A command-line file explorer.
fex is a command-line file explorer inspired by
Vim,
exa and
fzf, built with
quick exploration and navigation in mind.
By using Vim-like keybindings, fex ends up being a near-effortless
tool to zip around a file system:
j,kto move to the pervious and next itemh,lto move up or drop down a directory/to search for items:to run commands on the selected item
Show Fex Demo
Fex.Demo.webm
The most convenient way is by running the following bash one-liner:
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/18alantom/fex/master/install.sh && bash install.shGetting fex running involves:
- Installing the
fexexecutable. - Setting up the shell integration.
To get install the fex executable follow this section. For the shell
integration go to the Setup section.
Note
🚧 Installation using package managers (Homebrew, apt, etc) will be added.
You can use the
install.sh script
to download and setup the latest
version of fex.
Run the following bash one-liner to setup fex:
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/18alantom/fex/master/install.sh && bash install.shTip
The same bash one-liner can be used to update your fex install.
Note
To uninstall fex:
- Remove the
$HOME/.fexdirectory. - Delete the lines pertaining to fex from your
.bashrcor.zshrcfile.
To install fex from source, you will need version zig version 0.13.0 installed. You can get it from here.
Once you had done that, compile the executable by using the following commands:
# Clone the fex repository
git clone https://github.com/18alantom/fex && cd fex# Compile the fex executable for your system
zig build-exe -O ReleaseSafe main.zig
# Move the executable to usr bin
mv main /usr/local/bin/fex# To be able to open files, you will need xdg-open from xdg-utils
sudo apt install xdg-utils# Compile the fex executable for your system
zig build-exe -O ReleaseSafe main.zig -lc
# Move the executable to usr bin
mv main /usr/bin/fexTo use fex to its full extent it needs to be set up as a shell widget. This
allows fex to:
- Be invoked using a key binding.
- Execute shell commands. For example
cdto quit and change directory.
These are shell specific so you will need to set it up separately depending on the shell you use.
Note
🚧 bash and fish shell support will be added.
To setup the Zsh widget for fex, first copy the file shell/.fex.zsh to your
home directory. Then copy the following lines into your .zshrc:
# Source .fex.zsh if it's present
[ -f ~/.fex.zsh ] && source ~/.fex.zsh
# Bind CTRL-F to invoke fex (key binds can be custom)
bindkey '^f' fex-widgetTip
You can change which key is used to invoke fex by using the Zsh bindkey command.
For example if you use Zsh vi mode, you can use bindkey -a 'f' fex-widget to
invoke fex using the 'f' key when in command mode.
Reference:
- ZLE manpage (
man zshzle), the ZLE BUILTINS section. - Binding Keys and handling keymaps
After you have set up fex for your shell, you can FEX_DEFAULT_COMMAND to change
what flags fex is invoked using. For example:
# Sets time displayed to access time and hides icons
export FEX_DEFAULT_COMMAND="fex --time-type accessed --no-icons"You can configure fex by passing it args.
Note
Config is picked up from the FEX_DEFAULT_COMMAND envvar and CLI args
passed when calling fex. CLI args take precedence.
Changes values displayed in an item line.
| arg | description |
|---|---|
--[no-]dotfiles |
Show or hide dotfiles (hidden by default). |
--[no-]icons |
Show or hide icons. Note: icons need a patched font to work. |
--[no-]size |
Show or hide item sizes |
--[no-]time |
Show or hide time |
--[no-]perm |
Show or hide permission info |
--[no-]link |
Show or hide link target |
--[no-]user |
Show or hide user name |
--[no-]group |
Show or hide group name |
--time-type VALUE |
Set which time is displayed. VALUE: modified, accessed, changed. Default: modified |
This changes search behavior.
| arg | description |
|---|---|
| --regular-search | Uses regular search, instead of fuzzy search |
| --match-case | Match search query case, instead of ignoring |
Tip
fex uses smart case matching by default i.e case is ignored until you
enter an upper case character.
| arg | description |
|---|---|
--help |
Prints the help message and quits. |
--version |
Prints the version and quits. |
fex has three modes:
- Default: used to navigate around a file system and enter one of the other modes.
- Search: toggled with
/, used to accept a query and find matching items in expanded directories. - Command: toggled with
:, used to accept a shell command that is executed onenter.fexneeds to be setup as a shell widget for this to work, see Setup.
Important
Keys mentioned in angle-brackets such as <enter> show which key has to be
pressed. Keys mentioned without such as cd are sequences that have to be
typed.
| key | action |
|---|---|
j, <down-arrow> |
Cursor down |
k, <up-arrow> |
Cursor up |
h, <left-arrow> |
Up a dir |
l, <right-arrow> |
Down a dir (if item is a dir) |
gg |
Jump to first item in the list |
G |
Jump to last item in the list |
{ |
Jump to prev item with a different level |
} |
Jump to next item with a different level |
| key | action |
|---|---|
<enter> |
Toggle directory or open file |
o |
Open item |
E |
Expand all directories under root |
C |
Collapse all directories |
R |
Change root to item under cursor (if dir) |
I |
Toggle item stat info |
1..9 |
Expand all directories up to $NUM depth |
q, <ctrl-d> |
Quit |
<tab> |
Toggle item selection under cursor |
/ |
Toggle search mode |
: |
Toggle command mode |
| key | action |
|---|---|
cd |
Quit and change directory to item under cursor (needs setup) |
Type / in regular mode to initiate search mode.
| key | action |
|---|---|
<escape> |
Quit search, restore cursor to pre-search position |
<enter> |
Quit search, cursor stays on found item |
Type : in regular mode to initiate command mode.
| key | action |
|---|---|
<escape> |
Quit command mode |
<enter> |
Quit fex, execute command with selected items or item under cursor as arg(s) |
Toggle displayed information.
| key | action |
|---|---|
. |
Toggle dotfile display |
I |
Toggle item stat info |
ti |
Toggle icon display |
tp |
Toggle permission info display |
ts |
Toggle size display |
tt |
Toggle time display |
tl |
Toggle link target display |
tu |
Toggle user name display |
tg |
Toggle group name display |
tm |
Display modified time |
ta |
Display accessed time |
tc |
Display changed time |
Sort entries in a directory.
| key | action |
|---|---|
sn |
Sort in ascending order by name |
ss |
Sort in ascending order by size |
st |
Sort in ascending order by displayed time |
sdn |
Sort in descending order by name |
sds |
Sort in descending order by size |
sdt |
Sort in descending order by displayed time |
fex should ideally compile and run on all macOS and Linux targets supported
by Zig. Some features such as opening fs items work only on macOS for now.
Portions of fex code is platform specific and Windows compatibility has not
been accounted for. This may be added in later.
| arch | macOS | Linux | Windows |
|---|---|---|---|
| arm | works | does not compile | does not compile |
| x86 | works* | works | does not compile |
Currently fex only has shell integration for Zsh. Fish and Bash integrations will be added.
works*: uses stat instead of lstat for macOS x86 so links may not be shown.
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