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Man Pages
VIFM(1) FreeBSD General Commands Manual VIFM(1)

vifm - vi file manager

vifm [OPTION]...
vifm [OPTION]... path
vifm [OPTION]... path path

Vifm is an ncurses based file manager with vi like keybindings. If you use vi, vifm gives you complete keyboard control over your files without having to learn a new set of commands.

vifm starts in the current directory unless it is given a different directory on the command line or 'vifminfo' option includes "savedirs" (in which case last visited directories are used as defaults).

-
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.

Specifying two directories triggers split view even when vifm was in single-view mode on finishing previous run. To suppress this behaviour :only command can be put in the vifmrc file.

When only one path argument is found on command-line, the left/top pane is automatically set as the current view.

Paths to files are also allowed in case you want vifm to start with some archive opened.

Open parent directory of the given path and select specified file in it.
Makes vifm instead of opening files write selection to $VIFM/vimfiles and quit.
Sets output file to write selection into on exit instead of opening files. "-" means standard output. Use empty value to disable it.
Sets output file to write last visited directory into on exit. "-" means standard output. Use empty value to disable it.
Sets separator for list of file paths written out by vifm. Empty value means null character. Default is new line character.
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.
Additional plugins directory (can appear multiple times). The last one added has the highest priority.
Log some operational details to $XDG_DATA_HOME/vifm/log or $VIFM/log. If the optional startup log path is specified and permissions allow one to open it for writing, then logging of early initialization (before configuration directories are determined) is put there.
List available server names and exit.
Name of target or this instance (sequential numbers are appended on name conflict).
Sends the rest of the command line to another instance of vifm, --server-name is treated just like any other argument and should precede --remote on the command line. When there is no server, quits silently. There is no limit on how many arguments can be processed. One can combine --remote with -c <command> or +<command> to execute commands in already running instance of vifm. See also "Client-Server" section below.
passes expression to vifm server and prints result. See also "Client-Server" section below.
-c <command> or +<command>
Run command-line mode <command> on startup. Commands in such arguments are executed in the order they appear in command line. Commands with spaces or special symbols must be enclosed in double or single quotes or all special symbols should be escaped (the exact syntax strongly depends on shell). "+" argument is equivalent to "$" and thus picks last item of of the view.
Show a brief command summary and exit vifm.
Show version information and quit.
Skip reading vifmrc and vifminfo.

See "Startup" section below for the explanations on $VIFM.

cancel most operations (see "Cancellation" section below), clear all selected files. In addition to that Escape also aborts waiting for more input when the current input is insufficient for determining the shortcut.
clear and redraw the screen. Can also reload file list in appropriate modes (like normal and visual).

The basic vi key bindings are used to move through the files and pop-up windows.

move cursor up one line.
move cursor down one line.
when 'lsview' is off move up one directory (moves to parent directory node in tree view), otherwise move left one file.
when 'lsview' is off move into a directory or launch a file, otherwise move right one file. See "Selection" section below.
move to the first line of the file list.
move to the last line in the file list.
go up one directory regardless of view representation (regular, ls-like). Also can be used to leave custom views including tree view.
enter directory or launch a file. See "Selection" section below.
move to the first file in the window.
move to the file in the middle of the window.
move to the last file in the window.
move forward one page.
move back one page.
jump back one half page.
jump forward one half page.
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.
switch file lists.
switch to the next tab (wrapping around).
{n}gt
switch to the tab number {n} (wrapping around).
switch to the previous tab (wrapping around).
{n}gT
switch to {n}-th previous tab.

[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.

redraw pane with file in top of list.
redraw pane with file in center of list.
redraw pane with file in bottom of list.
scroll pane one line down or column right (in transposed ls-like view).
scroll pane one line up or column left (in transposed ls-like view).

Second character can be entered with or without Control key.

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.

For Ctrl-W +, Ctrl-W -, Ctrl-W <, Ctrl-W >, Ctrl-W | and Ctrl-W _ commands count can be given before and/or after Ctrl-W. The resulting count is a multiplication of those two. So "2 Ctrl-W 2 -" decreases window size by 4 lines or columns.

Ctrl-W | and Ctrl-W _ maximise current view by default.

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

You can use these characters for marks [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.

There are also several special marks that can't be set manually:

  • ' (single quote) - previously visited directory of the view, thus hitting '' allows switching between two last locations
  • < - the first file of the last visually selected block
  • > - the last file of the last visually selected block

/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.

[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.

See also "Regular expressions" section.

[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.

Note: f, F, ; and , wrap around list beginning and end when they are used alone and they don't wrap when they are used as selectors.

There are three basic file filters:

  • dot files filter (does not affect "." and ".." special directories, whose appearance is controlled by the 'dotdirs' option), see 'dotfiles' option;
  • permanent filter;
  • local filter (see description of the "=" normal mode command).

Permanent filter essentially allows defining a group of files names which are not desirable to be seen by default, like temporary or backup files, which might be created alongside normal ones. Just like you don't usually need to see hidden dot files (files starting with a dot). Local filter on the other hand is for temporary immediate filtering of file list at hand, to get rid of uninterested files in the view or to make it possible to use % range in a :command.

For the purposes of more deterministic editing permanent filter is split into two parts:

  • one edited explicitly via :filter command;
  • another one which is edited implicitly via zf shortcut.

Files are tested against both parts and a match counts if at least one of the parts matched.



  " 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\/?$/

See also "Regular expressions" and "Patterns" sections.

The basic Vim folding key bindings are used for managing filters.

toggle visibility of dot files.
show dot files.
hide dot files.
add selected files to permanent filter.
reset permanent filter.
save and reset all filters.
clear local filter.
restore all filters (undoes last zR).
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.

While some of the keys make sense outside of tree-view, they are most useful in trees.

[z
go to first sibling of current entry.
]z
go to last sibling of current entry.
go to next directory sibling of current entry or do nothing.
go to previous directory sibling of current entry or do nothing.
toggle fold under the cursor or parent entry of the current file if cursor is not on a directory.

[count]:
enter command line mode. [count] generates range.
open external editor to prompt for command-line command. See "Command line editing" section for details.
open external editor to prompt for search pattern to be searched in forward direction. See "Command line editing" section for details.
open external editor to prompt for search pattern to be searched in backward direction. See "Command line editing" section for details.
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.
go backwards through directory history of current view. Nonexistent directories are automatically skipped.
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.
show a dialog with detailed information about current file. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
enter view mode (works only after activating view pane with :view command).
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.
like ga, but force update. Ignores old values of directory sizes.

If file under cursor is selected, each selected item is processed, otherwise only current file is updated.

find link destination (like l with 'followlinks' off, but also finds directories). On Windows additionally follows .lnk-files.
Same as gf, but resolves final path of the chain of symbolic links.
only for MS-Windows
same as l key, but tries to run program with administrative privileges.
go into visual mode for updating current selection, any existing selection is preserved.
go into visual mode restoring last selection.
[reg]gs
if register is present, then all files listed in that register that are visible in current view are selected.

When no register is specified, restore the last selection saved for this view (similar to what gv does for visual mode selection). When you leave a directory, its saved selection is remembered for that path and visiting the directory again restores it. Selection for up to 10 distinct file-system locations are remembered.

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.
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.
explore file in the current pane.
handle file (even if it's an executable and 'runexec' option is set).
change word is used to rename a file or files. If multiple files are selected, behaves as :rename command run without arguments.
change WORD is used to change only name of file (without extension).
change link target. If multiple files are selected, an editor is spawn to edit paths.
only for *nix
change file owner.
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}). See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
[count]C
clone file(s) [count] times.
[reg][count]dd
move files to trash directory if 'trash' option is set, otherwise delete them permanently. See "Trash directory" section below.

When "s" is present in 'cpoptions', operates on selected files or, in the absence of selection, the current one. When the flag isn't set, always operates on the current file only.

[reg]d[count]<selector>
like dd, but accepts motions/selectors.
[count]DD or D[count]<selector>
like dd and d<selector>, but always omits trash directory (even when 'trash' option is set). Affected by "s" flag in 'cpoptions'.
[reg][count]Y or [reg][count]yy
yank files.

When "s" is present in 'cpoptions', operates on selected files or, in the absence of selection, the current one. When the flag isn't set, always operates on the current file only.

[reg]y[count]<selector>
yank files specified by motion/selector.
[reg]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" and "File copying" sections below.
[reg]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.
[reg]al
put symbolic links with absolute paths.
[reg]rl
put symbolic links with relative paths.
select or unselect (tag) the current file.
undo last change.
redo last change.
in compare view of "ofboth grouppaths" kind makes corresponding entries of the other pane equal to the current one. If at least one file is selected, the command processes selection, otherwise current file.
The semantics is as follows:
- nothing is 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.
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).
same as :quit!.
same as :quit.
.
repeat last command-line command (not normal mode command) of this run (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.
{
speeds up navigation to closest previous entry of the opposite type by moving to the first file backwards when cursor is on a directory and to the first directory backwards when cursor is on a file. This is essentially a special case of ( that is locked on "dirs".
}
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 the previous selected entry or do nothing.
]s
go to the next selected entry or do nothing.
[S
same as [s, but wraps.
]S
same as ]s, but wraps.

[count]yy
yank count files starting from current cursor position downward.
delete (count + 1) files starting from current cursor position downward.

vifm supports multiple registers to temporary store lists of yanked and/or deleted files.

Registers are specified by pressing double quote key followed by a register name before typing a command. Count is specified after a register name. By default commands use unnamed register, which has double quote as its name.

Though all commands accept registers, most commands ignore them (for example, H or Ctrl-U). Other commands fill a register, append new files to it or use it as a source of list of files.

Presently vifm supports ", _, a-z and A-Z characters as register names.

As mentioned above " is unnamed register and has special meaning of the default register. Every time a named register (a-z and A-Z) is used, unnamed register is updated to contain the same list of files.

_ is black hole register. It can be used for writing, but its list is always empty.

Registers with names from a to z and from A to Z are named ones. Lowercase registers are cleared before adding new files, while uppercase ones aren't and should be used to append new files to the existing file list of a corresponding lowercase register (A for a, B for b, ...).

Registers contain each file at most once. Nonexistent files are dropped from them. In particular, registers can be changed on :empty command if they include files under trash directory (see "Trash directory" section below).

Example:



  "a2yy

puts names of two files to register a (and to the unnamed register), 


  "Add

removes one file and appends its name to register a (and to the unnamed register), 


  p or "ap or "Ap

inserts previously yanked and deleted files into current directory.

Most of selectors are like vi motions: j, k, gg, G, H, L, M, %, f, F, ;, comma, ', ^, 0 and $. But there are some additional ones.

all files in current view.
selected files.
all files except selected.

Examples:

  • dj - delete file under cursor and one below;
  • d2j - delete file under cursor and two below;
  • y6gg - yank all files from cursor position to 6th file in the list.

When you pass a count to whole command and its selector they are multiplied. So:

  • 2d2j - delete file under cursor and four below;
  • 2dj - delete file under cursor and two below;
  • 2y6gg - yank all files from cursor position to 12th file in the list.

Visual mode has two generic operating submodes:

  • plain selection as it is in Vim;
  • selection editing submode.

Both modes select files in range from cursor position at which visual mode was entered to current cursor position (let's call it "selection region"). Each of two borders can be adjusted by swapping them via "o" or "O" keys and updating cursor position with regular cursor motion keys. Obviously, once initial cursor position is altered this way, real start position becomes unavailable.

Plain Vim-like visual mode starts with cleared selection, which is not restored on rejecting selection ("Escape", "Ctrl-C", "v", "V"). Contrary to it, selection editing doesn't clear previously selected files and restores them after reject. Accepting selection by performing an operation on selected items (e.g. yanking them via "y") moves cursor to the top of current selection region (not to the top most selected file of the view).

In turn, selection editing supports three types of editing (look at status bar to know which one is currently active):

  • append - amend selection by selecting elements in selection region;
  • remove - amend selection by deselecting elements in selection region;
  • invert - amend selection by inverting selection of elements in selection region.

No matter how you activate selection editing it starts in "append". One can switch type of operation (in the order given above) via "Ctrl-G" key.

Almost all normal mode keys work in visual mode, but instead of accepting selectors they operate on selected items.

save selection and go back to normal mode not moving cursor.
leave visual mode if in amending mode (restores previous selection), otherwise switch to amending selection mode.
restore previous visual selection.
leave visual mode if not in amending mode, otherwise switch to normal visual selection.
switch type of amending by round robin scheme: append -> remove -> invert.
:
enter command line mode. Selection is cleared on leaving the mode.
switch active selection bound.
switch active selection bound.
make names of selected files lowercase.
make names of selected files uppercase.
change target of symbolic link(s).
same as running :rename command without arguments.

This mode tries to imitate the less program. List of builtin shortcuts can be found below. Shortcuts can be customized using :qmap, :qnoremap and :qunmap command-line commands.

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]).
repaint screen.
reload view preserving scroll position.
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.
switch to the next viewer. Does nothing for preview constructed via %q macro.
switch to the previous viewer. Does nothing for preview constructed via %q macro.
toggle raw mode (ignoring of defined viewers). Does nothing for preview constructed via %q macro.
[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).
invoke an editor to edit the current file being viewed. The command for editing is taken from the 'vicmd' or 'vixcmd' option value and extended with middle line number prepended by a plus sign and name of the current file.

All "Ctrl-W x" keys work the same was as in Normal mode. Active mode is automatically changed on navigating among windows. When less-like mode activated on file preview is left using one by "Ctrl-W x" keys, its state is stored until another file is displayed using preview (it's possible to leave the mode, hide preview pane, do something else, then get back to the file and show preview pane again with previously stored state in it).

These keys are available in all submodes of the command line mode: command, search, prompt and filtering.

Down, Up, Left, Right, Home, End and Delete are extended keys and they are not available if vifm is compiled with --disable-extended-keys option.

leave command line mode, cancels input. Cancelled input is saved into appropriate history and can be recalled later.
execute command and leave command line mode.
complete command or its argument on editing of a :command, complete file names in file name prompts, move cursor onto the next search match in file search prompt (including in navigation) when 'incsearch' is set.
complete in reverse order or move cursor onto the previous file search match.
stop completion and restore original input.
move cursor to the left.
move cursor to the right.
go to line beginning.
go to line end.
go to the beginning of previous word.
go to the end of next word.
remove characters from cursor position till the beginning of line.
remove characters from cursor position till the end of line.
remove character before the cursor.
remove character under the cursor.
remove characters from cursor position till the beginning of previous word.
remove characters from cursor position till the beginning of next word.
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.
insert last part of previous command to current cursor position. Each next call will insert last part of older command.
edit command-line content in external editor. See "Command line editing" section for details.
recall more recent command-line from history.
recall older command-line from history.
recall more recent command-line from history, that begins as the current command-line.
recall older command-line from history, that begins as the current command-line.
trigger abbreviation expansion.
Ctrl-R =
insert result of evaluating an expression. Expression is to be entered via nested command-line prompt (where this key does nothing). Expansion of an erroneous expression is empty.

In order to streamline navigation through directory tree, you can enter a special form of command-line mode from search or local filter prompt. Once activated, pressing Enter opens currently selected directory and clears the prompt in anticipation of the next component of the path. If entry under the cursor is a file, it is opened and the mode is finished.

This behaviour is embedded in a command-line mode, but doesn't update input histories nor expands abbreviations and redefines some of the mode's mappings for the purpose of faster navigation through the file system rather than command-line editing. When on, prompt gets "nav" prefix.

You can enable this behaviour on search by default via a mapping like:



    nnoremap / /<c-y>
enter navigation mode. Works only for search and local filter started from a normal mode and only when 'incsearch' is set ('wrapscan' is also nice to have set for search).
return to a regular command-line mode.
either enter a directory under the cursor without leaving the mode and clear the prompt or leave the mode for files. If 'navoptions' specifies "open:all" a file under the cursor is opened after leaving the mode.
go to parent directory.
leave the mode without undoing cursor position or filter state.
move view cursor down.
move view cursor up.
scroll view down.
scroll view up.
move view cursor to the first item.
move view cursor to the last item.

The shortcuts listed below insert specified values into current cursor position. Last key of every shortcut references value that it inserts:
- c - [c]urrent file
- d - [d]irectory path
- e - [e]xtension of a file name
- r - [r]oot part of a file name
- t - [t]ail part of directory path


- a - [a]utomatic filter
- m - [m]anual filter
- = - local filter, which is bound to "=" in normal mode

Values related to filelist in current pane are available through Ctrl-X prefix, while values from the other pane have doubled Ctrl-X key as their prefix (doubled Ctrl-X is presumably easier to type than uppercase letters; it's still easy to remap the keys to correspond to names of similar macros).

name of the current file of the active pane.
path to the current directory of the active pane.
extension of the current file of the active pane.
name root of current file of the active pane.
the last component of path to the current directory of the active pane.
name of the current file of the inactive pane.
path to the current directory of the inactive pane.
extension of the current file of the inactive pane.
name root of current file of the inactive pane.
the last component of path to the current directory of the inactive pane.

value of implicit permanent filter (old name "automatic") of the active pane.
value of explicit permanent filter (old name "manual") of the active pane.
value of local filter of the active pane.

last pattern from search history.

vifm provides a facility to edit several kinds of data, that is usually edited in command-line mode, in external editor (using command specified by 'vicmd' or 'vixcmd' option). This has at least two advantages over built-in command-line mode:
- one can use full power of Vim to edit text;
- finding and reusing history entries becomes possible.

The facility is supported by four input submodes of the command-line:
- command;
- forward search;
- backward search;
- file rename (see description of cw and cW normal mode keys).

Editing command-line using external editor is activated by the Ctrl-G shortcut. It's also possible to do almost the same from Normal and Visual modes using q:, q/ and q? commands.

Temporary file created for the purpose of editing the line has the following structure:

1.
First line, which is either empty or contains text already entered in command-line.
2.
2nd and all other lines with history items starting with the most recent one. Altering this lines in any way won't change history items stored by vifm.

After editing application is finished the first line of the file is taken as the result of operation, when the application returns zero exit code. If the application returns an error (see :cquit command in Vim), all the edits made to the file are ignored, but the initial value of the first line is saved in appropriate history.

This is the mode that appears when status bar content is so big that it doesn't fit on the screen. One can identify the mode by "-- More --" message at the bottom.

The following keys are handled in this mode:

scroll one line down.
scroll one line up.

scroll one page (half of a screen) down.
scroll one page (half of a screen) up.

scroll down a screen.
b or PageUp
scroll up a screen.

scroll to the bottom.
scroll to the top.

quit the mode.
:
switch to command-line mode.

Commands are executed with :command_name<Enter>

Commented out lines should start with the double quote symbol ("), which may be preceded by whitespace characters intermixed with colons. Inline comments can be added at the end of the line after double quote symbol, only last line of a multi-line command can contain such comment. Not all commands support inline comments as it's not always possible to identify one unambiguously:

  • the syntax conflicts with names of registers
  • the syntax conflicts with quoting arguments to commands
  • mapping/abbreviation commands can expand to arbitrary sequences which can look like a comment without being one

Most of the commands have two forms: complete and the short one. Example:



  :noh[lsearch]
This means the complete command is nohlsearch, and the short one is noh.

Most of command-line commands completely reset selection in the current view. However, there are several exceptions:

  • `:invert s` most likely leaves some files selected;
  • :view command;
  • :normal command (when it doesn't leave command-line mode);
  • :if and :else commands don't affect selection on successful execution.

'|' can be used to separate commands, so you can give multiple commands in one line. If you want to use '|' in an argument, precede it with '\'.

These commands see '|' as part of their arguments even when it's escaped:


:[range]!
:amap
:anoremap
:autocmd
:cabbrev
:cmap
:cnoreabbrev
:cnoremap
:command
:dmap
:dnoremap
:filetype
:fileviewer
:filextype
:keepsel
:map
:mmap
:mnoremap
:nmap
:nnoremap
:noremap
:normal
:qmap
:qnoremap
:vmap
:vnoremap
:wincmd
:windo
:wingo
:winrun

To be able to use another command after one of these, wrap it with the :execute command. An example:



  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 &

same as above, but the command is run in the background using vifm's means.

Programs that write to stderr create error dialogs showing errors of the command.

Note the space before ampersand symbol, if you omit it, command will be run in the background using job control of your shell.

Accepts macros.

:!!
:[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.
:[range]alink[!?] -skip ...
see "-skip parameter" section below.
: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. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
:autocmd
:au[tocmd] {event} {pat} {cmd}
register autocommand for the {event}, which can be:
- DirEnter - triggered after directory is changed
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. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
: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. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
: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.
:call
:cal[l] {function}([{expr1}, ...])
invoke a {function} discarding its return value.
Unlike in Vim, a call expression followed by trailing characters is not invoked.
:chistory
:chi[story]
display menu of saved menus. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls, also see "Menus history" section.
:cnoreabbrev
:cnorea[bbrev]
display menu of command-line mode abbreviations. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
: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.
:cds
:cds[!] pattern string
navigate to path obtained by substituting first match in current path. Arguments can include slashes, but starting first argument with a separator will activate below form of the command. Specifying "!" changes directory of both panes.

Available flags:

  • i - ignore case (the 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' options are not used)
  • I - don't ignore case (the 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' options are not used)
:cds[!]/pattern/string/[flags]
same as above, but with :substitute-like syntax. Other punctuation characters can be used as separators.
:change
:c[hange]
show a dialog to alter properties of files.
: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. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
: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).
:colo[rscheme] color_scheme_name color_scheme_name...
loads the first color scheme in the order given that exists and is supported by the terminal. If none matches, current one remains unchanged. For example: 


  " use a separate color scheme for panes which are inside FUSE mounts


  execute 'colorscheme in-fuse' &fusehome
:comclear
:comc[lear]
remove all user defined commands.
:command
:com[mand]
display a menu of user commands. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
:com[mand] prefix
display user defined commands that start with the prefix.
:com[mand] name action[ &]
set or redefine a user command.
Use :com[mand]! to overwrite a previously set command of the same name. Builtin commands can't be redefined.
User commands must start with an upper or lower case letter. Command name can't contain special symbols except for a single trailing '?' or '!'. Numbers are allowed provided that they don't cause parsing ambiguity (no command name prefix that precedes a digit can match an existing command unless it has a digit in the same place), for example: 


  " good


  :command mp3 command


  " good


  :command mp4 command


  :command mp3! command


  :command mp4? command


  " bad


  :command mp command


  :command mp44 command


  " good


  :command mp4c command

User commands are run in a shell by default (see below for syntax of other options). To run a command in the background you must mark it as a background command by adding " &" after the command's action (e.g., `:com rm rm %f &`).
User commands of all kinds have macros expanded in them. See "Command macros" section for more information.

: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] name :commands
set kind of an alias for internal commands (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 | withicase | withrcase |
showidentical | showdifferent | showuniqueleft | showuniqueright]...
compare files in one or two views according to the arguments. The default is "bycontents listall ofboth grouppaths showidentical showdifferent showuniqueleft showuniqueright". See "Compare views" section below for details. Diff structure is incompatible with alternative representations, so values of 'lsview' and 'millerview' options are ignored.
:compare! (showidentical | showdifferent | showuniqueleft |
showuniqueright)... this invocation form works only when compare view is active and results in redoing of the previous :compare with toggled state of the passed in options.
:copen
:cope[n]
reopens the last visible menu that has navigation to files by default, if any. See also "Menus history" section.
: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
:[range]co[py][!?] -skip ...[ &]
see "-skip parameter" below.

Also see "File copying" section below.

: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.
:delsession
:delsession
delete specified session if it was stored previously. Deleting current session doesn't detach it.
: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 in a menu. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
: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. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
: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 and "Selection" section for how selection is handled. 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 and "Selection" section for how selection is handled. 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 by presence of non-empty $DISPLAY or $WAYLAND_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. Supports Lua handlers.

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.
:goto
:go[to]
change directory if necessary and put specified path under the cursor. The path should be existing non-root path. Macros and environment variables are expanded.
: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][!]
repeat 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.
:hideui
:hideui
hide interface to show previous commands' output.
: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/ )
remove specified rule.
:hi[ghlight] ( group-name | column: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 | column:name | {pat1,pat2,...} | /regexp/[iI] ) cterm=style | ctermfg=color | ctermbg=color | gui=style | guifg=color | guibg=color
set style (cterm, gui), foreground (ctermfg, guifg) and/or background (ctermbg, guibg) parameters of highlight group or file name pattern for color scheme used in the active view.

Group names, style values and color names are case insensitive. Note that this doesn't include column names as that would make builtin and custom columns indistinguishable.

Available group-name values:
- Win - color of all windows (views, dialogs, menus) and default color for their content (e.g. regular files in views)
- AuxWin - color of auxiliary areas of windows
- OtherWin - color of inactive pane
- Border - color of vertical parts of the border
- TabLine - tab line color (for 'tabscope' set to "global")
- TabLineSel - color of the tip of selected tab (regardless of 'tabscope')
- TopLine - top line color of the other pane
- TopLineSel - top line color of the current pane
- CmdLine - the command line/status bar color
- ErrorMsg - color of error messages in the status bar
- StatusLine - color of the line above the status bar
- JobLine - color of job line that appears above the status line
- WildBox - color of the wild menu
- WildMenu - color of the selected wild menu item
- SuggestBox - color of key suggestion box
- CurrLine - line at cursor position in active view
- OtherLine - line at cursor position in inactive view
- OddLine - color of every second entry line in a pane
- LineNr - line number column of views
- Selected - color of selected files
- Directory - color of directories
- Link - color of symbolic links in the views
- BrokenLink - color of broken symbolic links
- HardLink - color of regular files with more than one hard link
- Socket - color of sockets
- Device - color of block and character devices
- Executable - color of executable files
- Fifo - color of fifo pipes
- CmpMismatch - color of mismatched files in side-by-side comparison by path
- CmpUnmatched - comparison file entry that has no pair in the other pane
- CmpBlank - entry placeholder in a compare view, paired with CmpUnmatched
- User1..User20 - 20 colors which can be used via %* 'statusline' macro

Column names match names of columns of |vifm-'viewcolumns'| option, which in turn are based on values of |vifm-'sort'| and custom columns added from Lua. Regardless of the source, columns are specified as "column:{name}", for example:



  highlight column:fileext ctermfg=red

Available style values (some of them can be combined):
- bold
- underline
- reverse or inverse
- standout
- italic (on unsupported systems becomes reverse)
- combine - add attributes of current group to attributes of the parent in group hierarchy (see below) instead of replacing them
- none

Available colors:
- -1 or default or none - default or transparent
- black and lightblack
- red and lightred
- green and lightgreen
- yellow and lightyellow
- blue and lightblue
- magenta and lightmagenta
- cyan and lightcyan
- white and lightwhite
- 0-255 - corresponding colors from 256-color palette (for ctermfg and ctermbg)
- #rrggbb - direct ("gui", "true", 24-bit) color in hex-notation, each of the three components are in the range 0x00 to 0xff (for guifg and guibg)

Light versions of colors are regular colors with bold attribute set automatically in terminals that have less than 16 colors. So order of arguments of :highlight command is important and it's better to put "cterm" in front of others to prevent it from overwriting attributes set by "ctermfg" or "ctermbg" arguments.

For convenience of color scheme authors xterm-like names for 256 color palette is also supported. The mapping is taken from http://vim.wikia.com/wiki/Xterm256_color_names_for_console_Vim
Duplicated entries were altered by adding an underscore followed by numerical suffix.


0 Black 86 Aquamarine1 172 Orange3
1 Red 87 DarkSlateGray2 173 LightSalmon3_2
2 Green 88 DarkRed_2 174 LightPink3
3 Yellow 89 DeepPink4_2 175 Pink3
4 Blue 90 DarkMagenta 176 Plum3
5 Magenta 91 DarkMagenta_2 177 Violet
6 Cyan 92 DarkViolet 178 Gold3_2
7 White 93 Purple 179 LightGoldenrod3
8 LightBlack 94 Orange4_2 180 Tan
9 LightRed 95 LightPink4 181 MistyRose3
10 LightGreen 96 Plum4 182 Thistle3
11 LightYellow 97 MediumPurple3 183 Plum2
12 LightBlue 98 MediumPurple3_2 184 Yellow3_2
13 LightMagenta 99 SlateBlue1 185 Khaki3
14 LightCyan 100 Yellow4 186 LightGoldenrod2
15 LightWhite 101 Wheat4 187 LightYellow3
16 Grey0 102 Grey53 188 Grey84
17 NavyBlue 103 LightSlateGrey 189 LightSteelBlue1
18 DarkBlue 104 MediumPurple 190 Yellow2
19 Blue3 105 LightSlateBlue 191 DarkOliveGreen1
20 Blue3_2 106 Yellow4_2 192 DarkOliveGreen1_2
21 Blue1 107 DarkOliveGreen3 193 DarkSeaGreen1_2
22 DarkGreen 108 DarkSeaGreen 194 Honeydew2
23 DeepSkyBlue4 109 LightSkyBlue3 195 LightCyan1
24 DeepSkyBlue4_2 110 LightSkyBlue3_2 196 Red1
25 DeepSkyBlue4_3 111 SkyBlue2 197 DeepPink2
26 DodgerBlue3 112 Chartreuse2_2 198 DeepPink1
27 DodgerBlue2 113 DarkOliveGreen3_2 199 DeepPink1_2
28 Green4 114 PaleGreen3_2 200 Magenta2_2
29 SpringGreen4 115 DarkSeaGreen3 201 Magenta1
30 Turquoise4 116 DarkSlateGray3 202 OrangeRed1
31 DeepSkyBlue3 117 SkyBlue1 203 IndianRed1
32 DeepSkyBlue3_2 118 Chartreuse1 204 IndianRed1_2
33 DodgerBlue1 119 LightGreen_2 205 HotPink
34 Green3 120 LightGreen_3 206 HotPink_2
35 SpringGreen3 121 PaleGreen1 207 MediumOrchid1_2
36 DarkCyan 122 Aquamarine1_2 208 DarkOrange
37 LightSeaGreen 123 DarkSlateGray1 209 Salmon1
38 DeepSkyBlue2 124 Red3 210 LightCoral
39 DeepSkyBlue1 125 DeepPink4_3 211 PaleVioletRed1
40 Green3_2 126 MediumVioletRed 212 Orchid2
41 SpringGreen3_2 127 Magenta3 213 Orchid1
42 SpringGreen2 128 DarkViolet_2 214 Orange1
43 Cyan3 129 Purple_2 215 SandyBrown
44 DarkTurquoise 130 DarkOrange3 216 LightSalmon1
45 Turquoise2 131 IndianRed 217 LightPink1
46 Green1 132 HotPink3 218 Pink1
47 SpringGreen2_2 133 MediumOrchid3 219 Plum1
48 SpringGreen1 134 MediumOrchid 220 Gold1
49 MediumSpringGreen 135 MediumPurple2 221 LightGoldenrod2_2
50 Cyan2 136 DarkGoldenrod 222 LightGoldenrod2_3
51 Cyan1 137 LightSalmon3 223 NavajoWhite1
52 DarkRed 138 RosyBrown 224 MistyRose1
53 DeepPink4 139 Grey63 225 Thistle1
54 Purple4 140 MediumPurple2_2 226 Yellow1
55 Purple4_2 141 MediumPurple1 227 LightGoldenrod1
56 Purple3 142 Gold3 228 Khaki1
57 BlueViolet 143 DarkKhaki 229 Wheat1
58 Orange4 144 NavajoWhite3 230 Cornsilk1
59 Grey37 145 Grey69 231 Grey100
60 MediumPurple4 146 LightSteelBlue3 232 Grey3
61 SlateBlue3 147 LightSteelBlue 233 Grey7
62 SlateBlue3_2 148 Yellow3 234 Grey11
63 RoyalBlue1 149 DarkOliveGreen3_3 235 Grey15
64 Chartreuse4 150 DarkSeaGreen3_2 236 Grey19
65 DarkSeaGreen4 151 DarkSeaGreen2 237 Grey23
66 PaleTurquoise4 152 LightCyan3 238 Grey27
67 SteelBlue 153 LightSkyBlue1 239 Grey30
68 SteelBlue3 154 GreenYellow 240 Grey35
69 CornflowerBlue 155 DarkOliveGreen2 241 Grey39
70 Chartreuse3 156 PaleGreen1_2 242 Grey42
71 DarkSeaGreen4_2 157 DarkSeaGreen2_2 243 Grey46
72 CadetBlue 158 DarkSeaGreen1 244 Grey50
73 CadetBlue_2 159 PaleTurquoise1 245 Grey54
74 SkyBlue3 160 Red3_2 246 Grey58
75 SteelBlue1 161 DeepPink3 247 Grey62
76 Chartreuse3_2 162 DeepPink3_2 248 Grey66
77 PaleGreen3 163 Magenta3_2 249 Grey70
78 SeaGreen3 164 Magenta3_3 250 Grey74
79 Aquamarine3 165 Magenta2 251 Grey78
80 MediumTurquoise 166 DarkOrange3_2 252 Grey82
81 SteelBlue1_2 167 IndianRed_2 253 Grey85
82 Chartreuse2 168 HotPink3_2 254 Grey89
83 SeaGreen2 169 HotPink2 255 Grey93
84 SeaGreen1 170 Orchid
85 SeaGreen1_2 171 MediumOrchid1

There are two colors (foreground and background) and only one bold attribute. Thus single bold attribute affects both colors when "reverse" attribute is used in vifm run inside terminal emulator. At the same time linux native console can handle boldness of foreground and background colors independently, but for consistency with terminal emulators this is available only implicitly by using light versions of colors. This behaviour might be changed in the future.

Although vifm supports 256 colors in a sense they are supported by UI drawing library, whether you will be able to use all of them highly depends on your terminal. To set up terminal properly, make sure that $TERM in the environment you run vifm is set to name of 256-color terminal (on *nixes it can also be set via X resources), e.g. xterm-256color. One can find list of available terminal names by listing /usr/lib/terminfo/. Number of colors supported by terminal with current settings can be checked via "tput colors" command.

In order to use 24-bit colors one needs a terminal that supports them, corresponding terminfo record (probably ends in "-direct" like in "xterm-direct") and $TERM pointing to it. When vifm detects direct color support "cterm*" values are ignored for groups which have at least one of "gui*" values set, otherwise they are used after translating via a builtin palette.

Here is the hierarchy of highlight groups, which you need to know for using transparency:
JobLine
SuggestBox
StatusLine
WildBox
WildMenu
User1..User20
Border
CmdLine
ErrorMsg
Win
OtherWin
AuxWin
OddLine
Column highlights
File name specific highlights
Directory
Link
BrokenLink
HardLink
Socket
Device
Fifo
Executable
CmpMismatch
CmpUnmatched
CmpBlank
Selected
CurrLine
LineNr (in active pane)
OtherLine
LineNr (in inactive pane)
TopLine
TopLineSel
TabLineSel (for pane tabs)
User1..User20
TabLine
TabLineSel
User1..User20

"none" means default terminal color for highlight groups at the first level of the hierarchy and transparency for all others.

Here file name specific highlights mean those configured via globs ({}) or regular expressions (//). At most one of them is applied per file entry, namely the first that matches file name, hence order of :highlight commands might be important in certain cases.

:history
:his[tory]
display a menu with list of visited directories. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
: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 local filter history (see description of the "=" normal mode command).
e[xprreg] show expression register history (see description of Ctrl+R = in command-line mode).
mc[md] show command-line history of menus.
See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
: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}
start conditional block. Commands are executed until next matching :elseif, :else or :endif command if {expr1} evaluates to non-zero, otherwise they are ignored. An error during evaluation of {expr1} results in not taking any conditional branches (not even an else-branch). 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
display menu of current backgrounded processes. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
:keepsel
:keepsel [command...]
preserve selection during some :command by default. Note that this doesn't save and restore selection to preserve it no matter what, but precludes its clearing at the end of a command and thus won't help if selection is cleared explicitly during operation.

Example:



  :keepsel view
:let
:let $ENV_VAR = <expr>
set an 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.
: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. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
:locate
repeat 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
display 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. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
:mark
:[range]ma[rk][?] x [/full/dir/path [filename]]
set mark x (a-zA-Z0-9) at /full/dir/path and filename. By default current file in current directory is used. If no filename was given and /full/dir/path is current directory, then the last file of the [range] is used. Question mark stops the command from overwriting an existing mark. Macros and environment variables are expanded.
:marks
:marks
create a pop-up menu of marks. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
:marks list ...
display the contents of the marks that are mentioned in list.
:media
:media
only for *nix
display media management menu. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls. See also 'mediaprg' option.
: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.
:[range]m[ove][!?] -skip ...[ &]
see "-skip parameter" section below.
: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.
:open
:[range]o[pen]
open current file, selection or files in the range as if Enter was pressed.
:plugin
:plugin load
loads all plugins. To be used in configuration file to manually load plugins at an earlier point. The plugins can be loaded only once, additional calls will do nothing.
:plugin blacklist {plugin}
adds {plugin} to the list of plugins to be ignored.
:plugin whitelist {plugin}
adds {plugin} to the list of plugins to be loaded while ignoring all other plugins. This list should normally be empty.
:plugins
:plugins
open plugins menu. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
: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] [ &]
put 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.
:qall
:qa[ll][!]
exit vifm (add ! to skip saving changes and checking for active backgrounded commands).
:quit
:q[uit][!]
if there is more than one tab, close the current one, otherwise exit vifm (add ! to skip saving state and checking for active backgrounded commands).
:redraw
:redr[aw]
redraw the screen immediately.
:regedit
:rege[dit] [{reg}]
edit register contents using external editor. If {reg} is omitted, unnamed register will be edited by default. Edited paths are normalized (no extra `.`, `..`, `/`, etc.) and all relative paths are treated as starting in the directory of the current view.
: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).
:regular
:regular
:rename
:[range]rename[!]
rename files by editing their names in an editor. "!" renames files recursively in subdirectories. See "External Renaming" section.
:[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, vifmrc and session files and run startup commands passed in the argument list, thus losing all unsaved changes (e.g. recent history or keys mapped after starting this instance). Session that wasn't yet stored gets reset.

While many things get reset, some basic UI state and current locations are preserved, including tabs.

:restart full
variation of :restart that makes no attempt to preserve anything.
: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.
:[range]rlink[!?] -skip ...[ &]
see "-skip parameter" section below.
: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.

Note: the command is called screen for historical reasons (when tmux wasn't yet supported) and might be changed in future releases, or get an alias.

: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.
:session
:session?
print name of the current session.
:session
detach current session without saving it. Resets v:session.
:session name
create or load and switch to a session with the specified name. Name can't contain slashes. Session active at the moment is saved before the switch. Session is also automatically saved when quitting the application in usual ways. Sets v:session.
:session -
switch to a previous session if it still exists (wasn't removed or detached from without saving).
: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, option-=x and option^=x
- for enumeration options - option=x, option+=x and option-=x
- for set options - option=x, 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, where one can select the 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). See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
: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).
:stop
:st[op]
suspend vifm (same as pressing Ctrl-Z). Does nothing if this instance isn't running in a shell. The command exists to allow mapping to the action of Ctrl-Z.
:substitute
:[range]s[ubstitute]/pattern/string/[flags]
for each file in range replace a match of pattern with string.

String can contain \0...\9 to link to capture groups (\0 - all match, \1 - first group, etc.).

Pattern is stored in search history.

Available flags:

  • i - ignore case (the 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' options are not used)
  • I - don't ignore case (the 'ignorecase' and 'smartcase' options are not used)
  • g - substitute all matches in each file name (each g toggles this)
:[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:
  • location - current directory of the pane;
  • cursorpos - cursor position (doesn't make sense without "location");
  • localopts - all local options;
  • filters - all filters;
  • filelist - list of files for custom view (implies "location");
  • tree - tree structure for tree view (implies "location");
  • all - all of the above.
:tabclose
:tabc[lose]
close current tab, unless it's the only one open at current scope.
:tabmove
:tabm[ove] [N]
without the argument or with `$` as the argument, current tab becomes the last tab. With the argument, current tab is moved after the tab with the specified number. Argument of `0` moves current tab to the first position.
:tabname
:tabname [name]
set, update or reset (when no argument is provided) name of the current tab.
:tabnew
:tabnew [path]
create new tab. Accepts optional path for the new tab. Macros and environment variables are expanded.
:tabnext
:tabn[ext]
switch to the next tab (wrapping around).
:tabn[ext] {n}
go to the tab number {n}. Tab numeration starts with 1.
:tabonly
:tabo[nly]
close all tabs but the current one. Closes pane tabs only at the active side.
:tabprevious
:tabp[revious]
switch to the previous tab (wrapping around).
:tabp[revious] {n}
go to the {n}-th previous tab. Note that :tabnext handles its argument differently.
: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 its 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.

To leave tree view go up from its root or use gh at any level of the tree. Any command that changes directory will also do, in particular, `:cd ..`.

Tree structure is incompatible with alternative representations, so values of 'lsview' and 'millerview' options are ignored.

The "depth" argument specifies nesting level on which loading of subdirectories won't happen (they will be folded). Values start at 1.

:tree!
toggle current view in and out of tree mode.
:undolist
:undol[ist]
display list of latest changes. Use "!" to see actual commands. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
:unlet
:unl[et][!] {var}...
remove one or more environment (`$VAR`) or global (`g:global`) variables. Use "!" to omit displaying 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 (preview of file's contents). See also 'quickview' option.
: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. See "Menus and dialogs" section for controls.
: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).
:wingo
:wingo {id} [{substr}]
navigate to a view by its id number. The {substr} part is used for completion (can be any number of words, only leading whitespace is removed). The view will become the current one by switching to the corresponding tab and pane. Matching is case sensitive substring search in view title or its full current path (with `~` expanded regardless of any settings).
:wingo {substr}
this form navigates to a view that is uniquely identified by {substr} or errors. The form will not be used if the first word of {substr} is a valid number that starts with a digit (i.e., no `+` or `-` in front).
: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 current state to vifminfo and session files (if a session is active).
:wq
:wq[!]
same as :quit, but ! disables only the check of backgrounded commands, while state of the application is always written. :wqall
:wqa[ll][!]
same as :qall, but ! disables only the check of backgrounded commands, while state of the application is always written.
:xall
:xa[ll][!]
same as :qall.
:xit
:x[it][!]
same as :quit.
: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.

:amap :cmap :dmap :mmap :nmap :qmap :vmap
:amap lhs rhs
map lhs to rhs in navigation mode.
: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
:amap
list all maps in navigation mode.
: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
:amap beginning
list all maps in navigation mode that start with the 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 don't expand user mappings in rhs.
:no[remap]! lhs rhs
map the key sequence lhs to rhs for command line mode, but don't expand user mappings in rhs.
:anoremap :cnoremap :dnoremap :mnoremap :nnoremap :qnoremap :vnoremap
:anoremap lhs rhs
map the key sequence lhs to rhs for navigation mode, but don't expand user mappings in rhs.
:cno[remap] lhs rhs
map the key sequence lhs to rhs for command line mode, but don't expand user mappings in rhs.
:dn[oremap] lhs rhs
map the key sequence lhs to rhs for dialog modes, but don't expand user mappings in rhs.
:mn[oremap] lhs rhs
map the key sequence lhs to rhs for menu mode, but don't expand user mappings in rhs.
:nn[oremap] lhs rhs
map the key sequence lhs to rhs for normal mode, but don't expand user mappings in rhs.
:qn[oremap] lhs rhs
map the key sequence lhs to rhs for view mode, but don't expand user mappings in rhs.
:vn[oremap] lhs rhs
map the key sequence lhs to rhs for visual mode, but don't expand user mappings in rhs.
:unmap
:unm[ap] lhs
remove user mapping of lhs from normal and visual modes.
:unm[ap]! lhs
remove user mapping of lhs from command line mode.
:aunmap :cunmap :dunmap :munmap :nunmap :qunmap :vunmap
:aunmap lhs
remove user mapping of lhs from navigation mode.
:cu[nmap] lhs
remove user mapping of lhs from command line mode.
:du[nmap] lhs
remove user mapping of lhs from dialog modes.
:mu[nmap] lhs
remove user mapping of lhs from menu mode.
:nun[map] lhs
remove user mapping of lhs from normal mode.
:qun[map] lhs
remove user mapping of lhs from view mode.
:vu[nmap] lhs
remove user mapping of lhs from visual mode.

The ranges implemented include:
2,3 - from second to third file in the list (including it)
% - the entire directory.
. - the current position in the filelist.
$ - the end of the filelist.
't - the mark position t.

Examples:



  :%delete
would delete all files in the directory. 


  :2,4delete

would delete the files in the list positions 2 through 4.



  :.,$delete

would delete the files from the current position to the end of the filelist.



  :3delete4

would delete the files in the list positions 3, 4, 5, 6.

If a backward range is given :4,2delete - an query message is given and user can chose what to do next.

The builtin commands that accept a range are :d[elete] and :y[ank].

Some of the command-line commands accept parameters in the form of `-paramname`. Arguments of such commands can be split into two groups: parameters and positional arguments. Items from the two groups cannot be interleaved and parameters always come first. List of parameters is terminated implicitly by the first argument that doesn't start with a dash ("-") or explicitly via "--" separator (needs to be a separate argument), which is just discarded. These strict rules allow arbitrary positional arguments, such as file names that start with a dash.

This parameter makes :copy, :move, :alink and :rlink automatically skip source files that already exist at the destination rather than refusing to perform the operation.

The command macros may be used in user commands.

%a
User arguments. When user arguments contain macros, they are expanded before performing 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 or the current file, but see "Selection" section below.
%F %"F
Same as %f, %"f, but for the inactive pane.
%l %"l
List of selected files. Unlike %f from above, this is only for explicit selection (i.e., not via a range) and is empty if no files are selected.
%L %"L
Same as %l, %"l, but for the inactive pane.
%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 horizontally split window of active terminal multiplexer (ignored if not running inside one).
%v
Same as %s, but splits vertically.
%n
Forbid use of terminal multiplexer to run the command.
%N
Do not detach viewer from terminal session (keeps `/dev/tty` available) or process group (keeps the command in the set of foreground clients of the terminal). This flag is a workaround for rare commands/terminals which might need a working TTY for :fileviewer command to operate correctly and has no effect otherwise.
%i
Run in background and suppress error dialogs, but collect errors internally for viewing via :jobs menu. This macro doesn't detach the command from terminal session (`/dev/tty`) on its own, add " &" to leave the command without access to the terminal.
%Pl
Pipe list of files to standard input of a command.
%Pz
Same as %Pl, but separates paths by null ('\0') character.
%pc
Marks the end of the main command and the beginning of the clear command for graphical preview, which is invoked on closing preview of a file.
%pd
Marks a preview command as one that directly communicates with the terminal. Beware that this is for things like sixel which are self-contained sequences that depend only on current cursor position, using this with anything else is likely to mangle terminal state.
%pu
Uncached preview. Intended to be used for commands that just send file path somewhere for preview.

The following dimensions and coordinates are in characters:

%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.

Use %% if you need to put a percent sign in your command.

Note that %i, %Iu, %IU, %m, %M, %n, %q, %s, %S, %u, %U and %v macros are mutually exclusive. Only the last one of them in the command will take effect.

Note that %Pl and %Pz are mutually exclusive. Only the last one of them in the command will take effect.

Note that a previewer containing %pd is considered a pass-through previewer, otherwise a previewer containing both %px and %py is considered to be a graphical previewer, the rest are treated as text previewers.

You can use file name modifiers after %c, %C, %f, %F, %b, %d and %D macros. Supported modifiers are:

  • :p - full path
  • :u - UNC name of path (e.g. "\\server" in "\\server\share"), Windows only. Expands to current computer name for not UNC paths.
  • :~ - relative to the home directory
  • :. - relative to current directory
  • :h - head of the file name
  • :t - tail of the file name
  • :r - root of the file name (without last extension)
  • :e - extension of the file name (last one)
  • :s?pat?sub? - substitute the first occurrence of pat with sub. You can use any character for '?', but it must not occur in pat or sub.
  • :gs?pat?sub? - like :s, but substitutes all occurrences of pat with sub.

See ':h filename-modifiers' in Vim's documentation for the detailed description.

Using %x means expand corresponding macro escaping all characters that have special meaning. And %"x means using of double quotes and escape only backslash and double quote characters, which is more useful on Windows systems.

Position and quantity (if there is any) of %m, %M, %S or %s macros in the command is unimportant. All their occurrences are removed from the resulting command.

%c and %f macros are expanded to relative paths, while %C and %F are always expanded to full paths. The same applies to %f and %F implicitly used by %b.

:com move mv %f %D
set the :move command to move all of the files selected in the current directory to the other directory.
: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.
  • GUI applications that doesn't fork thus block vifm (:!sxiv %f &);
  • console tools that do not work with terminal (:!mv %f %D &).

  




%m, %M, %s, %S, %u and %U macros cannot be combined with
    background mark (" &") as it doesn't make much sense.








File system operations can take a lot of time to proceed. That's
    why vifm supports backgrounding them. To run :copy, :move or :delete command
    in background just append " &" to it.


For each background operation a new thread is created. Job
    cancellation can be requested in the :jobs menu via dd shortcut.


You can check if a command is still running in the :jobs menu.
    Backgrounded commands have progress instead of process id at the beginning
    of the line.


Background operations cannot be undone.


See "File copying" section below.








Note that cancellation works somewhat different on Windows
    platform due to different mechanism of break signal propagation. One also
    might need to use Ctrl-Break shortcut instead of Ctrl-C.


There are two types of operations that can be cancelled:




    
  
  • file system operations;
    • 
  
  • mounting with FUSE (but not unmounting as it can cause loss of data);
    • 
  
  • calls of external applications.
    • 





Note that vifm never terminates applications, it sends SIGINT
    signal and lets the application quit normally.


When one of a set of operations is cancelled (e.g. copying of 5th
    file of 10 files), further operations are cancelled too. In this case undo
    history will contain only actually performed operations.


Cancelled operations are indicated by "(cancelled)"
    suffix appended to information message on status bar.


File system operations


Currently the following commands can be cancelled: :alink, :chmod,
    :chown, :clone, :copy, :delete, :mkdir, :move, :restore, :rlink, :touch.
    File putting (on p/P key) can be cancelled as well. It's not hard to see
    that these are mainly long-running operations.


Cancelling commands when they are repeated for undo/redo
    operations is allowed for convenience, but is not recommended as further
    undo/redo operations might get blocked by side-effects of partially
    cancelled group of operations.


These commands can't be cancelled: :empty, :rename, :substitute,
    :tr.


Mounting with FUSE


It's not considered to be an error, so only a notification on the
    status bar is shown.


External application calls


Each of these operations can be cancelled: :apropos, :find, :grep,
    :locate.








If there is a selection, it's stashed before proceeding further
    unless file under the cursor is part of that selection. This means that when
    macros are expanded for :filetype or :filextype programs, `%f` and `%F`
    become equivalent to `%c` and `%C` respectively if current file is not
    selected. So you run selection by running one of selected files, otherwise
    you're running a single file even if there are other selected entries.


When running a selection it must not include broken symbolic
    links, has to be consistent and set of file handlers must be compatible.
    Consistency means that selection contains either only directories (including
    links to them) or only files, but not their mix.


Compatibility is a more sophisticated check, but it's defined in a
    natural way so that you get what you'd expect. The following properties of
    selection are taken into account while checking it for compatibility and
    deciding how to handle it:







  
1.

  
If there any files for which handler isn't defined, then all files are
      opened using 'vicmd' or 'vixcmd'.
    

  

  
2.

  
If all handlers match the following criteria:
    

     - backgrounded
    

     - include `%c`/`%"c` and/or `%C`/`%"C`
    

     - include neither `%f`/`%"f` nor `%F`/`%"F`
    

    then each file is executed independently of the rest.
    

  

  
3.

  
If all handlers are equal, the common handler is executed. This handler
      might ignore selection and process only file under the cursor.
    

  

  
4.

  
Otherwise, an error is reported, because handlers differ and they don't
      support parallel execution.












:highlight, :filetype, :filextype, :fileviewer commands and
    'classify' option support globs, regular expressions and mime types to match
    file names or their paths. Directory paths get an implicit trailing slash on
    matching against a pattern, keep that in mind for globs or regular
    expressions that end with `$`.


There are six possible ways to write a single pattern:





  
1.

  
[!]{comma-separated-name-globs}

  
2.

  
[!]{{comma-separated-path-globs}}

  
3.

  
[!]/name-regular-expression/[iI]

  
4.

  
[!]//path-regular-expression//[iI]

  
5.

  
[!]<comma-separated-mime-type-globs>

  
6.

  
undecorated-pattern






First five forms can include leading exclamation mark that negates
    pattern matching.


The last form is implicitly refers to one of others. :highlight
    does not accept undecorated form, while :filetype, :filextype, :fileviewer,
    :select, :unselect and 'classify' treat it as list of name globs.


Path patterns receive absolute path of the file that includes its
    name component as well.


To combine several patterns (AND them), make sure you're using one
    of the first five forms and write patterns one after another, like this:




  <text/plain>{*.vifm}


Mind that if you make a mistake the whole string will be treated as the sixth
  form.

:filetype, :filextype and :fileviewer commands accept
    comma-separated list of patterns instead of a single pattern, thus
    effectively handling OR operation on them:




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


Forms that accept comma-separated lists of patterns also process them as lists
  of alternatives.

Patterns with regular expressions


Regular expression patterns are case insensitive by default, see
    description of commands, which might override default behaviour.


Flags of regular expressions mean the following:
  

   - "i" makes filter case insensitive;
  

   - "I" makes filter case sensitive. They can be repeated multiple
    times, but the later one takes precedence (e.g. "iiiI" is
    equivalent to "I" and "IiIi" is the same as
    "i").


There are no implicit `^` or `$`, so make sure to specify them
    explicitly if the pattern should match the whole name or path.


Patterns with globs


"Globs" section below provides short overview of globs
    and some important points that one needs to know about them.


Patterns with mime-types


Mime type matching is essentially globs matching applied to mime
    type of a file instead of its name/path. Note: mime types aren't detected on
    Windows.


Examples


Associate `evince` to PDF-files only inside
    `/home/user/downloads/` directory (excluding its subdirectories):




  :filextype //^/home/user/downloads/[^/]*.pdf$// evince %f









All regular expressions are modern/extended. See `man 7 regex` for
    more details on what's supported.


The following special sequences are additionally parsed:
  

   - `\c` forces matching ignoring case of letters
  

   - `\C` forces matching respecting case of letters


`\c` and `\C` have the highest priority in determining whether
    case is matched or not and exist to override 'ignorecase', 'smartcase' and
    `i`/`I` flags when necessary.


If multiple sequences are present, the one which appears later
    takes precedence.


Note that unlike in Vim character classes are affected by settings
    and sequences that control case sensitivity in regular expressions.








Globs are always case insensitive as it makes sense in general
    case.


`*`, `?`, `[` and `]` are treated as special symbols in the
    pattern. E.g.




  :filetype * less %c


matches all files. One can use character classes for escaping, so



  :filetype [*] less %c



matches only one file name, the one which contains only asterisk
    symbol.


`*` means any number of any characters (possibly an empty
    substring), with one exception: asterisk at the pattern beginning doesn't
    match dot in the first position. E.g.




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


associates using of `zip` program to preview all files with `zip` or `jar`
  extensions as listing of their content, but `.file.zip` won't be matched.

`?` means any character at this position. E.g.




  :fileviewer ?.out file %c


calls `file` tool for all files which have exactly one character before their
  extension (e.g. a.out, b.out).

Square brackets designate character class, which means that whole
    character class matches against any of characters listed in it. For
  example




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


makes vifm call `highlight` program to colorize source and header files in C
  language for a 256-color terminal. Equal command would be



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



Inside square brackets `^` or `!` can be used for symbol class
    negation and the `-` symbol to set a range. `^` and `!` should appear right
    after the opening square bracket. For example




  :filetype *.[!d]/ inspect_dir



associates `inspect_dir` as additional handler for all directories
    that have one character extension unless it's "d" letter. And




  :filetype [0-9].jpg sxiv



associates `sxiv` picture viewer only for JPEG-files that contain
    single digit in their name.


If you need to include literal comma, which normally separates
    multiple globs, double it.









  

  
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:

  








    
  
  • local to current directory (value associated with current location);
    • 
  
  • global to current directory (value associated with the pane).
    • 









The idea is that current directory can be made a
  temporary exception to regular configuration of the view, until directory
  change. Use :setlocal for that. :setglobal changes view value not affecting
  settings until directory change. :set applies changes immediately to all
  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.

  
'autocd'

  
type: boolean
    

    default: false
    

    When enabled unknown command-line commands are interpreted as implicit
      invocation of :cd with one argument and no escaping. Tilde is expanded,
      but not macros or environment variables.

  
'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.
    
When this option is enabled, more fine grained control over
        cursor position is available via 'histcursor' option.

  

  
'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
      (mind that directory names have an implicit trailing slash). 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, Y, dd and DD normal mode commands act on selection
      if there is any, otherwise they operate on the current file; when omitted,
      those commands always operate on the current file;
    

     - 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,treeleafsparent
    

    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
    

     - treeleafsparent - show "../" in empty directories of tree view
    
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
      

       hborder:c '' middle horizontal border
      

       millersep:c '' separator of miller columns
      

       vborder:c ' ' left, middle and right vertical borders

    
An empty string for millersep or vborder is equivalent to a
        space.

    
An empty string for hborder omits the horizontal border.

    
Example:

    

    


  set fillchars=vborder:".",hborder:"",millersep:"|"
    

  

  
'findprg'

  
type: string
    

    default: "find %s %a"
    

    Specifies format for an external command to be invoked by the :find command.
      The format supports expansion of macros specific for this particular
      option and %% sequence for inserting percent sign literally. The macros
      are:
    

      

       macro value/meaning
      

       %s literal arguments of :find or
      

       list of paths to search in

    

      

       %A empty or
      

       literal arguments of :find
      

       %a empty or
      

       literal arguments of :find or
      

       predicate followed by escaped arguments of :find
      

       %p empty or
      

       literal arguments of :find or
      

       escaped arguments (parameters) of :find

    

      

       %u redirect output to custom view instead of showing a menu
      

       %U redirect output to unsorted custom view instead of showing a menu

    
Predicate in %a is "-name" on *nix and
        "-iname" on Windows.

    
If both %u and %U are specified, %U is chosen.

    
Some macros can be added implicitly:
      

       - if %s isn't present, it's appended
      

       - if neither of %a, %A and %p is present, %a is appended
      

       - if neither of %s, %a, %A and %p is present, %s and %a are appended in
        this order

    
The macros slightly change their meaning depending on format
        of :find's arguments:
      

       - if the first argument points to an existing directory, %s is assigned
        all arguments while %a, %A and %p are left empty
      

       - otherwise:
      

       - %s is assigned a dot (".") meaning current directory or list
        of selected file names, if any
      

       - %a, %A and %p are assigned literal arguments when first argument starts
        with a dash ("-"), otherwise %a gets an escaped version of the
        arguments with a predicate and %p contains escaped version of the
        arguments

    
Starting with 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 because the command ignores all
      directory paths except for the last one.
    
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/vifm | $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'
    

    

  

  
'histcursor'

  
type: set
    

    default: startup,dirmark,direnter
    

    Defines situations when cursor should be moved according to directory
      history:
    

     - startup - on loading file lists during startup
    

     - dirmark - after navigating to a mark that doesn't specify file
    

     - direnter - on opening directory from a file list
    
This option has no effect when 'autochpos' is disabled.

    
Note that the list is not exhaustive and there are other
        situations when cursor is positioned automatically.

  

  
'history' 'hi'

  
type: integer
    

    default: 15
    

    Maximum number of stored items in all histories.

  

  
type: string list
    

    default: "filehi:onerow"
    

    Configures behaviour of highlighting.
    

      

       item default
      

       filehi:str onerow

    
The "filehi" item specifies which columns of the
        view get colored according to file type and its name:
      

       - path - highlight columns that display file path, name, root or
        extension
      

       - onerow - same as "path" and also highlight all columns of the
        current line
      

       - allrows - highlight all columns of each row

  

  
'hlsearch' 'hls'

  
type: boolean
    

    default: true
    

    Automatically select files that are search matches.

  
'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), local filter
      (but not the rest of filters) and other things detailed in the description
      of 'caseoptions'.

  
'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: datasync
    

    Controls details of file operations. The following values are available:
    

     - datasync - periodically synchronize writes on copying files when
      'syscalls' is set. (This makes copying last as long as it takes to
      actually write data to the medium, which is slower than you might expect;
      however, this also prevents system hanging due to filling memory with
      file-system cache.)
    

     - 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.

  

  
'mediaprg'

  
type: string
    

    default: path to bundled script that supports udevil, udisks and udisks2
    

     (using udisks2 requires python with dbus module installed)
    

     OS X: path points to a python script that uses diskutil
    

    {only for *nix}
    

    Specifies command to be used to manage media devices. Used by :media
      command.
    
The command can be passed the following parameters:
      

       - list -- list media
      

       - mount {device} -- mount a device
      

       - unmount {path} -- unmount given mount point

    
The output of `list` subcommand is parsed in search of lines
        that start with one of the following prefixes:
      

       - device= - specifies device path (e.g., "/dev/sde")
      

       - label= - specifies optional device label (e.g., "Memory
        card")
      

       - info= - specifies arbitrary text to display next to device (by
      

       default "[label]" is used, if label is provided)
      

       - mount-point= - specifies a mount point (can be absent or appear more
        than once)

    
All other lines are ignored. Each `device=` starts a new
        section describing a device which should include two other possible
        prefixes.

    
`list` subcommand is assumed to always succeed, while exit
        code of `mount` and `unmount` is taken into account to determine whether
        operation was performed successfully.

  

  
'lsoptions'

  
type: string list
    

    default: ""
    

    scope: local
    
Configures ls-like view.

    

      

       item used for
      

       columncount fixed number of columns to display or 0
      

       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,rpreview:dirs"
    

    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
      

       rpreview:str dirs 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.

    
rpreview specifies what file-system objects should be
        previewed in the right column and takes three values: dirs (only
        directories), files (only files) or all. Neither value enables preview
        of parent directory ("..").

    
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.

  
'mouse'

  
type: charset
    

    default: ""
    
Contains a sequence of single-character flags:
      

       - a - all supported modes (a shorthand for all the rest and future
        additions)
      

       - c - command-line mode (includes navigation mode)
      

       - m - menu mode
      

       - n - normal mode
      

       - q - view mode
      

       - v - visual mode

  

  
'navoptions'

  
type: string list
    

    default: "open:dirs"
    
Configures behaviour of navigation mode.

    

      

       item default
      

       open:str dirs

    
The "open" item specifies what file-system objects
        should be opened on Enter and can take two values: dirs (only
        directories) or all.

  

  
'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.

  
'previewoptions'

  
type: string list
    

    default: "graphicsdelay:50000"
    
Tweaks how previewing is done (in quick view, miller view's
        column and view mode).

    

      

       item default meaning
      

       graphicsdelay:num 0 delay before drawing graphics (microseconds)
      

       hardgraphicsclear unset redraw screen to get rid of graphics
      

       maxtreedepth:num 0 max number of levels in preview tree
      

       toptreestats unset show file counts before the tree

    
graphicsdelay is needed if terminal requires some timeout
        before it can draw graphics (otherwise it gets lost).

    
hardgraphicsclear seems to be necessary to get rid of sixel
        graphics in some terminals, where it otherwise lingers. This can cause
        flicker on the screen due to erasure followed by redrawing.

    
0 for maxtreedepth means "unlimited", 1 will only
        show selected directory, 2 adds its children, and so forth.

    
Default value is used when item is missing from the
      option.

  

  
'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'
    

  

  
'quickview'

  
type: boolean
    

    default: false
    

    Whether quick view (:view) is currently active or not.

  
'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
    

     %P - percentage through file list (All, Top, xx% or Bot), always 3 in
      length
    

     %S - number of displayed files
    

     %= - separation point between left and right align items
    

     %% - literal 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.

    
Optional blocks are ignored unless at least one macro inside
        of them is expanded to a non-empty value.

    
Example:

    

    


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

  

  
'runexec'

  
type: boolean
    

    default: false
    

    Run executable file on Enter, l or Right Arrow key. Behaviour of the last
      two depends on the value of the 'lsview' option.

  
'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).

  
'sessionoptions' 'ssop'

  
sessionoptions ssop
    

    type: set
    

    default: tui,state,tabs,savedirs,dhistory
    

    An equivalent of 'vifminfo' for sessions, uses the same values. When both
      options include the same value, data from session file has higher priority
      (data from vifminfo isn't necessarily completely discarded, instead it's
      merged with the state of a session the same way state of multiple
      instances is merged on exit).

  
'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.

  
'shellcmdflag' 'shcf'

  
type: string
    

    default: "-c" or "/C" (for cmd.exe on MS-Windows)
    

    Command-line option used to pass a command to 'shell'. It's used in contexts
      where command comes from the user.
    
Note that using this option to force interactive mode of the
        shell is most likely a BAD IDEA. In general interactive host and
        interactive child shell can't share the same terminal session. You can't
        even run such a shell in background. Consider writing a wrapper for your
        shell that preloads aliases and commands without making the shell
        interactive and ending up using it in a way it was not meant to be
      used.

    
Note that this option is ignored when 'shell' is set to
        PowerShell due to the internal use of `-encodedCommand`.

  

  
'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:
    

     - L - display only last directory in tab line instead of full path.
    

     - M - shorten titles in windows of terminal multiplexers created by vifm
      down to file name instead of using full path.
    

     - 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.
    

  

  
'showtabline' 'stal'

  
type: enumeration
    

    default: multiple
    

    Specifies when tab line should be displayed. Possible values:
    

     - never - never display tab line
    

     - multiple - show tab line only when there are at least two tabs
    

     - always - display tab line always
    
Alternatively 0, 1 and 2 Vim-like values are also accepted and
        correspond to "never", "multiple" and
        "always" respectively.

  

  
'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).
      

       space {present} Insert space before unit symbols.
      

       This is the default.
      

       nospace {present} Do not insert space before unit symbols.

    
Numbers are rounded from zero. Trailing zeros are dropped.

    
Example:

    


  set sizefmt=units:iec,precision:2,nospace
    

    

  

  
'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 a pattern contains at least one upper
      case character. Only used when 'ignorecase' option is enabled.

  
'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, like 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:

  








    
  
  • type key is added at the beginning;
    • 
  
  • default key is added at the end;
    • 









all other keys are left untouched (at most they are
  moved).

This option also changes view columns according to primary sorting
    key set, unless 'viewcolumns' option is not empty.





  
'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 for group type of sorting.
      Double the comma to insert it literally.
    
The regular expressions are used to extract substrings of file
        names to serve as keys for sorting. It is essentially a way to ignore
        uninteresting parts of file names during sorting by name.

    
Each expression should contain at least one group or its value
        will be considered to be always empty. Also, only the first match of
        regular expression is processed.

    
The first group divides list of files into sub-groups, each of
        which is then sorted by substrings extracted using second regular
        expression and so on recursively.

    
Example:

    


  set sortgroups=-(todo|done).*
    

    this would group files with "-done" in their names and files with
      "-todo" separately. On ascending sorting, group containing
      "-done" would appear before the other one.

  
'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:






    
  
  • %N - line break (increases height of the status line accordingly), ignores
      %[ %] blocks
    • 
  
  • %t - file name (considering value of the 'classify' option)
    • 
  
  • %T - symbolic link target (empty for other filetypes)
    • 
  
  • %f - file name relative to current directory (considers 'classify')
    • 
  
  • %A - file attributes (permissions on *nix or properties on Windows)
    • 
  
  • %o - file permissions in octal form on *nix (nothing on Windows)
    • 
  
  • %u - user name or uid (if it cannot be resolved)
    • 
  
  • %g - group name or gid (if it cannot be resolved)
    • 
  
  • %s - file size in human readable format
    • 
  
  • %E - size of selected files in human readable format, same as %s when no
      files are selected, except that it will never show size of ../ in visual
      mode, since it cannot be selected
    • 
  
  • %d - file modification date (uses 'timefmt' option)
    • 
  
  • %D - path of the other pane for single-pane layout
    • 
  
  • %a - amount of free space available on current FS
    • 
  
  • %c - size of current FS
    • 
  
  • %z - short tips/tricks/hints that chosen randomly after one minute
    period
    • 
  
  • %{<expr>} - evaluate arbitrary vifm expression '<expr>', e.g.
      '&sort' or `expand('%d')`; a raw `}` can be inserted as `\}` (mind
      that the slash doesn't need to be doubled to be inserted literally)
    • 
  
  • %* - resets or applies one of User1..User20 highlight groups; reset
      happens when width field is 0 or not specified, one of the groups gets
      picked when width field is in the range from 1 to 20
    • 
  
  • all 'rulerformat' macros
    • 







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

On Windows file properties include the following flags (upper case
    means flag is on):
  

   A - archive
  

   H - hidden
  

   I - content isn't indexed
  

   R - readonly
  

   S - system
  

   C - compressed
  

   D - directory
  

   E - encrypted
  

   P - reparse point (e.g. symbolic link)
  

   Z - sparse file






Example without colors:





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



Example with colors:






 highlight User1 ctermbg=yellow


 highlight User2 ctermbg=blue ctermfg=white cterm=bold


 set statusline="%1* %-26t %2* %= %1* %A %2* %7u:%-7g %1* %-5s %2* %d "








  
'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).

  
'syncregs'

  
type: string
    

    default: ""
    

    Specifies identifier of group of instances that share registers among each
      other. When several instances of vifm have this option set to identical
      value, they automatically synchronize contents of their registers on
      operations which use them.

  
'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.

  
'tablabel'

  
type: string
    

    default: ""
    

    When non-empty and 'tabline' isn't set, determines format of the main part
      of a single tab's label.
    
When empty, tab label is set to either tab name for named tabs
        or to view title (usually current path) for unnamed tabs.

    
The following macros can appear in the format (see below for
        what a flag is):

  






    
  
  • %C - flag of a current tab
    • 
  
  • %N - number of the tab
    • 
  
  • %T - flag of a tree mode
    • 
  
  • %c - description of a custom view
    • 
  
  • %n - name of the tab
    • 
  
  • %p - path of the view (handles filename modifiers)
    • 
  
  • %t - title of the view (affected by 'shortmess' flags)
    • 
  
  • %% - literal percent sign
    • 
  
  • %[ - designates beginning of an optional block
    • 
  
  • %] - designates end of an optional block
    • 
  
  • %*, %0* - resets highlighting
    • 
  
  • %1*-%20* - applies one of User1..User20 highlight groups
    • 







In global tabs the view in bullets above refers to
  currently active view of that tab.

Flag macros are a special kind of macros that always expand to an
    empty value and are meant to be used inside optional blocks to control their
    visibility.


Optional blocks are ignored unless at least one macro inside of
    them is expanded to a non-empty value or is a set flag macro.






  " %[(%n)%]        -- optional name of the tab


  " %[              -- optional description of the view


  "   %[%T{tree}%]  -- mark of tree mode


  "   %[{%c}%]      -- description of custom view


  "   @             -- just an extra separator before the path


  ' %]


  " %p:t            -- tail part of view's location


  set tablabel=%[(%n)%]%[%[%T{tree}%]%[{%c}%]@%]%p:t






  
'tabline' 'tal'

  
type: string
    

    default: ""
    

    When non-empty, determines format of the tab line. Note that mouse clicks
      won't be handled when this option is non-empty.
    
The following macros can appear in the format:

  






    
  
  • %*, %0* - resets highlighting
    • 
  
  • %1*-%20* - applies one of User1..User20 highlight groups
    • 






  
'tabprefix'

  
type: string
    

    default: "[%N:"
    

    Determines prefix of a tab's label. Formatting is done as for 'tablabel'
      option.

  
'tabscope'

  
type: enumeration
    

    default: global
    

    Picks style of tabs, which defines what a single tab contains. Possible
      values:
    

     - global - tab describes complete UI of two views and how they are arranged
    

     - pane - tab is located "inside" a pane and manages it and quick
      view

  
'tabstop' 'ts'

  
type: integer
    

    default: value from curses library
    

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

  
'tabsuffix'

  
type: string
    

    default: "]"
    

    Determines suffix of a tab's label. Formatting is done as for 'tablabel'
      option.

  
'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. Because not all terminals support
      setting title, this works only if `$TERM` value matches one of the
      following conditions:
    

     - equals "xterm" or starts with "xterm-"
    

     - equals "rxvt" or starts with "rxvt-"
    

     - equals "screen" or starts with "screen-"
    

     - equals "aterm"
    

     - equals "Eterm"

  
'trash'

  
type: boolean
    

    default: true
    

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

  
'trashdir'

  
type: string
    

    default:
    

     on *nix:
    

     "%r/.vifm-Trash-%u,$XDG_DATA_HOME/vifm/Trash,%r/.vifm-Trash"
    

     or
    

     "%r/.vifm-Trash-%u,$VIFM/Trash,%r/.vifm-Trash"
    

     on Windows:
    

     "%r/.vifm-Trash,$XDG_DATA_HOME/vifm/Trash"
    

     or
    

     "%r/.vifm-Trash,$VIFM/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
        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 trash common trash directory on failure.

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

  

  
'tuioptions' 'to'

  
type: charset
    

    default: "psv"
    

    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
      "...").
    

    v - vary width of vertical middle border to equalize view sizes.
    
Each pane title contains the path of the listed directory. If
        too large, the path is truncated on the left for the active pane and on
        the right for the other pane. This can be modified with:

    
l - truncation is always on the left.
      

      r - truncation is always on the right.

  

  
'uioptions'

  
type: set
    

    default:
    

    Tweaks UI behaviour. The following values are available:
    

     - iodetails - show I/O progress details dialog automatically instead of
      displaying progress on statusbar until user presses "i" to see
      the dialog.

  
'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"
    

    Command used to edit files in various contexts. 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 inside a
      graphical environment.

  
'vifminfo'

  
type: set
    

    default: bookmarks,bmarks
    

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

      

       bmarks - named bookmarks (see :bmark command)
      

       bookmarks - marks, except for special ones like '< and '>
      

       cs - primary color scheme
      

       dirstack - directory stack (overwrites previous stack, unless stack of
      

       current instance is empty)
      

       registers - registers content
      

       savedirs - last visited directory
      

       state - file name and dot filters and terminal multiplexers integration
      

       state
      

       tabs - global or pane tabs
      

       tui - state of the user interface (sorting, number of windows, quick
      

       view state, active view)

    

      

       chistory - command line history
      

       dhistory - directory history
      

       ehistory - expression register history (see description of Ctrl+R =
      

       in command-line mode)
      

       fhistory - history of local filter (see description of the "="
        normal mode
      

       command)
      

       mchistory - command line history of menus
      

       phistory - prompt history
      

       shistory - search history (/ and ? commands)

    

      

       commands - user defined commands (see :command description) (obsolete)
      

       filetypes - associated programs and viewers (obsolete)
      

       options - all options that can be set with the :set command
      (obsolete)

  

  
'vimhelp'

  
type: boolean
    

    default: false
    

    Use vim help format.

  
'wildinc'

  
type: string
    

    default: ""
    

    A comma-separated list of globs which defines what should be completed
      incrementally. Currently, it can only be :commands which are matched with
      the colon in front of their name. For such commands completion is always
      active and is displayed even if there is only one completion item.
      Examples:
    


  " for all :commands


  set wildinc=:*


  " only for these two


  set wildinc=:wingo,:bmgo
    

    See "Patterns" and "Globs" sections for more information
      on syntax.

  
'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.










A user mapping like `nnoremap lhs rhs` defines a substitution of
    the left-hand-side (LHS) with the right-hand-side (RHS) in the input stream.
    A regular mapping (without "nore" in :command's name) expands
    recognized sequences in the RHS, while "*noremap" mapping always
    interprets RHS as if no user mappings were defined and each key has its
    builtin meaning. In most cases you want to use noremap variant and if your
    RHS includes LHS, only noremap variant will work because recursion in a
    mapping is not allowed.


In order to define a mapping determine in which mode you want to
    activate it and use an appropriate "*noremap" :command (e.g.,
    :nnoremap for a normal mode mapping). RHS doesn't have to limit itself to
    the mode in which the mapping was started and can span multiple modes.


Map arguments


LHS of mappings can be preceded by arguments which take the form
    of special sequences:



  
<silent>

  
Postpone UI updates until RHS is completely processed.

  
<wait>

  
In case of builtin mapping causing conflict for a user-defined mapping
      (e.g., `t` builtin to a partially typed `ta` user-defined mapping), ignore
      the builtin mapping and wait for input indefinitely as opposed to default
      behaviour of triggering the builtin mapping after a delay defined by
      'timeoutlen'. Example:
    

    


  nnoremap <wait> tw :set wrap!<cr>


  nnoremap <wait> tn :set number!<cr>


  nnoremap <wait> tr :set relativenumber!<cr>
    

  




Special sequences


Since it's not easy to enter special characters there are several
    special sequences that can be used in place of them. They are:



  
<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.

  
<insert>

  
Insert key.

  
<s-home> <s-end>

  





<s-left> <s-right> <s-up> <s-down>


<s-pageup> <s-pagedown>


<s-delete> <s-insert>

Shift + one of the keys from above, if terminal and its
  terminfo supports it.



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

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

  
<c-@> {only for *nix}

  

    

    Control + Space.

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

  





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


<a-0>,<a-1>,...,<a-9> {only for *nix}


<m-0>,<m-1>,...,<m-9> {only for *nix}

Alt + some key.



  
<a-s-a>,<a-s-b>,...,<a-s-z> {only for
    *nix}

  





<s-a-a>,<s-a-b>,...,<s-a-z> {only for
  *nix}


<m-s-a>,<m-s-b>,...,<m-s-z> {only for
  *nix}


<s-m-a>,<s-m-b>,...,<s-m-z> {only for
  *nix}

Alt + Shift + some key.



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

  





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

Alt + Ctrl + some key.



  
<f0> - <f63>

  
functional keys. These also correspond to keys like <c-f1> and can
      be used in their place.

  
<c-f1> - <c-f12>

  

    

    functional keys with Control key pressed.

  
<a-f1> - <a-f12>, <m-f1> - <m-f12>

  

    

    functional keys with Alt key pressed.

  
<s-f1> - <s-f12>

  

    

    functional keys with Shift key pressed.




Note that whether and how functional keys work might depend on the
    terminal and corresponding terminfo record.


Note that due to the way terminals process their input, several
    keyboard keys might be mapped to single key code, for example:




    
  
  • <cr> and <c-m>;
    • 
  
  • <tab> and <c-i>;
    • 
  
  • <c-h> and <bs> and <del>;
    • 
  
  • etc.
    • 





Most of the time they are defined consistently and don't cause
    surprises, but <c-h> and <bs> are treated differently in
    different environments (although they match each other all the time), that's
    why they correspond to different keys in vifm. As a consequence, if you map
    <c-h> or <bs> be sure to repeat the mapping with the other one
    so that it works in all environments. Alternatively, provide your mapping in
    one form and add one of the following:






  " 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>



Also sometimes neither of them might work and it's <del> key
    which corresponds to your backspace (don't mind the name).


Whitespace


vifm removes whitespace characters at the beginning and end of
    commands. That's why you may want to use <space> at the end of rhs in
    mappings. For example:






  cmap <f1> man<space>



will put "man " in line when you hit the <f1> key
    in the command line mode.








Supported expressions is a subset of what VimL provides.


Expression syntax summary, from least to most significant:


expr1 expr2
  

   expr2 || expr2 .. logical OR


expr2 expr3
  

   expr3 && expr3 .. logical AND


expr3 expr4
  

   expr4 == expr4 equal
  

   expr4 != expr4 not equal
  

   expr4 > expr4 greater than
  

   expr4 >= expr4 greater than or equal
  

   expr4 < expr4 smaller than
  

   expr4 <= expr4 smaller than or equal


expr4 expr5
  

   expr5 + expr5 .. number addition
  

   expr5 - expr5 .. number subtraction


expr5 expr6
  

   expr6 . expr6 .. string concatenation


expr6 expr7
  

   - expr6 unary minus
  

   + expr6 unary plus
  

   ! expr6 logical NOT


expr7 number number constant
  

   "string" string constant, \ is special
  

   'string' string constant, ' is doubled
  

   &option option value
  

   $VAR environment variable
  

   g:var global variable
  

   v:var builtin variable (read-only)
  

   function(expr1, ...) function call
  

   (expr1) nested expression


".." indicates that the operations in this level can be
    concatenated.


expr1
  

  -----
  

  expr2 || expr2


Arguments are converted to numbers before evaluation.


Result is non-zero if at least one of arguments is non-zero.


It's right associative and with short-circuiting, so
    sub-expressions are evaluated from left to right until result of whole
    expression is determined (i.e., until first non-zero) or end of the
    expression.


expr2
  

  -----
  

  expr3 && expr3


Arguments are converted to numbers before evaluation.


Result is non-zero only if both arguments are non-zero.


It's right associative and with short-circuiting, so
    sub-expressions are evaluated from left to right until result of whole
    expression is determined (i.e., until first zero) or end of the
  expression.


expr3
  

  -----
  

  expr4 {cmp} expr4


Compare two expr4 expressions, resulting in a 0 if it evaluates to
    false or 1 if it evaluates to true.


equal ==
  

  not equal !=
  

  greater than >
  

  greater than or equal >=
  

  smaller than <
  

  smaller than or equal <=


Examples:






  '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



expr4
  

  -----
  

  expr5 + expr5 .. number addition expr5 - expr5 .. number subtraction


Examples:






  1 + 3 - 3          == 1


  1 + '2'            == 3



expr5
  

  -----
  

  expr6 . expr6 .. string concatenation


Examples:






  'a' . 'b'           == 'ab'


  'aaa' . '' . 'c'    == 'aaac'



expr6
  

  -----


- expr6 unary minus
  

  + expr6 unary plus
  

  ! expr6 logical NOT


For '-' the sign of the number is changed.
  

  For '+' the number is unchanged.
  

  For '!' non-zero becomes zero, zero becomes one.


A String will be converted to a Number first.


These operations can be repeated and mixed. Examples:






   --9                == 9


  ---9                == -9


   -+9                == 9


   !-9                == 0


   !''                == 1


  !'x'                == 0


   !!9                == 1



expr7
  

  -----


number number constant
  

  -----


Decimal number. Examples:






  0                   == 0


  0000                == 0


  01                  == 1


  123                 == 123


  10000               == 10000



string
  

  ------
  

  "string" string constant


Note that double quotes are used.


A string constant accepts these special characters:
  

   \b backspace <bs>
  

   \e escape <esc>
  

   \n newline
  

   \r return <cr>
  

   \t tab <tab>
  

   \\ backslash
  

   \" double quote


Examples:






  "\"Hello,\tWorld!\""


  "Hi,\nthere!"



literal-string
  

  --------------
  

  'string' string constant


Note that single quotes are used.


This string is taken as it is. No backslashes are removed or have
    a special meaning. The only exception is that two quotes stand for one
    quote.


Examples:






  'All\slashes\are\saved.'


  'This string contains doubled single quotes ''here'''



option
  

  ------
  

  &option option value (local one is preferred, if exists) &g:option
    global option value &l:option local option value


Examples:






  echo 'Terminal size: '.&columns.'x'.&lines


  if &columns > 100



Any valid option name can be used here (note that "all"
    in ":set all" is a pseudo option). See ":set options"
    section above.


environment variable
  

  --------------------
  

  $VAR environment variable


The String value of any environment variable. When it is not
    defined, the result is an empty string.


Examples:






  'This is my $PATH env: ' . $PATH


  'vifmrc at ' . $MYVIFMRC . ' is used.'



global variable
  

  ---------------
  

  g:var global variable


A typed storage of data for use in scripting. Can be
    created/removed dynamically (via :let and :unlet) and used in
  expressions.


builtin variable
  

  ----------------
  

  v:var builtin variable


Information exposed by vifm for use in scripting. Such variables
    are predefined and read-only, but not necessarily constant.


v:count
  

   count passed to : command, 0 by default. Can be used in mappings to passthe
    count to a different command.
  

  v:count1
  

   same as v:count, but 1 by default.
  

  v:jobcount
  

   number of active jobs (as can be seen in the :jobs menu).
  

  v:session
  

   name of the current session or empty string.
  

  v:servername
  

   See below.
  

  v:version
  

   version of the application as an integer. Version `x.y.z` becomes number
    `x*100*100 + y*100 + z`, examples:
  

   - v0.14 (that is v0.14.0) is 1400 (leading zeroes omitted)
  

   - v1.0.2 is 10002
  

   Release candidates aren't real releases, they report the number of a
    corresponding release.


function call
  

  -------------
  

  function(expr1, ...) function call


See "Functions" section below.


Examples:






  "'" . filetype('.') . "'"


  filetype('.') == 'reg'



expression nesting
  

  ------------------
  

  (expr1) nested expression


Groups any other expression of arbitrary complexity enforcing
    order in which operators are applied.










USAGE RESULT DESCRIPTION


chooseopt({opt}) String Queries choose parameters passed on
    startup.
  

  escape({string}, {chars})
  

   String Returns {string} after escaping {chars} in it.
  

  executable({expr}) Integer Checks whether {expr} command available.
  

  expand({expr}) String Expands special keywords in {expr}.
  

  extcached({cache}, {path}, {extcmd})
  

   String Caches output of {extcmd} per {cache} and
  

   {path} combination.
  

  filereadable({path}) Integer Checks whether {expr} points to a
  

   non-directory that can be read.
  

  filetype({file} [, {resolve}])
  

   String Returns file type from position/path.
  

  fnameescape({expr}) String Escapes {expr} for use in a :command.
  

  getpanetype() String Returns type of current pane.
  

  has({property}) Integer Checks whether instance has {property}.
  

  input({prompt} [, {initial} [, {completion}]])
  

   String Prompts user for an input on command-line.
  

  layoutis({type}) Integer Checks whether layout is of type {type}.
  

  paneisat({loc}) Integer Checks whether current pane is at {loc}.
  

  selected() Integer Returns number of currently selected files.
  

  system({command}) String Executes shell command and returns its output.
  

  tabpagenr([{arg}]) Integer Returns number of current or last tab.
  

  term({command}) String Like system(), but for interactive commands.


chooseopt({opt})


Retrieves values of options related to file choosing. {opt} can be
    one of:
  

   files returns argument of --choose-files or empty string
  

   dir returns argument of --choose-dir or empty string
  

   cmd returns argument of --on-choose or empty string
  

   delimiter returns argument of --delimiter or the default one (\n)


escape({string},{chars})


Escapes all occurrences of {chars} in the {string} by prepending
    slash (``) to them. Note that the slash itself is not escaped unless it
    appears in {chars}.


executable({expr})


If {expr} is absolute or relative path, checks whether path
    destination exists and refers to an executable, otherwise checks whether
    command named {expr} is present in directories listed in $PATH. Checks for
    various executable extensions on Windows. Returns boolean value describing
    result of the check.


Example:






  " 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



expand({expr})


Expands environment variables and macros in {expr} (in this
    order). Returns a string. See "Command macros" section above.


Examples:






  " 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')


  " full path to the current file with backslashes


  :echo expand('%c:p:gs!/!\!')



extcached({cache}, {path}, {extcmd})


Caches value of {extcmd} external command automatically updating
    it as necessary based on monitoring change date of a {path}. The cache is
    invalidated when file or its meta-data is updated. A single path can have
    multiple caches associated with it.


{path} value is normalized, but symbolic links in it aren't
    resolved.


Example:






  " display number and size of blocks actually used by a file or directory


  set statusline+=" Uses: %{ extcached('uses',


                                     \ expand('%c'),


                                     \ expand('stat --format=%%bx%%B %c')) }"



filereadable({path})


Checks whether {path} exists and refers to a non-directory entry
    and its permissions allow reading. Returns boolean value describing result
    of the check.


filetype({file} [, {resolve}])


Checks type of a view's entry or of a file specified by its
  path.


Parameter {file} can be of the following forms:
  

   - '.' to get type of file under the cursor in the active pane
  

   - numerical value base 1 to get type of file on specified line number (only
    if there are no characters other than "+-0123456789")
  

   - a path (prepend "./" to force interpretation of a number or '.'
    as a path)


Optional parameter {resolve} is treated as a boolean and specifies
    whether symbolic links should be resolved.


The result is a string, which represents file type and is one of
    the list:
  

   exe executables
  

   reg regular files
  

   link symbolic links
  

   broken broken symbolic links (appears only when resolving)
  

   dir directories
  

   char character devices
  

   block block devices
  

   fifo pipes
  

   sock *nix domain sockets
  

   ? unknown file type (should not normally happen) or
  

   non-file (pseudo-entries in compare view)


The result can also be an empty string in case of invalid
    argument.


fnameescape({expr})


Escapes parameter to make it suitable for use as an argument of a
    :command. List of escaped characters includes %, which is doubled.


Usage example:






  " navigate to most recently modified file in current directory


  execute 'goto' fnameescape(system('ls -t | head -1'))



getpanetype()


Retrieves string describing type of current pane. Possible return
    values:
  

   regular regular file listing of some directory
  

   custom custom file list (%u)
  

   very-custom very custom file list (%U)
  

   tree tree view
  

   compare compare view


has({property})


Allows examining internal parameters from scripts to e.g. figure
    out environment in which application is running. Returns 1 if property is
    true/present, otherwise 0 is returned. Currently the following properties
    are supported (anything else will yield 0):
  

   unix runs in *nix-like environment (including Cygwin)
  

   win runs on Windows
  

   #* whether particular Lua handler exists


Usage example:






  " skip user/group on Windows


  if !has('win')


      let $RIGHTS = '%10u:%-7g '


  endif


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



input({prompt} [, {initial} [, {completion}]])


Creates a command-line prompt to obtain user's input. Initial
    value can be supplied as an optional second parameter, otherwise empty
    string is used.


Optional third parameter specifies kind of completion, which can
    be one of:
  

   dir paths to directories
  

   file paths to files and directories
  

   "" (empty string, default) no completion


Note that behaviour differs from Vim where executing a mapping
    like




  nnoremap j :echo input('text: ')<cr>input


leaves you in a prompt mode with "input" typed in. Vifm will wait for
  leaving the prompt and then continue executing the mapping.

Usage example:






  nnoremap ,m : let $DIR_NAME = input('mkdir: ', '', 'dir')


             \| if $DIR_NAME != ''


             \|     execute 'mkdir' fnameescape($DIR_NAME)


             \| endif<cr>



layoutis({type})


Checks whether current interface layout is {type} or not, where
    {type} can be:
  

   only single-pane mode
  

   split double-pane mode (either vertical or horizontal split)
  

   vsplit vertical split (left and right panes)
  

   hsplit horizontal split (top and bottom panes)


Usage example:






  " automatically split vertically before enabling preview


  :nnoremap w :if layoutis('only') | vsplit | endif | view!<cr>



paneisat({loc})


Checks whether position of active pane in current layout matches
    one of the following locations:
  

   top pane reaches top border
  

   bottom pane reaches bottom border
  

   left pane reaches left border
  

   right pane reaches right border


selected()


Retrieves number of files selected in the active pane.


system({command})


Runs the command in shell and returns its output (joined standard
    output and standard error streams). All trailing newline characters are
    stripped to allow easy appending to command output. Ctrl-C should interrupt
    the command.


Use this function to consume output of external commands that
    don't require user interaction and term() for interactive commands that make
    use of terminal and are capable of handling stream redirection.


Usage example:






  " command to enter .git/ directory of git-repository (when ran inside one)


  command! cdgit :execute 'cd' fnameescape(system('git rev-parse --git-dir'))



tabpagenr([{arg}])


When called without arguments returns number of current tab page
    base one.


When called with "$" as an argument returns number of
    the last tab page base one, which is the same as number of tabs.


term({command})


Same as system() function, but user interface is shutdown during
    the execution of the command, which makes sure that external interactive
    applications won't affect the way terminal is used by vifm.


Usage example:






  " command to change directory by picking it via fzf


  command! fzfcd :execute 'cd'


                        \ fnameescape(term('find -type d | fzf 2> /dev/tty'))









When navigating to some path from a menu there is a difference in
    the end location depending on whether the path has a trailing slash. Files
    normally don't have trailing slashes so "file/" won't work. In
    case of directories there are two options: navigate to a directory or inside
    of it. To allow both use cases, the first action is taken for
    "dir" and the second one for "dir/".


Menu commands


:range navigate to a menu line.



  
 :chistory

  

  
:chi[story]

  
display menu of saved menus. See "Menus and dialogs" section for
      controls, also see "Menus history" section.

  
 :colder

  

  
:col[der]

  
load an older navigation menu if there is one. See also "Menus
      history" section.

  
 :cnewer

  

  
:cnew[er]

  
load a newer navigation menu if there is one. See also "Menus
      history" section.

  
 :find

  

  
:fin[d]

  
the behaviour matches that of non-menu :find except that no range is
      accepted. If active view contained selection before entering menu mode,
      the command takes it into account.

  
 :grep

  

  
:gr[ep]

  
the behaviour matches that of non-menu :grep except that no range is
      accepted. If active view contained selection before entering menu mode,
      the command takes it into account.




:exi[t][!]
  

  :q[uit][!]
  

  :x[it][!]


leave the menu mode.



  
:noh[lsearch]

  
reset search match highlighting.

  
:w[rite] {path}

  
write all menu lines into the file specified by {path}.




Common keys of all menus and dialogs





  

  
move the cursor down.

  

  
move the cursor up.

  

  
select and usually close menu/dialog.

  

  
redraw menu/dialog.
    

  




Escape, Ctrl-C
  

  ZZ, ZQ
  

  q


close menu/dialog.





  

  




Ctrl-B, Ctrl-F
  

  Ctrl-D, Ctrl-U
  

  Ctrl-E, Ctrl-Y
  

  /, ?
  

  n, N
  

  [count]G, [count]gg
  

  H, M, L
  

  zb, zt, zz


these keys have the same meaning as in normal mode.





  
[count]zh

  
scroll menu items [count] characters (1 by default) to the right.

  
[count]zl

  
scroll menu items [count] characters (1 by default) to the left.

  

  
scroll menu items half the screen width to the right.

  

  
scroll menu items half the screen width to the left.

  
:

  
enter command line mode for menus.

  

  
interpret content of the menu as a list of paths and use it to create
      custom view in place of the previously active pane. See "Custom
      views" section below.

  

  
same as above, but create an unsorted view.

  

  
load menu content into quickfix list of an editor (Vim compatible by
      assumption) or, if the list doesn't have separators after file names
      (colons), open each line as a file name.
    

  




Navigation menus


This applies to the following menus:
  

   - :bmarks, :bmgo
  

   - :find
  

   - :grep
  

   - :locate
  

   - user menu with navigation (%M macro)





  

  
navigate previously active view to currently selected item. Leaves menu
      mode except for :grep menu. Pressing Enter or l has the same effect.

  

  
open selected path in an editor, stays in menu mode.

  

  
leave menu preserving file selection and insert file name after :! in
      command-line mode. Does nothing in :bmarks and :bmgo.




Note that each of these menus can have additional keys, see
  below.


History menus (:history *)
  

  ==========================





  

  

  

  
execute the item as a command-line command, search query or local
    filter.

  

  
leave the menu preserving file selection and insert the item into the
      command-line of appropriate kind.
    

  




Directory history menu



  

  
navigate into the selected directory.
    

  

  
  

  

  
execute command without leaving the menu.

  

  
insert menu item into command-line for editing.
    

  




Other menus
  

  ===========


Apropos (:apropos) menu



  

  
run man on a given topic. Menu won't be closed automatically to allow
      viewing several pages one by one.
    

  




Bookmarks (:bmarks, :bmgo) menu



  

  
navigate to the selected bookmark.

  

  
remove bookmark under the cursor.




See above for "gf" and "e" keys.


Command-line mode abbreviations (:cabbrev) menu



  

  
remove abbreviation under the cursor.
    

  




Color scheme (:colorscheme) menu



  

  
apply selected colorscheme as if ":colorscheme <name>" was
      executed on the command-line.
    

  




Commands (:command) menu



  

  
execute the command with empty arguments (%a macro).

  

  
remove command under the cursor.

  

  
leave menu preserving file selection and insert right-hand side of
      selected command into the command-line.
    

  




Directory stack (:dirs) menu



  

  
rotate the stack to put selected directory pair at the top.
    

  




File (:file) menu


Commands from vifmrc or typed on the command-line are displayed
    above an empty line if it's present. All commands below the empty line come
    from .desktop files.


Commands detected as available have "[present]" to the
    left of them.





  

  
run selected command (regardless whether it was detected to be present or
      not).

  

  
leave menu preserving file selection and insert command after :! in the
      command-line mode.
    

  




Grep (:grep) menu



  

  
open file in an editor set by 'vicmd' at given line number. Menu won't be
      closed automatically to allow viewing more than one result.
    

  




See above for "gf", "e" and "c"
    keys.


Jobs (:jobs) menu



  

  
request cancellation of job under the cursor. The job won't be removed
      from the list, but marked as being cancelled (if cancellation was
      successfully requested). A message will pop up if the job has already
      stopped. Note that on Windows cancelling external programs like this might
      not work, because their parent shell doesn't have any windows.

  

  
display errors of selected job if any were collected. They are displayed
      in a new menu, but you can return to jobs menu by pressing h.

  

  
reload the list of jobs.
    

  




Marks (:marks) menu



  

  
navigate to selected mark.

  

  
remove mark under the cursor.
    

  




Media (:media) menu



  

  
behaviour is different for different kinds of lines:
    

     - mount an unmounted device
    

     - navigate to the first mount point of a mounted device
    

     - navigate to a mount point
    

     - do nothing for "not mounted" or an empty line

  

  
reload the list.

  

  
mount/unmount device (cursor should be positioned on lines under device
      information).

  
[

  
put cursor on the previous device.

  
]

  
put cursor on the next device.
    

  




Menus history (:chistory) menu



  

  
load selected menu.
    

  




Plugins (:plugins) menu



  

  
display log messages of selected plugin if any were collected. They are
      displayed in a new menu, but you can return to plugins menu by pressing
    h.

  

  
navigate previously active view to the location of selected plugin. Leaves
      the menu mode.
    

  




Trash (:lstrash) menu



  

  
restore a file from the trash to its original location.

  

  
delete file under the cursor.
    

  




Trashes (:trashes) menu



  

  
navigate into current trash directory.

  

  
start emptying selected trash in background.
    

  




Undolist (:undolist) menu



  

  
reset undo position to group under the cursor.
    

  




User menu without navigation (%m macro)



  

  
leave menu preserving file selection and insert whole line after :! in
      command-line mode.
    

  




Volumes (:volumes) menu
  

  only for MS-Windows



  

  
navigate into the root of the selected drive.
    

  




Dialog-specific operations
  

  ==========================


Attributes (permissions or properties) dialog



  

  
check/uncheck.

  

  
close the dialog.

  

  
(*nix only) (un)set all read bits.

  

  
(*nix only) (un)set all write bits.

  

  
(*nix only) (un)set all execute bits.

  

  
(*nix only) (un)set all special (SetUID, SetGID, Sticky) bits.

  

  
(*nix only) (un)set recursion (for directories only).
    

  




Possible item states:


    
  
  • * - checked flag.
    • 
  
  • X - selected files have inconsistent value of this flag.
    • 
  
  • 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.
    • 



Fileinfo (Ctrl-G) dialog



  

  
close the dialog.
    

  




Sort (:sort) dialog



  

  
switch ascending/descending order.

  

  
close the dialog.
    

  




There is also a shortcut per sorting key (drawn on the
  dialog).










Menus are often used to present results of operations (like
    finding or grepping files). Once closed they can be recreated by repeating a
    command, but it might be inconvenient (require changing directory, finding
    the command and possibly finding position in a menu) and time consuming to
    re-run the operation. To make referring to older menus possible, vifm stores
    up to 25 last such menus and provides means for recalling them using
    familiar set of Vim commands.


As already hinted above, this doesn't apply to every menu because
    things like :version or :commands rely solely on internal data and don't
    need to be saved. Only menus that are derived from external sources and
    support navigation (like via gf) are remembered.


Navigating through history


Re-opening the last viewed menu of relevant type is done by
    running :copen command. Once opened :colder can be used to view older menus
    and :cnewer to view newer ones.


Closing a menu after moving through the history remembers the
    position such that running :copen again will open the last viewed menu and
    allow one to continue exploring history in both directions.


The history always contains menus sorted from oldest to newest.
    After opening more than 25 menus the oldest one is likely to be forgotten.
    It's not guaranteed to happen because after viewing an older menu new entry
    replaces all more recent ones. As an example, assume the history looks like
    this:






 1. :find 1


 2. :find 2


 ...
23. :find 23 (current element)
24. :find 24
25. :find 25



Running `:find 11` results in:






 1. :find 1


 2. :find 2


 ...
23. :find 23
24. :find 26 (current element)
25. None



For convenience, :colder and :cnewer can be used any time you're
    in a menu, not just after :copen. :cnewer will work only if current menu
    can't be saved and you've moved back in menus history before. Behaviour of
    :colder is like this:
  

   - if current menu can be stashed, behave as :quit, :copen, :colder sequence
    (current menu is stashed the same way as described above)
  

   - if current menu can't be stashed, behave as :quit, :copen sequence


Viewing history


In order to avoid enumerating menus looking for the matching one,
    :chistory command can be used to get an overview of saved menus, maybe
    search for one and then open it. The command is also available in menu
  mode.


Related topics


Commands: :chistory, :copen Menu commands: :chistory, :colder,
    :cnewer








Definition


Normally, file views present a list of files from a single
    directory, but sometimes it's useful to populate them with files from
    unrelated locations. This is what custom views are mainly for.


Presentation


Custom views are still related to the directory they were in
    before custom list was loaded. Path to that directory (original directory)
    can be seen in the title of a custom view.


Files in the same directory have to be named differently but
    custom views are free from this constraint, hence seeing file names alone
    might be rather confusing. In order to give an idea where files come from
    paths relative to the original directory of the view are used, when that's
    not possible full paths are shown.


Custom views normally don't contain any inexistent files.


Navigation/exiting


Navigation in custom views somewhat differs compared to regular
    views.


gf - acts similar to gf on symbolic links and navigates to the
    file at its real
  

   location.


h - goes to the closest parent node in the tree view or terminates
    the custom
  

   view returning to the original directory.


gh - terminates the custom view returning to the original
    directory.


Going to the parent directory in other ways (whether by opening
    ".." entry or executing `:cd ..`) also causes termination and
    return to the original location.


All other ways of changing location (e.g., marks, bookmarks, :cd,
    :sync) also cause termination of the custom view.


History


Custom list exists only while it's visible, once left one can't
    return to it, so there is no traces of it in any history.


Filters


Only local filter affects contents of the view. This is
    intentional. Presumably, if one loads a particular list, precisely that list
    should be displayed (except for inexistent paths, which are ignored).


Search


Although directory names are visible in listing, they are not
    searchable. Only file names are taken into account (might be changed in the
    future, searching whole lines seems quite reasonable).


Sorting


Contrary to search sorting by name works on whole visible part of
    file path.


Highlight


Whole file name is highlighted as one entity, even if there are
    directory elements.


Updates


Reloads can occur, though they are not automatic due to files
    being scattered among different places. On a reload inexistent files are
    removed and meta-data of all other files is updated.


Once custom view forgets about the file, it won't add it back even
    if it's created again. So not seeing file previously affected by an
    operation which was later undone is normal.


Operations


All operations that add files are forbidden for custom views. For
    example, moving/copying/putting files into a custom view doesn't work,
    because that's not a real file system location.


On the other hand, operations that use files of a custom view as a
    source (e.g., yanking, copying, moving file from a custom view, deletion)
    and operations that modify names are all allowed.








Kinds


:compare can produce four different results depending on
    arguments:
  

   - single compare view ("ofone" and either "listall" or
    "listdups");
  

   - single custom view ("ofone" and "listunique");
  

   - two compare views ("ofboth" and either "listall" or
    "listdups");
  

   - two custom views ("ofboth" and "listunique").


The first two display files of a single file system tree. Here
    duplicates are files that have at least one copy in the same tree. The other
    two kinds of operation compare two trees, in which duplicates are files that
    are found in both trees.


Lists of unique files are presented in custom views because there
    is no file grouping to preserve as all file ids are guaranteed to be
    distinct. See "Custom views" section.


Creation


Arguments passed to :compare form seven categories each with its
    own prefix and is responsible for particular property of the operation.


Which files to compare:
  

   - ofboth - compares files of two panes against each other;
  

   - ofone - compares files of the same directory.


How files are compared:
  

   - byname - by their name only;
  

   - bysize - only by their size;
  

   - bycontents - by data they contain (combination of size and hash of small
    chunk of contents is used as first approximation, so don't worry too much
    about large files; non-regular files like pipes are assumed to be
  empty).


Which files to display:
  

   - listall - all files;
  

   - listunique - unique files only;
  

   - listdups - only duplicated files.


How results are grouped (has no effect if "ofone"
    specified):
  

   - groupids - files considered identical are always adjacent in output;
  

   - grouppaths - file system ordering is preferred (this also enables
    displaying identically named files as mismatches).


Which files to omit:
  

   - skipempty - ignore empty files.


Comparison tweaks:
  

   - withicase - ignore case when comparing file names/paths;
  

   - withrcase - respect case when comparing file names/paths.


Which results to show (has no effect for single pane comparison):
  

   - showidentical - control visibility of identical files;
  

   - showdifferent - control visibility of changed files;
  

   - showuniqueleft - control visibility of unique top/left files;
  

   - showuniqueright - control visibility of unique bottom/right files.


Each argument can appear multiple times, the rightmost one of the
    group defines the behaviour. All arguments alter default behaviour instead
    of substituting it.


When neither "withicase" nor "withrcase" is
    specified, case depends on the running operating system and the file system
    on which the files are located.


Exiting


Comparing two views results in them entering a special state
    implemented on top of custom views. Both views leave this state when either
    of them stops being custom. Custom views terminate on changing to a
    different location or as a result of a command like :regular, going into the
    parent directory (like with h key or `:cd ..` command) returns to a regular
    state without changing the location. See "Custom views" section
    for more details.


Examples


The defaults correspond to probably the most common use case of
    comparing files in two trees with grouping by paths, so the following are
    equivalent:






  :compare


  :compare bycontents grouppaths


  :compare bycontents listall ofboth grouppaths


  :compare showidentical showdifferent showuniqueleft showuniqueright



Another use case is to find duplicates in the current
  sub-tree:






  :compare listdups ofone



The following command lists files that are unique to each
  pane:






  :compare listunique



Look


The view can't switch to ls-like view as it's unable to display
    diff-like data.


Comparison views have second column displaying id of the file,
    files with the same id are considered to be equal. The view columns
    configuration is predefined.


The status bar displays only the initial result of the comparison
    and can be out of date.


Behaviour


When two views are being compared against one another the
    following changes to the regular behaviour apply:
  

   - views are scrolled synchronously (as if 'scrollbind' was set);
  

   - views' cursors are synchronized;
  

   - local filtering is disabled (its results wouldn't be meaningful);
  

   - zd excludes groups of adjacent identical files, 1zd gives usual behaviour;
  

   - sorting is permanently disabled (ordering is fixed);
  

   - removed files hide their counter pairs;
  

   - exiting one of the views terminates the other immediately;
  

   - renaming files isn't blocked, but isn't taken into account and might
    require regeneration of comparison;
  

   - entries which indicate absence of equivalent file have empty names and can
    be matched as such;
  

   - when unique files of both views are listed, custom views can be empty, this
    absence of unique files is stated clearly.


One compare view has similar properties (those that are applicable
    for single pane).


Files are gathered in this way:
  

   - recursively starting at current location of the view;
  

   - dot files are excluded if view hides them at the moment of comparison, file
    name filters are obeyed as well so you end up comparing what you see;
  

   - directories are not taken into account;
  

   - symbolic links to directories are ignored.








On startup vifm determines several variables that are used during
    execution. They are determined in the order they appear below.


On *nix systems $HOME is normally present and used as is. On
    Windows systems vifm tries to find correct home directory in the following
    order:
  

   - $HOME variable;
  

   - $USERPROFILE variable (on Windows only);
  

   - a combination of $HOMEDRIVE and $HOMEPATH variables (on Windows only).


vifm tries to find correct configuration directory by checking the
    following places:
  

   - $VIFM variable;
  

   - parent directory of the executable file (on Windows only);
  

   - $HOME/.vifm directory;
  

   - $APPDATA/Vifm directory (on Windows only);
  

   - $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/vifm directory;
  

   - $HOME/.config/vifm directory.


vifm tries to find correct configuration file by checking the
    following places:
  

   - $MYVIFMRC variable;
  

   - vifmrc in parent directory of the executable file (on Windows only);
  

   - $VIFM/vifmrc file.








See "Startup" section above for the explanations on
    $VIFM and $MYVIFMRC.


The vifmrc file contains commands that will be executed on vifm
    startup. There are two such files: global and local. Global one is at
    {prefix}/etc/vifm/vifmrc, see $MYVIFMRC variable description for the search
    algorithm used to find local vifmrc. Global vifmrc is loaded before the
    local one, so that the later one can redefine anything configured
  globally.


Use vifmrc to set settings, mappings, filetypes etc. To use multi
    line commands precede each next line with a slash (whitespace before slash
    is ignored, but all spaces at the end of the lines are saved). For
  example:






  set


      \smartcase



equals "setsmartcase". When






  set<space here>


      \ smartcase



equals "set smartcase".


The $VIFM/vifminfo file contains generic state of the application.
    You can control what is stored in vifminfo by setting 'vifminfo' option.
    Vifm always writes this file on exit unless 'vifminfo' option is empty.
    Marks, bookmarks, commands, histories, filetypes, fileviewers and registers
    in the file are merged with vifm configuration (which has bigger
  priority).


Generally, runtime configuration has bigger priority during
    merging, but there are some exceptions:




    
  
  • directory stack stored in the file is not overwritten unless something is
      changed in vifm instance that performs merge;
    • 
  
  • each mark or bookmark is marked with a timestamp, so that newer value is
      not overwritten by older one, thus no matter from where it comes, the
      newer one wins;
    • 
  
  • all histories are marked with timestamps on storing, this means that last
      instance to quit puts its elements on top of the list;
    • 
  
  • tabs are merged only if both current instance and stored state contain
      exactly one tab of any kind.
    • 





The $VIFM/scripts directory can contain shell scripts. vifm
    modifies its PATH environment variable to let user run those scripts without
    specifying full path. All subdirectories of the $VIFM/scripts will be added
    to PATH too. Script in a subdirectory overlaps script with the same name in
    all its parent directories.


The $VIFM/colors/ and {prefix}/etc/vifm/colors/ directories
    contain color schemes. Available color schemes are searched in that order,
    so on name conflict the one in $VIFM/colors/ wins.


Each color scheme should have ".vifm" extension. This
    wasn't the case before and for this reason the following rules apply during
    lookup:




    
  
  • if there is no file with .vifm extension, all regular files are
    listed;
    • 
  
  • otherwise only files with .vifm extension are listed (with the extension
      being truncated).
    • 











Sessions provide a way to have multiple persistent runtime
    configurations. Think of them as second-level vifminfo files in addition to
    the first-level one used by all sessions. In other words, they aren't a
    replacement for vifminfo file that exists without sessions, but an addition
    to it. One can empty 'vifminfo' option and rely solely on sessions, but in
    practice one might want to share some state among instances in different
    sessions or have an "out-of-sessions" state for tasks that don't
    deserve a session of their own.


This leads to a two-level structure where data in session files
    has higher priority than data in vifminfo files (where this makes sense)
    following the same rules that merging of vifminfo file obeys. In addition to
    that, history items from session files are never ordered before history
    items from vifminfo file.


Format


Sessions have the format of vifminfo files, they do not consist of
    sequence of command-line commands and are not meant to be sourced via
    :source command.


Storage and naming


`$VIFM/sessions/` directory serves as a storage for sessions.
    Consequently names should be valid filenames. The structure of the storage
    is flat meaning that there are no subdirectories, that's why names of
    sessions can't contain slashes.


Usage model


Contrary to Vim, vifm automates basic management of sessions. You
    can start, switch, stop or delete a session using builtin means.


Current session is saved at the same time vifminfo is saved (on
    normal exits or explicitly on :write command) and right before switching to
    another session. To avoid saving in those cases use :session command to
    detach (without saving) from a session before proceeding.


Related topics


Commands: :session, :delsession
  

  Options: 'sessionoptions'
  

  Variables: v:session








vifm has a builtin support of automated FUSE file system mounts.
    It is implemented using file associations mechanism. To enable automated
    mounts, one needs to use a specially formatted program line in filetype or
    filextype commands. These use special macros, which differ from macros in
    commands unrelated to FUSE. Currently three formats are supported:


1) FUSE_MOUNT This format should be used in case when all
    information needed for mounting all files of a particular type is the same.
    E.g. mounting of tar files don't require any file specific options.


Format line:
  

   FUSE_MOUNT|mounter %SOURCE_FILE %DESTINATION_DIR [%FOREGROUND]


Example filetype command:






  :filetype FUSE_MOUNT|fuse-zip %SOURCE_FILE %DESTINATION_DIR



2) FUSE_MOUNT2 This format allows one to use specially formatted
    files to perform mounting and is useful for mounting remotes, for example
    remote file systems over ftp or ssh.


Format line:
  

   FUSE_MOUNT2|mounter %PARAM %DESTINATION_DIR [%FOREGROUND]


Example filetype command:






  :filetype *.ssh FUSE_MOUNT2|sshfs %PARAM %DESTINATION_DIR



Example file content:






  root@127.0.0.1:/



3) FUSE_MOUNT3


This format is equivalent to FUSE_MOUNT, but omits unmounting. It
    is useful for cases, when unmounting isn't needed, like when using AVFS.


Example :filetype command:






  :filetype *.tar,*.tar.bz2,*.tbz2,*.tgz,*.tar.gz,*.tar.xz,*.txz,*.deb


       \ {Mount with avfs}


       \ FUSE_MOUNT3|mount-avfs %DESTINATION_DIR %SOURCE_FILE



Example `mount-avfs` helper script:






  #!/bin/sh


  dest=$1


  file=$2


  rmdir "$dest"


  ln -s "$HOME/.avfs$file#/" "$dest"



All % macros are expanded by vifm at runtime and have the
    following meaning:
  

   - %SOURCE_FILE is replaced by full path to selected file;
  

   - %DESTINATION_DIR is replaced by full path to mount directory, which is
    created by vifm basing on the value of 'fusehome' option;
  

   - %PARAM value is filled from the first line of file (whole line), though in
    the future it can be changed to whole file content;
  

   - %FOREGROUND means that you want to run mount command as a regular command
    (required to be able to provide input for communication with mounter in
    interactive way).


%FOREGROUND is an optional macro. Other macros are not mandatory,
    but mount commands likely won't work without them.


%CLEAR is obsolete name of %FOREGROUND, which is still supported,
    but might be removed in future. Its use is discouraged.


Unlike macros elsewhere, these are recognized only if they appear
    at the end of a command or are followed by a space. There is no way to
    escape % either. These are historical limitations, which might be addressed
    in the future.


The mounted FUSE file systems will be automatically unmounted in
    two cases:




    
  
  • when vifm quits (with ZZ, :q, etc. or when killed by signal);
    • 
  
  • when you explicitly leave mount point going up to its parent directory
      (with h, Enter on "../" or ":cd ..") and other pane is
      not in the same directory or its child directories.
    • 











vifm supports displaying of file list view in two different
  ways:




    
  
  • in a table mode, when multiple columns can be set using 'viewcolumns'
      option (see "Column view" section below for details);
    • 
  
  • in a multicolumn list manner which looks almost like `ls -x` command
      output (see "ls-like view" section below for details).
    • 





The look is local for each view and can be chosen by changing
    value of the 'lsview' boolean option.


Depending on view look some of keys change their meaning to allow
    more natural cursor moving. This concerns mainly h, j, k, l and other
    similar navigation keys.


Also some of options can be ignored if they don't affect view
    displaying in selected look. For example value of 'viewcolumns' when
    'lsview' is set.








When this view look is enabled by setting 'lsview' option on, vifm
    will display files in multiple columns. Number of columns depends on the
    length of the longest file name present in current directory of the view.
    Whole file list is automatically reflowed on directory change, terminal or
    view resize.


View looks close to output of `ls -x` command, so files are listed
    left to right in rows.


In this mode file manipulation commands (e.g. d) don't work
    line-wise like they do in Vim, since such operations would be uncommon for
    file manipulation tasks. Thus, for example, dd will remove only current
    file.


By default the view is filled by lines, 'lsoptions' can be used to
    get filling by columns.


Note that tree-view and compare view inhibit ls-like view.








View columns are described by a comma-separated list of column
    descriptions, each of which has the following format
  

   [ '-' | '*' ] [ fw ( [ '.' tw ] | '%' ) ] '{' type | literal '}' '.'{0,3}
  

  where fw stands for full width, tw stands for text width, bar is logical or,
    square brackets denote optional parts and curly braces define range of
    repetitions for a symbol that precedes them.


So it basically consists of four parts:
  

   1. Optional alignment specifier
  

   2. Optional width specifier
  

   3. Mandatory column name
  

   4. Optional cropping specifier


Alignment specifier


It's an optional minus or asterisk sign as the first symbol of the
    string.


Specifies type of text alignment within a column. Three types are
    supported:


    
  
  • left align
    
    
    

    
  set viewcolumns=-{name}
    
    
  
    • 
  
  • right align (default)
    
    
    

    
  set viewcolumns={name}
    
    
  
    • 
  
  • middle align
    
    It's like left alignment, but when the text is bigger than the
        column, it is cut in the middle (so the start and the end of the field
        are always visible).
    
    
    
    

    
  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}
    
    
  
    • 



Width specifier


It's a number followed by a percent sign, two numbers (second one
    should be less than or equal to the first one) separated with a dot or a
    single number.


Specifies column width and its units. There are three size
  types:


    
  
  • 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.
    
  
    • 



Columns of different sizing types can be freely mixed in one view.
    Though sometimes some of columns can be seen partly or be completely
    invisible if there is not enough space to display them.


Column contents


This is usually a sorting key surrounded with curly braces,
  e.g.






  {name},{ext},{mtime}



{name} and {iname} types are the same and are both present for
    consistency with 'sort' option.


The following column types don't have corresponding sorting
  keys:




    
  
  • {root} - display name without extension (as a complement for {ext})
    • 
  
  • {fileroot} - display name without extension for anything except for
      directories and symbolic links to directories (as a complement for
      {fileext})
    • 





Empty curly braces ({}) are replaced with the default secondary
    column for primary sort key. So after the next command view will be
    displayed almost as if 'viewcolumns' was empty, but adding ellipsis for long
    file names:






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



The last kind of column value is a string literal. The literal is
    used as a column value for every row. The syntax is "{#literal}",
    examples:






  " double-character pseudo-padding on both sides


  set viewcolumns='2{#},*{name}..,{},2{#}'


  " pseudo-border between columns


  set viewcolumns='*{name}..,{#|},6{}'


  " pseudo-border with padding between columns


  set viewcolumns='*{name}..,{# | },6{}'



This can be used to draw column separators. Mind that for
    convenience literals have different defaults: truncation and automatically
    determined absolute size, which is what you usually want for them. Make sure
    to quote or escape spaces, vertical bars and other special symbols when
    using them as part of literals.


Cropping specifier


It's from one to three dots after closing curly brace in column
    format.


Specifies type of text truncation if it doesn't fit in the column.
    Currently three types are supported:




    
  
  • truncation - text is truncated
    
    
    

    
  set viewcolumns=-{name}.
    
    
    
    results in truncation of names that are too long too fit in
        the view.
    
  
    • 
  
  • adding of ellipsis - ellipsis on the left or right are added when needed
    
    
    

    
  set viewcolumns=-{name}..
    
    
    
    results in that ellipsis are added at the end of too long file
        names.
    
  
    • 
  
  • none (default) - text can pass column boundaries
    
    
    

    
  set viewcolumns=-{name}...,{ext}
    
    
    
    results in that long file names can partially be written on
        the ext column.
    
  
    • 











The color schemes in vifm can be applied in two different
  ways:




    
  
  • as the primary color scheme;
    • 
  
  • as local to a pane color scheme.
    • 





Both types are set using :colorscheme command, but of different
    forms:




    
  
  • :colorscheme color_scheme_name - for the primary color scheme;
    • 
  
  • :colorscheme color_scheme_name directory - for local color schemes.
    • 





Look of different parts of the TUI (Text User Interface) is
    determined in this way:




    
  
  • Border, TabLine, TabLineSel, TopLineSel, TopLine, CmdLine, ErrorMsg,
      StatusLine, JobLine, SuggestBox, WildBox and WildMenu are always
      determined by the primary color scheme;
    • 
  
  • CurrLine, Selected, Directory, Link, BrokenLink, Socket, Device,
      Executable, Fifo, CmpMismatch, CmpUnmatched, CmpBlank, Win, AuxWin and
      OtherWin are determined by primary color scheme and a set of local color
      schemes, which can be empty.
    • 





There might be a set of local color schemes because they are
    structured hierarchically according to file system structure. For example,
    having the following piece of file system:




  ~


  `-- bin


     |


     `-- my


Two color schemes:



  # ~/.config/vifm/colors/for_bin.vifm


  highlight Win cterm=none ctermfg=white ctermbg=red


  highlight CurrLine cterm=none ctermfg=red ctermbg=black


  # ~/.config/vifm/colors/for_bin_my.vifm


  highlight CurrLine cterm=none ctermfg=green ctermbg=black


And these three commands in the vifmrc file:



  colorscheme Default


  colorscheme for_bin ~/bin


  colorscheme for_bin_my ~/bin/my


File list will look in the following way for each level:

    
  
  • ~/ - 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
    • 









vifm has support of trash directory, which is used as temporary
    storage for deleted files or files that were cut. Using trash is controlled
    by the 'trash' option, and exact path to the trash can be set with
    'trashdir' option. Trash directory in vifm differs from the system-wide one
    by default, because of possible incompatibilities of storing deleted files
    among different file managers. But one can set 'trashdir' to
    "~/.local/share/Trash" to use a "standard" trash
    directory.


There are two scenarios of using trash in vifm:





  
1.

  
As a place for storing files that were cut by "d" and may be
      inserted to some other place in file system.

  
2.

  
As a storage of files, that are deleted but not purged yet.






The first scenario uses deletion ("d") operations to put
    files to trash and put ("p") operations to restore files from
    trash directory. Note that such operations move files to and from trash
    directory, which can be long term operations in case of different partitions
    or remote drives mounted locally.


The second scenario uses deletion ("d") operations for
    moving files to trash directory and :empty command-line command to purge all
    previously deleted files.


Deletion and put operations depend on registers, which can point
    to files in trash directory. Normally, there are no nonexistent files in
    registers, but vifm doesn't keep track of modifications under trash
    directory, so one shouldn't expect value of registers to be absolutely
    correct if trash directory was modified not by operation that are meant for
    it. But this won't lead to any issues with operations, since they ignore
    nonexistent files.








For enabling copy-on-write of BTRFS on Linux, set
    "fastfilecloning" flag of 'iooptions' option.


File copying within an XFS file system uses reflinks by default.
    Any file copied from another file system will be copied without reflinks
    even if it has a matching list of XFS extents. Reflinks are not guaranteed
    when using external programs. This behaviour was observed on Linux and
    doesn't necessarily hold for other environments.








vifm supports remote execution of command-line mode commands,
    remote changing of directories and expression evaluation. This is possible
    using --remote and --remote-expr command-line arguments.


To execute a command remotely combine --remote argument with -c
    <command> or +<command>. For example:






  vifm --remote -c 'cd /'


  vifm --remote '+cd /'



To change directory not using command-line mode commands one can
    specify paths right after --remote argument, like this:






  vifm --remote /


  vifm --remote ~


  vifm --remote /usr/bin /tmp



Evaluating expression remotely might be useful to query
    information about an instance, for example its location:






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



If there are several running instances, the target can be
    specified with --server-name option (otherwise, the first one
    lexicographically is used):






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



List of names of running instances can be obtained via
    --server-list option. Name of the current one is available via
  v:servername.





  

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










When an editor is run to edit list of file names, contents of the
    temporary file has the following format:





  
1.

  
Order of lines correspond to the order of files in a view.

  
2.

  
Lines that start with a "#" are comments and are ignored.

  
3.

  
Single backslash at the beginning of a line is ignored, so that a file
      starting with a backslash will appear like "\#name".






If an operation was rejected due to issues with file names, next
    time you'll see the following in this order:





  
1.

  
Last error (in comments).

  
2.

  
Original file names (in comments).

  
3.

  
Failed list of new names.






Mind that Vim plugin will extract list of original names and show
    them in a vertical split.


You can cancel renaming by removing all non-comments from the
    buffer. This also erases information about previous edits.








Note: <ScrollWheelDown> is not available on 32-bit *nix
    systems, because ncurses doesn't support it there (limitation of
    implementation).


Note: these are not available in mappings at the moment.


Normal Mode



  

   event position change action
  

   cursor window
  

   <LeftMouse> yes yes <cr> if cursor wasn't move
  

   <LeftRelease> no yes
  

   <MiddleMouse> no yes <c-e>
  

   <MiddleRelease> no yes
  

   <RightMouse> yes yes :file
  

   <RightRelease> no yes
  

   <ScrollWheelUp> no yes <c-y> or :tabprevious
  

   <ScrollWheelDown> no yes <c-e> or :tabnext


Clicking on or scrolling over an inactive pane (including its
    title), makes it active and does nothing else. Tabs are scrolled when mouse
    hovers over them.


Clicking on the left miller column goes to parent directory and
    clicking the right one opens current entry.


Visual Mode



  

   event position selection action
  

   cursor
  

   <LeftMouse> yes update <cr> if cursor wasn't move
  

   <LeftRelease> no
  

   <MiddleMouse> no update <c-e>
  

   <MiddleRelease> no
  

   <RightMouse> no
  

   <RightRelease> no
  

   <ScrollWheelUp> no update <c-y>
  

   <ScrollWheelDown> no update <c-e>


Command-line Mode



  

   event position action
  

   cursor
  

   <LeftMouse> yes
  

   <LeftRelease> no
  

   <MiddleMouse> no <c-n>
  

   <MiddleRelease> no
  

   <RightMouse> no
  

   <RightRelease> no
  

   <ScrollWheelUp> no <c-p>
  

   <ScrollWheelDown> no <c-n>


Menu Mode



  

   event position action
  

   cursor
  

   <LeftMouse> yes <cr> if cursor wasn't moved
  

   <LeftRelease> no
  

   <MiddleMouse> no <c-e>
  

   <MiddleRelease> no
  

   <RightMouse> no
  

   <RightRelease> no
  

   <ScrollWheelUp> no <c-y>
  

   <ScrollWheelDown> no <c-e>


view Mode



  

   event action



  

   <ScrollWheelUp> k
  

   <ScrollWheelDown> j


Clicking on or scrolling over an inactive pane (including its
    title), detaches view mode if it wasn't activated for exploring a file.










Plugin for using vifm in vim as a file selector.


Commands:



  

   :EditVifm select a file or files to open in the current buffer.
  

   :Vifm alias for :EditVifm.
  

   :SplitVifm split buffer and select a file or files to open.
  

   :VsplitVifm vertically split buffer and select a file or files to open.
  

   :DiffVifm select a file or files to compare to the current file with
  

   :vert diffsplit.
  

   :TabVifm select a file or files to open in tabs.


Each command accepts up to two arguments: left pane directory and
    right pane directory. After arguments are checked, vifm process is spawned
    in a special "file-picker" mode. To pick files just open them
    either by pressing l, i or Enter keys, or by running :edit command. If no
    files are selected, file under the cursor is opened, otherwise whole
    selection is passed to the plugin and opened in vim.


The plugin have only two settings. It's a string variable named
    g:vifm_term to let user specify command to run GUI terminal. By default it's
    equal to 'xterm -e'. And another string variable named g:vifm_exec, which
    equals "vifm" by default and specifies path to vifm's executable.
    To pass arguments to vifm use g:vifm_exec_args, which is empty by
  default.


To use the plugin copy the vifm.vim file to either the system wide
    vim/plugin directory or into ~/.vim/plugin.


If you would prefer not to use the plugin and it is in the system
    wide plugin directory add


let loaded_vifm=1


to your ~/.vimrc file.








The following command names are reserved and shouldn't be used for
    user commands.



  

   g[lobal]
  

   v[global]









  

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

  

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




These environment variables are valid inside vifm and also can be
    used to configure it by setting some of them before running vifm.


When $MYVIFMRC isn't set, it's made as $VIFM/vifmrc (exception for
    Windows: vifmrc in the same directory as vifm.exe has higher priority than
    $VIFM/vifmrc).


See "Startup" section above for more details.



  

  
On execution of external commands this variable is set to the full path of
      file used to initiate FUSE mount of the closest mount point from current
      pane's 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).










vifm-convert-dircolors(1), vifm-pause(1)


Website: https://vifm.info/
  

  Wiki: https://wiki.vifm.info/








Vifm was originally created by ksteen
    <ksteen@users.sourceforge.net>
  

  It is currently developed by xaizek <xaizek@posteo.net>







  

    04 June 2025
    vifm 0.14.3
  







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