- conf.d - matches conf.d directory anywhere
- *.d - matches directories ending with ".d" anywhere
- **.git - matches something.git, but not .git anywhere
- **/.git/** - matches /path/.git/objects, but not /path/.git
- **/.git/**/ - matches /path/.git/ only (because of trailing slash)
- /etc/* - matches /etc/conf.d/, /etc/X11, but not /etc/X11/fs
- /etc/**/*.d - matches /etc/conf.d, /etc/X11/conf.d, etc.
- /etc/**/* - matches /etc/ itself and any file below it
- /etc/**/** - matches /etc/ itself and any file below it

:au[tocmd] [{event}] [{pat}]

list those autocommands that match given event-pattern combination.

 

{event} and {pat} can be omitted to list all autocommands. To list any autocommands for specific pattern one can use * placeholder in place of {event}.

:au[tocmd]! [{event}] [{pat}]

remove autocommands that match given event-pattern combination. Syntax is the same as for listing above.

:apropos

repeat last :apropos command.

:bmark

:bmark tag1 [tag2 [tag3...]]

bookmark current directory with specified tags.

:bmark! path tag1 [tag2 [tag3...]]

same as :bmark, but allows bookmarking specific path instead of current directory. This is for use in vifmrc and for bookmarking files.

Path can contain macros that expand to single path (%c, %C, %d, %D) or those that can expand to multiple paths, but contain only one (%f, %F, %rx). The latter is done for convenience on using the command interactively. Complex macros that include spaces (e.g. "%c:gs/ /_") should be escaped.

:bmarks

:bmarks

display all bookmarks in a menu.

:bmarks [tag1 [tag2...]]

display menu of bookmarks that include all of the specified tags.

:bmgo

:bmgo [tag1 [tag2...]]

when there are more than one match acts exactly like :bmarks, otherwise navigates to single match immediately (and fails if there is no match).

:cabbrev

:ca[bbrev]

display menu of command-line mode abbreviations.

:ca[bbrev] lhs-prefix

display command-line mode abbreviations which left-hand side starts with specified prefix.

:ca[bbrev] lhs rhs

register new or overwrites existing abbreviation for command-line mode. rhs can contain spaces and any special sequences accepted in rhs of mappings (see "Mappings" section below). Abbreviations are expanded non-recursively.

:cnoreabbrev

:cnorea[bbrev]

display menu of command-line mode abbreviations.

:cnorea[bbrev] lhs-prefix

display command-line mode abbreviations which left-hand side starts with specified prefix.

:cnorea[bbrev] lhs rhs

same as :cabbrev, but mappings in rhs are ignored during expansion.

:cd

:cd or :cd ~ or :cd $HOME

change to home directory.

:cd -

go to the last visited directory.

:cd ~/dir

change directory to ~/dir.

:cd /curr/dir /other/dir

change directory of the current pane to /curr/dir and directory of the other pane to /other/dir. Relative paths are assumed to be relative to directory of current view. Command won't fail if one of directories is invalid. All forms of the command accept macros.

:cd! /dir

same as :cd /dir /dir.

:change

:c[hange]

create a menu window to alter a files properties.

:chmod

:[range]chmod

 

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

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

only for *nix

 

change permissions for files. See `man 1 chmod` for arg format. "!" means set permissions recursively.

:chown

:[range]chown

only for *nix

 

same as co key in normal mode.

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

only for *nix

 

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

:clone

:[range]clone[!?]

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

:[range]clone[!] path

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

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

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

:colorscheme

:colo[rscheme]?

print current color scheme name on the status bar.

:colo[rscheme]

display a menu with a list of available color schemes. You can choose primary color scheme here. It is used for view if no directory specific colorscheme fits current path. It's also used to set border color (except view titles) and colors in menus and dialogs.

:colo[rscheme] color_scheme_name

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

:colo[rscheme] color_scheme_name directory

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

:comclear

:comc[lear]

remove all user defined commands.

:command

:com[mand]

display a menu of user commands.

:com[mand] beginning

display user defined commands that start with the beginning.

:com[mand] name action

set a new user command.

 

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

 

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

 

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

:com[mand] name /pattern

set search pattern.

:com[mand] name =pattern

set local filter value.

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

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

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

:com[mand] cmd :commands

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

 

equals
:%copy

:compare

:compare [byname | bysize | bycontents | listall | listunique | listdups | ofboth | ofone | groupids | grouppaths | skipempty]...

compare files in one or two views according the arguments. The default is "bycontents listall ofboth grouppaths". See "Compare views" section below for details. Tree structure is incompatible with alternative representations, so values of 'lsview' and 'millerview' options are ignored.

:copen

:cope[n]

opens menu with contents of the last displayed menu with navigation to files by default, if any.

:copy

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

copy files to directory of other view. With "?" prompts for destination file names in an editor. "!" forces overwrite.

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

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

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

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

:cquit

:cq[uit][!]

same as :quit, but also aborts directory choosing via --choose-dir (empties output file) and returns non-zero exit code.

:cunabbrev

:cuna[bbrev] lhs

unregister command-line mode abbreviation by its lhs.

:cuna[bbrev] rhs

unregister command-line mode abbreviation by its rhs, so that abbreviation could be removed even after expansion.

:delbmarks

:delbmarks

remove bookmarks from current directory.

:delbmarks tag1 [tag2 [tag3...]]

remove set of bookmarks that include all of the specified tags.

:delbmarks!

remove all bookmarks.

:delbmarks! path1 [path2 [path3...]]

remove bookmarks of listed paths.

:delcommand

:delc[ommand] user_command

remove user defined command named user_command.

:delete

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

delete selected file or files. "!" means complete removal (omitting trash).

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

delete selected or [count] files to the reg register. "!" means complete removal (omitting trash).

:delmarks

:delm[arks]!

delete all marks.

:delm[arks] marks ...

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

:display

:di[splay]

display menu with registers content.

:di[splay] list ...

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

:dirs

:dirs

display directory stack.

:echo

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

evaluate each argument as an expression and output them separated with a space. See help on :let command for a definition of <expr>.

:edit

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

open selected or passed file(s) in editor. Macros and environment variables are expanded.

:else

:el[se]

execute commands until next matching :endif if all other conditions didn't match. See also help on :if and :endif commands.

:elseif

:elsei[f] {expr1}

execute commands until next matching :elseif, :else or :endif if conditions of previous :if and :elseif branches were evaluated to zero. See also help on :if and :endif commands.

:empty

:empty

permanently remove files from all existing non-empty trash directories (see "Trash directory" section below). Trash directories which are specified via %r and/or %u also get deleted completely. Also remove all operations from undolist that have no sense after :empty and remove all records about files located inside directories from all registers. Removal is performed as background task with undetermined amount of work and can be checked via :jobs menu.

:endif

:en[dif]

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

:execute

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

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

:exit

:exi[t][!]

same as :quit.

:file

:f[ile][ &]

display menu of programs set for the file type of the current file. " &" forces running associated program in background.

:f[ile] arg[ &]

run associated command that begins with the arg skipping opening menu. " &" forces running associated program in background.

:filetype

:filet[ype] pattern-list [{descr}]def_prog[ &],[{descr}]prog2[ &],...

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

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

Note that on OS X when `open` is used to call an app, vifm is unable to check whether that app is actually available. So if automatic skipping of programs that aren't there is desirable, `open` should be replaced with an actual command.

:filet[ype] filename

list (in menu mode) currently registered patterns that match specified file name. Same as ":filextype filename".

:filextype

:filex[type] pattern-list [{ description }] def_program,program2,...

same as :filetype, but this command is ignored if not running in X. In X :filextype is equal to :filetype. See "Patterns" section below for pattern definition. See also "Automatic FUSE mounts" section below.

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

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

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

1. lynx

 

2. dwb

 

3. links

 

4. firefox

 

5. uzbl

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

1. lynx

 

2. links

Just as if all :filextype commands were not there.

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

Note that on OS X $DISPLAY isn't defined unless you define it, so :filextype should be used only if you set $DISPLAY in some way.

:filext[ype] filename

list (in menu mode) currently registered patterns that match specified file name. Same as ":filetype filename".

:fileviewer

:filev[iewer] pattern-list command1,command2,...

register specified list of commands as viewers for each of the patterns. Viewer is a command which output is captured and displayed in one of the panes of vifm after pressing "e" or running :view command. When the command doesn't contain any of vifm macros, name of current file is appended as if command ended with %c macro. Comma escaping and missing commands processing rules as for :filetype apply to this command. See "Patterns" section below for pattern definition.

Example for zip archives:

  fileviewer *.zip,*.jar,*.war,*.ear zip -sf %c, echo "No zip to preview:"
    

:filev[iewer] filename

list (in menu mode) currently registered patterns that match specified filename.

:filter

:filter[!] {pattern}

filter files matching the pattern out of directory listings. '!' controls state of filter inversion after updating filter value (see also 'cpoptions' description). Filter is matched case sensitively on *nix and case insensitively on Windows. See "File Filters" and "Patterns" sections.

Example:

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

:filter[!] {empty-pattern}

same as above, but use last search pattern as pattern value.

Example:

  :filter //I
    

:filter

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

:filter!

same as :invert.

:filter?

show information on local, name and auto filters.

:find

:[range]fin[d] pattern

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

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

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

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

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

:[range]fin[d]

repeat last :find command.

:finish

:fini[sh]

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

:grep

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

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

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

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

:[range]gr[ep][!]

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

:help

:h[elp]

show the help file.

:h[elp] argument

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

:highlight

:hi[ghlight]

display information about all highlight groups active at the moment.

:hi[ghlight] clear

reset all highlighting to builtin defaults and removed all filename-specific rules.

:hi[ghlight] clear ( {pat1,pat2,...} | /regexp/ )

removes specified rule.

:hi[ghlight] ( group-name | {pat1,pat2,...} | /regexp/ )

display information on given highlight group or file name pattern of color scheme used in the active view.

:hi[ghlight] ( group-name | {pat1,pat2,...} | /regexp/[iI] ) cterm=style | ctermfg=color | ctermbg=color

set style (cterm), foreground (ctermfg) or/and background (ctermbg) parameters of highlight group or file name pattern for color scheme used in the active view.

:history

:his[tory]

creates a pop-up menu of directories visited.

:his[tory] x

x can be:

 

d[ir] or . show directory history.

 

c[md] or : show command line history.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

:histnext

:histnext

same as <c-i>. The main use case for this command is to work around the common pain point of <tab> and <c-i> being the same ASCII character: one could alter the terminal emulator settings to emit, for example, the `F1` keycode when Ctrl-I is pressed, then `:noremap <f1> :histnext<cr>` in vifm, add "t" flag to the 'cpoptions', and thus have both <c-i> and <tab> working as expected.

:histprev

:histprev

same as <c-o>.

:if

:if {expr1}

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

Example:

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

:invert

:invert [f]

invert file name filter.

:invert? [f]

show current filter state.

:invert s

invert selection.

:invert o

invert sorting order of the primary sorting key.

:invert? o

show sorting order of the primary sorting key.

:jobs

:jobs

shows menu of current backgrounded processes.

:let

:let $ENV_VAR = <expr>

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

:let $ENV_VAR .= <expr>

append value to environment variable.

:let &[l:|g:]opt = <expr>

sets option value.

:let &[l:|g:]opt .= <expr>

append value to string option.

:let &[l:|g:]opt += <expr>

increasing option value, adding sub-values.

:let &[l:|g:]opt -= <expr>

decreasing option value, removing sub-values.

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

:locate

:locate filename

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

:locate

repeats last :locate command.

:ls

:ls

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

:lstrash

:lstrash

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

:mark

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

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

:marks

:marks

create a pop-up menu of marks.

:marks list ...

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

:messages

:mes[sages]

shows previously given messages (up to 50).

:mkdir

:[line]mkdir[!] dir ...

create directories at specified paths. The [line] can be used to pick node in a tree-view. "!" means make parent directories as needed. Macros are expanded.

:move

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

move files to directory of other view. With "?" prompts for destination file names in an editor. "!" forces overwrite.

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

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

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

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

:nohlsearch

:noh[lsearch]

clear selection in current pane.

:normal

:norm[al][!] commands

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

:only

:on[ly]

switch to a one window view.

:popd

:popd

remove pane directories from stack.

:pushd

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

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

:pushd

exchange the top two items of the directory stack.

:put

:[line]pu[t][!] [reg] [ &]

puts files from specified register (" by default) into current directory. The [line] can be used to pick node in a tree-view. "!" moves files "!" moves files from their original location instead of copying them. During this operation no confirmation dialogs will be shown, all checks are performed beforehand.

:pwd

:pw[d]

show the present working directory.

:quit

:q[uit][!]

exit vifm (add ! to skip saving changes and checking for active backgrounded commands).

:redraw

:redr[aw]

redraw the screen immediately.

:registers

:reg[isters]

display menu with registers content.

:reg[isters] list ...

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

:rename

:[range]rename[!]

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

:[range]rename name1 name2...

rename each of selected files to a corresponding name.

:restart

:restart

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

:restore

:[range]restore

restore file from trash directory, doesn't work outside one of trash directories. See "Trash directory" section below.

:rlink

:[range]rlink[!?]

create relative symbolic links to files in directory of other view. With "?" prompts for destination file names in an editor. "!" forces overwrite.

:[range]rlink[!] path

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

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

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

:screen

:screen

toggle whether to use the terminal multiplexer or not.

 

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

 

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

:screen!

enable integration with terminal multiplexers.

:screen?

display whether integration with terminal multiplexers is enabled.

:select

:[range]select

select files in the given range (current file if no range is given).

:select {pattern}

select files that match specified pattern. Possible {pattern} forms are described in "Patterns" section below. Trailing slash for directories is taken into account, so `:select! */ | invert s` selects only files.

:select //[iI]

same as item above, but reuses last search pattern.

:select !{external command}

select files from the list supplied by external command. Files are matched by full paths, relative paths are converted to absolute ones beforehand.

:[range]select! [{pattern}]

same as above, but resets previously selected items before proceeding.

:set

:se[t]

display all options that differ from their default value.

:se[t] all

display all options.

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

sets given options. For local options both values are set.

 

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

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

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

:setglobal

:setg[lobal]

display all global options that differ from their default value.

:setg[lobal] all

display all global options.

:setg[lobal] opt1=val1 opt2='val2' opt3="val3" ...

same as :set, but changes/prints only global options or global values of local options. Changes to the latter might be not visible until directory is changed.

:setlocal

:setl[ocal]

display all local options that differ from their default value.

:setl[ocal] all

display all local options.

:setl[ocal] opt1=val1 opt2='val2' opt3="val3" ...

same as :set, but changes/prints only local values of local options.

:shell

:sh[ell][!]

start a shell in current directory. "!" suppresses spawning dedicated window of terminal multiplexer for a shell. To make vifm adaptive to environment it uses $SHELL if it's defined, otherwise 'shell' value is used.

:siblnext

:[count]siblnext[!]

change directory to [count]th next sibling directory after current path using value of global sort option of current pane. "!" enables wrapping.

For example, say, you're at /boot and root listing starts like this:

bin/
boot/
dev/
...

Issuing :siblnext will navigate to /dev.

:siblprev

:[count]siblprev[!]

same as :siblnext, but in the opposite direction.

:sort

:sor[t]

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

:source

:so[urce] file

read command-line commands from the file.

:split

:sp[lit]

switch to a two window horizontal view.

:sp[lit]!

toggle horizontal window splitting.

:sp[lit] path

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

:substitute

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

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

:[range]s[ubstitute]/pattern

substitute pattern with an empty string.

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

use last pattern from search history.

:[range]s[ubstitute]

repeat previous substitution command.

:sync

:sync [relative path]

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

:sync!

change the other pane to the current pane directory and synchronize cursor position. If current pane displays custom list of files, position before entering it is used (current one might not make any sense).

:sync! [location | cursorpos | localopts | filters | filelist | tree | all]...

change enumerated properties of the other pane to match corresponding properties of the current pane. Arguments have the following meanings:

:touch

:[line]touch file...

create files at specified paths. Aborts on errors. Doesn't update time of existing files. The [line] can be used to pick node in a tree-view. Macros are expanded.

:tr

:[range]tr/pattern/string/

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

:trashes

:trashes

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

:trashes?

same as :trashes, but also displays size of each trash directory.

:tree

:tree

turn pane into tree view with current directory as a root. The tree view is implemented on top of a custom view, but is automatically kept in sync with file system state and considers all the filters. Thus the structure corresponds to what one would see on visiting the directories manually. As a special case for trees built out of custom view file-system tracking isn't performed. Tree structure is incompatible with alternative representations, so values of ´lsview' and 'millerview' options are ignored.

:undolist

:undol[ist]

display list of latest changes. Use "!" to see actual commands.

:unlet

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

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

:unselect

:[range]unselect

unselect files in the given range (current file if no range is given).

:unselect {pattern}

unselect files that match specified pattern. Possible {pattern} forms are described in "Patterns" section below. Trailing slash for directories is taken into account, so `:unselect */` unselects directories.

:unselect !{external command}

unselect files from the list supplied by external command. Files are matched by full paths, relative paths are converted to absolute ones beforehand.

:unselect //[iI]

same as item above, but reuses last search pattern.

:version

:ve[rsion]

show menu with version information.

:vifm

:vifm

same as :version.

:view

:vie[w]

toggle on and off the quick file view.

:vie[w]!

turn on quick file view if it's off.

:volumes

:volumes

only for MS-Windows

 

display menu with volume list. Hitting l (or Enter) key opens appropriate volume in the current pane.

:vsplit

:vs[plit]

switch to a two window vertical view.

:vs[plit]!

toggle window vertical splitting.

:vs[plit] path

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

:wincmd

:[count]winc[md] {arg}

same as running Ctrl-W [count] {arg}.

:windo

:windo [command...]

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

:winrun

:winrun type [command...]

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

:write

:w[rite]

write vifminfo file.

:wq

:wq[!]

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

:xit

:x[it][!]

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

:yank

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

will yank files to the reg register.

:map lhs rhs

:map lhs rhs

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

:map! lhs rhs

map lhs key sequence to rhs in command line mode.

:cmap :dmap :mmap :nmap :qmap :vmap

:cm[ap] lhs rhs

map lhs to rhs in command line mode.

:dm[ap] lhs rhs

map lhs to rhs in dialog modes.

:mm[ap] lhs rhs

map lhs to rhs in menu mode.

:nm[ap] lhs rhs

map lhs to rhs in normal mode.

:qm[ap] lhs rhs

map lhs to rhs in view mode.

:vm[ap] lhs rhs

map lhs to rhs in visual mode.

:*map

:cm[ap]

list all maps in command line mode.

:dm[ap]

list all maps in dialog modes.

:mm[ap]

list all maps in menu mode.

:nm[ap]

list all maps in normal mode.

:qm[ap]

list all maps in view mode.

:vm[ap]

list all maps in visual mode.

:*map beginning

:cm[ap] beginning

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

:dm[ap] beginning

list all maps in dialog modes that start with the beginning.

:mm[ap] beginning

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

:nm[ap] beginning

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

:qm[ap] beginning

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

:vm[ap] beginning

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

:noremap

:no[remap] lhs rhs

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

:no[remap]! lhs rhs

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

:cnoremap :dnoremap :mnoremap :nnoremap :qnoremap :vnoremap

:cno[remap] lhs rhs

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

:dn[oremap] lhs rhs

map the key sequence lhs to rhs for dialog modes, but disallow mapping of rhs.

:mn[oremap] lhs rhs

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

:nn[oremap] lhs rhs

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

:qn[oremap] lhs rhs

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

:vn[oremap] lhs rhs

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

:unmap

:unm[ap] lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from normal and visual modes.

:unm[ap]! lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from command line mode.

:cunmap :dunmap :munmap :nunmap :qunmap :vunmap

:cu[nmap] lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from command line mode.

:du[nmap] lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from dialog modes.

:mu[nmap] lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from menu mode.

:nun[map] lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from normal mode.

:qun[map] lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from view mode.

:vu[nmap] lhs

remove the mapping of lhs from visual mode.

Ranges

  :%delete

  :2,4delete

  :.,$delete

  :3delete4

Command macros

%a

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

%c %"c

The current file under the cursor.

%C %"C

The current file under the cursor in the other directory.

%f %"f

All of the selected files.

%F %"F

All of the selected files in the other directory list.

%b %"b

Same as %f %F.

%d %"d

Full path to current directory.

%D %"D

Full path to other file list directory.

%rx %"rx

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

%m

Show command output in a menu.

%M

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

%u

Process command output as list of paths and compose custom view out of it.

%U

Same as %u, but implies less list updates inside vifm, which is absence of sorting at the moment.

%Iu

same as %u, but gives up terminal before running external command.

%IU

same as %U, but gives up terminal before running external command.

%S

Show command output in the status bar.

%q

redirect command output to quick view, which is activated if disabled.

%s

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

%n

Forbid using of terminal multiplexer to run the command.

%i

Completely ignore command output.

%pc

Marks end of the main command and beginning of the clear command, which is invoked on closing preview of a file.

%px

x coordinate of top-left corner of preview area.

%py

y coordinate of top-left corner of preview area.

%pw

width of preview area.

%ph

height of preview area.

:com move mv %f %D

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

The %a macro is replaced with any arguments given to an alias command. All arguments are considered optional.

:com lsl !!ls -l %a - set the lsl command to execute ls -l with or without an argument.

:lsl<Enter>

will list the directory contents of the current directory.

:lsl filename<Enter>

will list only the given filename.

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

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

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

Rewriting the example command with macros given above with backgrounding:

Command backgrounding

Cancellation

Patterns

  <text/plain>{*.vifm}

  <text/plain>{*.vifm},<application/pdf>{*.pdf}

Globs

  :filetype * less %c

  :filetype [*] less %c

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

  :fileviewer ?.out file %c

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

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

  :filetype *.[!d]/ inspect_dir

  :filetype [0-9].jpg sxiv

:set options

Local options

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

In addition to being local to views, each such option also has two values:

'aproposprg'

type: string

 

default: "apropos %a"

 

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

'autochpos'

type: boolean

 

default: true

 

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

'columns' 'co'

type: integer

 

default: terminal width on startup

 

Terminal width in characters.

'caseoptions'

type: charset

 

default: ""

 

This option gives additional control over case sensitivity by allowing overriding default behaviour to either always be case sensitive or always be case insensitive. Possible values form pairs of lower and upper case letters that configure specific aspect of behaviour:
p - always ignore case of paths during completion.
P - always match case of paths during completion.
g - always ignore case of characters for f/F/;/,.
G - always match case of characters for f/F/;/,.

At most one item of each pair takes affect, if both or more are present, only the last one matters. When none of pair's elements are present, the behaviour is default (depends on operating system for path completion and on values of ´ignorecase' and 'smartcase' options for file navigation).

'cdpath' 'cd'

type: string list

 

default: value of $CDPATH with commas instead of colons

 

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

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

Example:

  set cdpath=~

    

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

'chaselinks'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

When enabled path of view is always resolved to real path (with all symbolic links expanded).

'classify'

type: string list

 

default: ":dir:/"

 

Specifies file name prefixes and suffixes depending on file type or name. The format is either of:
- [{prefix}]:{filetype}:[{suffix}]
- [{prefix}]::{pattern}::[{suffix}]

 

Possible {pattern} forms are described in "Patterns" section above.

Priority rules:
- file name patterns have priority over type patterns
- file name patterns are matched in left-to-right order of their appearance in this option

Either {prefix} or {suffix} or both can be omitted (which is the default for all unspecified file types), this means empty {prefix} and/or {suffix}. {prefix} and {suffix} should consist of at most eight characters. Elements are separated by commas. Neither prefixes nor suffixes are part of file names, so they don't affect commands which operate on file names in any way. Comma (',') character can be inserted by doubling it. List of file type names can be found in the description of filetype() function.

'confirm' 'cf'

type: set

 

default: delete,permdelete

 

Defines which operations require confirmation:

 

- delete - moving files to trash (on d or :delete);

 

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

'cpoptions' 'cpo'

type: charset

 

default: "fst"

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

- t - when included, <tab> (thus <c-i>) behave as <space> and switches active pane, otherwise <tab> and <c-i> go forward in the view history. It's possible to make both <tab> and <c-i> to work as expected by setting up the terminal to emit a custom sequence when <c-i> is pressed; see :histnext for details.

'cvoptions'

type: set

 

default:

 

Specifies whether entering/leaving custom views triggers events that normally happen on entering/leaving directories:
- autocmds - trigger autocommands on entering/leaving custom views;
- localopts - reset local options on entering/leaving custom views;
- localfilter - reset local filter on entering/leaving custom views.

'deleteprg'

type: string

 

default: ""

 

Specifies program to run on files that are permanently removed. When empty, files are removed as usual, otherwise this command is invoked on each file by appending its name. If the command doesn't remove files, they will remain on the file system.

'dirsize'

type: enumeration

 

default: size

 

Controls how size of directories is displayed in file views. The following values are possible:
- size - size of directory (i.e., size used to store list of files)
- nitems - number of entries in the directory (excluding . and ..)

Size obtained via ga/gA overwrites this setting so seeing count of files and occasionally size of directories is possible.

'dotdirs'

type: set

 

default: nonrootparent

 

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

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

'dotfiles'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

Whether dot files are shown in the view. Can be controlled with z* bindings.

'fastrun'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

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

'fillchars' 'fcs'

type: string list

 

default: ""

 

Sets characters used to fill borders.

item default used for
vborder:c ' ' left, middle and right vertical borders

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

  set fillchars=vborder:.
    

'findprg'

type: string

 

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

 

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

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

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

Optional %u or %U macro could be used (if both specified %U is chosen) to force redirection to custom or unsorted custom view respectively.

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

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

    

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

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

  set findprg="find %s %a"
    

'followlinks'

type: boolean

 

default: true

 

Follow links on l or Enter. That is navigate to destination file instead of treating the link as if it were target file. Doesn't affects links to directories, which are always entered (use gf key for directories).

'fusehome'

type: string

 

default: "($XDG_DATA_HOME/.local/share | $VIFM)/fuse/"

 

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

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

'gdefault' 'gd'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

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

'grepprg'

type: string

 

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

 

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

Optional %u or %U macro could be used (if both specified %U is chosen) to force redirection to custom or unsorted custom view respectively.

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

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

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

    

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

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

    

'history' 'hi'

type: integer

 

default: 15

 

Maximum number of stored items in all histories.

'hlsearch' 'hls'

type: boolean

 

default: true

 

Highlight all matches of search pattern.

'iec'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

Use KiB, MiB, ... suffixes instead of K, M, ... when printing size in human-friendly format.

'ignorecase' 'ic'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

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

'incsearch' 'is'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

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

'iooptions'

type: set

 

default:

 

Controls details of file operations. The following values are available:
- fastfilecloning - perform fast file cloning (copy-on-write), when available
(available on Linux and btrfs file system).

'laststatus' 'ls'

type: boolean

 

default: true

 

Controls if status bar is visible.

'lines'

type: integer

 

default: terminal height on startup

 

Terminal height in lines.

'locateprg'

type: string

 

default: "locate %a"

 

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

Optional %u or %U macro could be used (if both specified %U is chosen) to force redirection to custom or unsorted custom view respectively.

'lsoptions'

type: string list

 

default: ""

 

scope: local

 

Configures ls-like view.

item used for
transposed filling view grid by columns rather than by lines

'lsview'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

scope: local

 

When this option is set, directory view will be displayed in multiple columns with file names similar to output of `ls -x` command. See "ls-like view" section below for format description. This option has no effect if 'millerview' is on.

'milleroptions'

type: string list

 

default: "lsize:1,csize:1,rsize:1"

 

scope: local

 

Configures miller view.

item default used for
lsize:num 0 left column
csize:num 1 center column (can't be disabled)
rsize:num 0 right column

*size specifies ratios of columns. Each ratio is in the range from 0 to 100 and values are adjusted to fit the limits. Zero disables a column, but central (main) column can't be disabled.

Example of two-column mode which is useful in combination with :view command:

  set milleroptions=lsize:1,csize:2
    

'millerview'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

scope: local

 

When this option is set, directory view will be displayed in multiple cascading columns. Ignores 'lsview'.

'mintimeoutlen'

type: integer

 

default: 150

 

The fracture of 'timeoutlen' in milliseconds that is waited between subsequent input polls, which affects various asynchronous operations (detecting changes made by external applications, monitoring background jobs, redrawing UI). There are no strict guarantees, however the higher this value is, the less is CPU load in idle mode.

'number' 'nu'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

scope: local

 

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

'numberwidth' 'nuw'

type: integer

 

default: 4

 

scope: local

 

Minimal number of characters for line number field.

'previewprg'

type: string

 

default: ""

 

scope: local

 

External command to be used instead of preview programs configured via :fileviewer command.

Example:

  " always show git log in preview of files inside some repository
  au DirEnter '~/git-repo/**/*' setl previewprg='git log --color -- %c 2>&1'
    

'relativenumber' 'rnu'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

scope: local

 

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

nonumber number

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

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

'rulerformat' 'ruf'

type: string

 

default: "%l/%S "

 

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

 

%= - separation point between left and right aligned halves of the line

 

%l - file number

 

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

 

%x - number of files excluded by filters

 

%0- - old name for %x macro

 

%S - number of displayed files

 

%= - separation point between left and right align items

 

%% - percent sign

 

%[ - designates beginning of an optional block

 

%] - designates end of an optional block

 

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

Example:

  set rulerformat='%2l-%S%[ +%x%]'
    

'runexec'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

Run executable file on Enter or l.

'scrollbind' 'scb'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

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

'scrolloff' 'so'

type: integer

 

default: 0

 

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

'shell' 'sh'

type: string

 

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

 

Full path to the shell to use to run external commands. On *nix a shell argument can be supplied.

'shortmess' 'shm'

type: charset

 

default: "p"

 

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

 

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

 

p - use tilde shortening in view titles.

'sizefmt'

type: string list

 

default: "units:iec"

 

Configures the way size is formatted in human-friendly way.

item value meaning
units: iec Use 1024 byte units (K or KiB, etc.).
See 'iec' option.
si Use 1000 byte units (KB, etc.).
precision: i > 0 How many fraction digits to consider.
{not set} Precision of 1 for integer part < 10,
0 otherwise (provides old behaviour).

Numbers are rounded from zero. Trailing zeros are dropped.

Example:

  set sizefmt=units:iec,precision:2
    

'slowfs'

type: string list

 

default: ""

 

only for *nix

 

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

Example for autofs root /mnt/autofs:

  set slowfs+=/mnt/autofs
    

'smartcase' 'scs'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

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

'sort'

type: string list

 

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

 

scope: local

 

Sets list of sorting keys (first item is primary key, second is secondary key, etc.):
[+-]ext - extension of files and directories
[+-]fileext - extension of files only
[+-]name - name (including extension)
[+-]iname - name (including extension, ignores case)
[+-]type - file type (dir/reg/exe/link/char/block/sock/fifo)
[+-]dir - directory grouping (directory < file)
[+-]gid - group id (*nix only)
[+-]gname - group name (*nix only)
[+-]mode - file type derived from its mode (*nix only)
[+-]perms - permissions string (*nix only)
[+-]uid - owner id (*nix only)
[+-]uname - owner name (*nix only)
[+-]nlinks - number of hard links (*nix only)
[+-]inode - inode number (*nix only)
[+-]size - size
[+-]nitems - number of items in a directory (zero for files)
[+-]groups - groups extracted via regexps from 'sortgroups'
[+-]target - symbolic link target (empty for other file types)
[+-]atime - time accessed (e.g. read, executed)
[+-]ctime - time changed (changes in metadata, e.g. mode)
[+-]mtime - time modified (when file contents is changed)

Note: look for st_atime, st_ctime and st_mtime in "man 2 stat" for more information on time keys.

'+' means ascending sort for this key, and '-' means descending sort.

"dir" key is somewhat similar in this regard but it's added implicitly: when "dir" is not specified, sorting behaves as if it was the first key in the list. That's why if one wants sorting algorithm to mix directories and files, "dir" should be appended to sorting option, for example like this:

  set sort+=dir

    

or

  set sort=-size,dir
    

Value of the option is checked to include dir key and default sorting key (name on *nix, iname on Windows). Here is what happens if one of them is missing:

'sortnumbers'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

scope: local

 

Natural sort of (version) numbers within text.

'sortgroups'

type: string

 

default: ""

 

scope: local

 

Sets comma-separated list of regular expressions to use for group sorting, double comma is literal comma. Each expression should contain at least one group or its value will be considered to be always empty. Only first match of each regular expression is considered. Groups are considered from right to first similar to 'sort', first group divides list of files into sub-groups, each of which is sorted by the second group and so on.

Example:

  set sortgroups=-(done|todo).*
    

this would put files with "-done" in their names above all files with "-todo".

'sortorder'

type: enumeration

 

default: ascending

 

Sets sort order for primary key: ascending, descending.

'statusline' 'stl'

type: string

 

default: ""

 

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

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

'suggestoptions'

type: string list

 

default:

 

Controls when, for what and how suggestions are displayed. The following values are available:
- normal - in normal mode;
- visual - in visual mode;
- view - in view mode;
- otherpane - use other pane to display suggestions, when available;
- delay[:num] - display suggestions after a small delay (to do not annoy if you just want to type a fast shortcut consisting of multiple keys), num specifies the delay in ms (500 by default), 'timeoutlen' at most;
- keys - include shortcuts (commands and selectors);
- foldsubkeys - fold multiple keys with common prefix;
- marks - include marks;
- registers[:num] - include registers, at most num files (5 by default).

'syscalls'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

When disabled, vifm will rely on external applications to perform file-system operations, otherwise system calls are used instead (much faster and supports progress tracking). The option should eventually be removed. Mostly *nix-like systems are affected.

'tabstop' 'ts'

type: integer

 

default: value from curses library

 

Number of spaces that a Tab in the file counts for.

'timefmt'

type: string

 

default: " %m/%d %H:%M"

 

Format of time in file list. See "man 1 date" or "man 3 strftime" for details.

'timeoutlen' 'tm'

type: integer

 

default: 1000

 

The time in milliseconds that is waited for a mapped key in case of already typed key sequence is ambiguous.

'title'

type: boolean

 

default: true when title can be restored, false otherwise

 

When enabled title of the terminal or terminal multiplexer's window is updated according to current location.

'trash'

type: boolean

 

default: true

 

Use trash directory. See "Trash directory" section below.

'trashdir'

type: string

 

default: on *nix:
"%r/.vifm-Trash-%u,$VIFM/Trash,%r/.vifm-Trash"
or if $VIFM/Trash doesn't exist
"%r/.vifm-Trash-%u,$XDG_DATA_HOME/vifm/Trash,%r/.vifm-Trash"
on Windows:
"%r/.vifm-Trash,$XDG_DATA_HOME/vifm/Trash"

 

List of trash directory path specifications, separated with commas. Each list item either defines an absolute path to trash directory or a path relative to a mount point root when list element starts with "%r/". Value of the option can contain environment variables (of form "$envname"), which will be expanded (prepend $ with a slash to prevent expansion). Environment variables are expanded when the option is set.

On *nix, if element ends with "%u", the mark is replaced with real user ID and permissions are set so that only that only owner is able to use it.

 

Note that even this setup is not completely secure when combined with "%r/" and it's overall safer to keep files in home directory, but that implies cost of copying files between partitions.

When new file gets cut (deleted) vifm traverses each element of the option in the order of their appearance and uses first trash directory that it was able to create or that is already writable.

Default value tries to use trash directory per mount point and falls back to ~/.vifm/Trash on failure.

Will attempt to create the directory if it does not exist. See "Trash directory" section below.

'tuioptions' 'to'

type: charset

 

default: "ps"

 

Each flag configures some aspect of TUI appearance. The flags are:

 

p - when included:
* file list inside a pane gets additional single character padding on left and right sides;
* quick view and view mode get single character padding.

 

s - when included, left and right borders (side borders, hence "s" character) are visible.

 

u - use Unicode characters in the TUI (Unicode ellipsis instead of "...").

'undolevels' 'ul'

type: integer

 

default: 100

 

Maximum number of changes that can be undone. Note that here single file operation is used as a unit, not operation, i.e. deletion of 101 files will exceed default limit.

'vicmd'

type: string

 

default: "vim"

 

The actual command used to start vi. Ampersand sign at the end (regardless whether it's preceded by space or not) means backgrounding of command.

Background flag is ignored in certain context where vifm waits for the editor to finish. Such contexts include any command that spawns editor to change list of file names or a command, with :rename being one example. `-f` is also appended to prevent forking in such cases, so the command needs to handle the flag.

Additionally `+{num}` and `+'call cursor()'` arguments are used to position cursor when location is known.

'viewcolumns'

type: string

 

default: ""

 

scope: local

 

Format string containing list of columns in the view. When this option is empty, view columns to show are chosen automatically using sorting keys (see 'sort') as a base. Value of this option is ignored if 'lsview' is set. See "Column view" section below for format description.

An example of setting the options for both panes (note :windo command):

  windo set viewcolumns=-{name}..,6{size},11{perms}
    

'vixcmd'

type: string

 

default: value of 'vicmd'

 

Same as 'vicmd', but takes precedence over it when running in X.

'vifminfo'

type: set

 

default: bookmarks,bmarks

 

Controls what will be saved in the $VIFM/vifminfo file.

bmarks - named bookmarks
bookmarks - marks, except special ones like '< and '>
tui - state of the user interface (sorting, number of windows, quick
view state, active view)
dhistory - directory history
state - file name and dot filters and terminal multiplexers integration
state
cs - primary color scheme
savedirs - save last visited directory (requires dhistory)
chistory - command line history
shistory - search history (/ and ? commands)
phistory - prompt history
fhistory - history of local filter (see description of the "=" normal mode
command)
dirstack - directory stack overwrites previous stack, unless stack of
current session is empty
registers - registers content
options - all options that can be set with the :set command (obsolete)
filetypes - associated programs and viewers (obsolete)
commands - user defined commands (see :command description) (obsolete)

'vimhelp'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

Use vim help format.

'wildmenu' 'wmnu'

type: boolean

 

default: false

 

Controls whether possible matches of completion will be shown above the command line.

'wildstyle'

type: enumeration

 

default: bar

 

Picks presentation style of wild menu. Possible values:
- bar - one-line with left-to-right cursor
- popup - multi-line with top-to-bottom cursor

'wordchars'

type: string list

 

default: "1-8,14-31,33-255" (that is all non-whitespace characters)

 

Specifies which characters in command-line mode should be considered as part of a word. Value of the option is comma-separated list of ranges. If both endpoints of a range match, single endpoint is enough (e.g. "a" = "a-a"). Both endpoints are inclusive. There are two accepted forms: character representing itself or number encoding character according to ASCII table. In case of ambiguous characters (dash, comma, digit) use numeric form. Accepted characters are in the range from 0 to 255. Any Unicode character with code greater than 255 is considered to be part of a word.

The option affects Alt-D, Alt-B and Alt-F, but not Ctrl-W. This is intentionally to allow two use cases:

- Moving by WORDS and deletion by words.
- Moving by words and deletion by WORDS.

To get the latter use the following mapping:

  cnoremap <c-w> <a-b><a-d>

    

Also used for abbreviations.

'wrap'

type: boolean

 

default: true

 

Controls whether to wrap text in quick view.

'wrapscan' 'ws'

type: boolean

 

default: true

 

Searches wrap around end of the list.

Mappings

<cr>

Enter key.

<esc>

Escape key.

<space>

Space key.

<lt>

Less-than character (<).

<nop>

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

<bs>

Backspace key (see key conflict description below).

<tab> <s-tab>

Tabulation and Shift+Tabulation keys.

<home> <end>

Home/End.

<left> <right> <up> <down>

Arrow keys.

<pageup> <pagedown>

PageUp/PageDown.

<del> <delete>

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

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

Control + some key (see key conflict description below).

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

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

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

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

 

Alt + Ctrl + some key.

<f0> - <f63>

Functional keys.

<c-f1> - <c-f12>

only for MS-Windows

 

functional keys with Control key pressed.

<a-f1> - <a-f12>

only for MS-Windows

 

functional keys with Alt key pressed.

<s-f1> - <s-f12>

only for MS-Windows

 

functional keys with Shift key pressed.

  " if mappings with <c-h> in the LHS work
  map <c-h> <bs>
  " if mappings with <bs> in the LHS work
  map <bs> <c-h>

  cmap <f1> man<space>

Expression syntax

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Functions

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

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

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

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

  " automatically split vertically before enabling preview
  :nnoremap w :if layoutis('only') | vsplit | endif | view!<cr>

  " command to enter .git/ directory of git-repository (when ran inside one)
  command! cdgit :execute 'cd' system('git rev-parse --git-dir')

  " command to change directory by picking it via fzf
  command! fzfcd :execute 'cd' "'".term('find -type d | fzf 2> /dev/tty')."'"

Menus and dialogs

:exi[t][!] :q[uit][!] :x[it][!]

leave menu mode.

:noh[lsearch]

reset search match highlighting.

:w[rite] {dest}

write all menu lines into file specified by {dest}.

-

* - checked flag.

-

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

-

d (*nix only) - (only for execute flags) means u-x+X, g-x+X or o-x+X argument for the chmod program. If you're not on OS X and want to remove execute permission bit from all files, but preserve it for directories, set all execute flags to 'd' and check 'Set Recursively' flag.

Custom views

Compare views

  :compare
  :compare bycontents grouppaths
  :compare bycontents listall ofboth grouppaths

  :compare listdups ofone

  :compare listunique

Startup

Configure

  set
      \smartcase

  set<space here>
      \ smartcase

Automatic FUSE mounts

  :filetype FUSE_MOUNT|fuse-zip %SOURCE_FILE %DESTINATION_DIR

  :filetype FUSE_MOUNT2|sshfs %PARAM %DESTINATION_DIR

  root@127.0.0.1:/

View look

ls-like view

Column view

-

left align

  set viewcolumns=-{name}
    

-

right align (default)

  set viewcolumns={name}
    

-

dynamic align

It's like left alignment, but when the text is bigger than the column, the alignment is made at the right (so the part of the field is always visible).

  set viewcolumns=*{name}
    

-

absolute size - column width is specified in characters

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

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

-

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

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

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

-

auto size (default) - column width is automatically determined

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

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

  {name},{ext},{mtime}

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

Color schemes

  ~
  `-- bin
     |
     `-- my

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

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

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

-

~/ - Default color scheme

 

black background

 

cursor with blue background

-

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

 

red background

 

cursor with black background and red foreground

-

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

 

red background

 

cursor with black background and green foreground

Trash directory

Client-Server

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

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

  vifm --remote-expr 'expand("%d")'

  vifm --server-name work --remote ~/work/project

v:servername

server name of the running vifm instance. Empty if client-server feature is disabled.

Plugin

Reserved

ENVIRONMENT

VIFM

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

MYVIFMRC

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

VIFM_FUSE_FILE

On execution of external commands this variable is set to the full path of file used to initiate FUSE mount of the closes mount point from current pane directory up. It's not set when outside FUSE mount point. When vifm is used inside terminal multiplexer, it tries to set this variable as well (it doesn't work this way on its own).

SEE ALSO

AUTHOR