skim

Fuzzy Finders•

•Rust

Rust-based fzf alternative with async support.

Official Website

Features

fzf CompatibleInteractive SearchPreview WindowRegex Support

Installation

Homebrew

brew install sk

Pacman (Arch)

pacman -S skim

Cargo (Rust)

cargo install skim

Why Use skim?

skim (sk) is a fast fuzzy finder written in Rust. It maintains high compatibility with fzf while providing Rust's performance and safety benefits.

Rust-Based

Combines memory safety with high performance. Less prone to crashes, ensuring stable operation.

Async Processing

Parallel processing of input reading and search. Displays results immediately even with large datasets.

fzf Compatible

Supports almost the same options and syntax as fzf. Existing fzf configurations migrate seamlessly.

Unique Features

Includes regex search, interactive mode, and multi-select preview among other unique features.

Installation

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install sk

# Ubuntu/Debian (Download binary)
# Download the latest version from https://github.com/lotabout/skim/releases

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S skim

# Install with Cargo (Rust) (Recommended)
cargo install skim

# Install shell integration
# For Homebrew
$(brew --prefix)/opt/sk/share/skim/install

# For Cargo
~/.cargo/bin/sk-share/install

Basic Usage

Basic Commands

# Search for files in current directory and subdirectories
sk

# Combine with find
find . -type f | sk

# Open selected file in editor
vim $(sk)

# Multiple selection (-m option)
sk -m

# Use sk instead of fzf (compatibility)
# Commands from fzf work as-is
history | sk
git branch | sk | xargs git checkout

Pipeline Usage Examples

Pipeline

# Search command history
history | sk

# Kill a process
ps aux | sk | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill

# Switch git branch
git branch | sk | xargs git checkout

# Select commit from git log
git log --oneline | sk | awk '{print $1}'

# Search environment variables
env | sk

# Select docker container
docker ps | sk | awk '{print $1}'

# Full text search with ripgrep
rg --color=always --line-number "" | sk --ansi

skim Output Example

> rust_

18/256 (async)

> src/main.rs

Cargo.toml

rustfmt.toml

src/lib.rs

trusted/config.toml

The "async" indicator is a key feature. Search results display in real-time even while data is loading.

Shell Integration

skim provides the same shell integration features as fzf. They become active when you run the install script.

Key Binding	Function	Description
`Ctrl+R`	History Search	Fuzzy search command history and execute
`Ctrl+T`	File Search	Search for files and insert into command line
`Alt+C`	Directory Navigation	Search for directory and cd into it

Shell Configuration

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
# Enable skim shell integration
[ -f ~/.skim/shell/key-bindings.bash ] && source ~/.skim/shell/key-bindings.bash  # bash
[ -f ~/.skim/shell/key-bindings.zsh ] && source ~/.skim/shell/key-bindings.zsh    # zsh

# For Homebrew
[ -f $(brew --prefix)/opt/sk/share/skim/key-bindings.bash ] && source $(brew --prefix)/opt/sk/share/skim/key-bindings.bash
[ -f $(brew --prefix)/opt/sk/share/skim/key-bindings.zsh ] && source $(brew --prefix)/opt/sk/share/skim/key-bindings.zsh

# Also enable completion
[ -f ~/.skim/shell/completion.bash ] && source ~/.skim/shell/completion.bash  # bash
[ -f ~/.skim/shell/completion.zsh ] && source ~/.skim/shell/completion.zsh    # zsh

Useful Aliases

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc

# For migration from fzf (use sk as fzf)
alias fzf='sk'

# Search files with preview
alias skp='sk --preview "bat --color=always --style=numbers --line-range=:500 {}"'

# Switch git branch
alias gb='git branch | sk | xargs git checkout'

# Interactive git add
alias ga='git status -s | sk -m | awk "{print \$2}" | xargs git add'

# Kill process
alias skill='ps aux | sk | awk "{print \$2}" | xargs kill -9'

# Change directory
alias skcd='cd $(find . -type d | sk)'

# Open recently edited file
alias ske='vim $(sk)'

# Interactive full text search with ripgrep + skim
alias rsk='sk --ansi -i -c "rg --color=always --line-number "{}"" --preview "bat --color=always {1} --highlight-line {2}" --preview-window "+{2}-10"'

# Enter docker container via exec
alias dexec='docker exec -it $(docker ps | sk | awk "{print \$1}") /bin/bash'

Vim/Neovim Integration

Using the skim.vim plugin enables skim functionality within Vim/Neovim. It provides an interface nearly identical to fzf.vim.

Installation

Plugin Configuration

" Using vim-plug
Plug 'lotabout/skim', { 'dir': '~/.skim', 'do': './install' }
Plug 'lotabout/skim.vim'

" Using packer.nvim (Neovim)
use { 'lotabout/skim', run = './install' }
use { 'lotabout/skim.vim' }

" Using lazy.nvim (Neovim)
{ 'lotabout/skim', build = './install' },
{ 'lotabout/skim.vim' },

Main Commands

Command	Function
`:SK`	Basic file search
`:Files`	File search (within project)
`:GFiles`	Search files tracked by Git
`:Buffers`	Search open buffers
`:Rg`	Full text search with ripgrep
`:Lines`	Search lines in all buffers
`:History`	Search file history

Key Mapping Examples

Key Mapping

" ~/.vimrc or init.vim

" File search
nnoremap <C-p> :Files<CR>
nnoremap <leader>f :Files<CR>

" Git file search
nnoremap <leader>g :GFiles<CR>

" Buffer search
nnoremap <leader>b :Buffers<CR>

" Full text search (ripgrep)
nnoremap <leader>r :Rg<CR>

" Line search
nnoremap <leader>l :Lines<CR>

" Command history
nnoremap <leader>h :History:<CR>

skim Key Bindings

Key	Action
`Ctrl+J / Ctrl+N`	Move to next item
`Ctrl+K / Ctrl+P`	Move to previous item
`Enter`	Confirm selection
`Tab`	Multiple selection (with -m option)
`Ctrl+A`	Select all (with -m option)
`Ctrl+C / Esc`	Cancel
`Ctrl+U`	Clear input
`Ctrl+/`	Toggle regex mode

skim Unique Features

Interactive Mode (-i)

Re-executes commands each time the search query changes. Enables powerful full-text search when combined with ripgrep.

Interactive Mode

# Run ripgrep interactively
sk --ansi -i -c 'rg --color=always --line-number "{}"'

# More practical example (with preview)
sk --ansi -i -c 'rg --color=always --line-number "{}"' \
  --preview 'bat --color=always --highlight-line {2} {1}' \
  --preview-window '+{2}-10'

Regex Search

# Search in regex mode
sk --regex

# Toggle regex mode with Ctrl+/ after launching

# Regex examples
# ^src for files starting with src
# \.rs$ for files ending with .rs
# test.*spec for files containing both test and spec

Field Delimiter

# Limit search to specific fields only
# Specify field delimiter with -n
echo -e "1:foo:bar\n2:baz:qux" | sk -d ':' --nth 2

# Search git log excluding date
git log --oneline | sk --nth 2..

# Search only filename from ripgrep results
rg --line-number "" | sk -d ':' --nth 1

Environment Variables

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc

# Default options (can also use same variable names as fzf)
export SKIM_DEFAULT_OPTIONS='
  --height=40%
  --layout=reverse
  --border
  --preview-window=right:50%
  --bind=ctrl-d:preview-page-down
  --bind=ctrl-u:preview-page-up
  --color=fg:#c0caf5,bg:#1a1b26,hl:#bb9af7
  --color=fg+:#c0caf5,bg+:#292e42,hl+:#7dcfff
  --color=info:#7aa2f7,prompt:#7dcfff,pointer:#7dcfff
  --color=marker:#9ece6a,spinner:#9ece6a,header:#9ece6a
'

# Default command (using fd)
export SKIM_DEFAULT_COMMAND='fd --type f --hidden --follow --exclude .git'

# For Ctrl+T
export SKIM_CTRL_T_COMMAND="$SKIM_DEFAULT_COMMAND"
export SKIM_CTRL_T_OPTS="--preview 'bat --color=always --line-range :500 {}'"

# For Alt+C
export SKIM_ALT_C_COMMAND='fd --type d --hidden --follow --exclude .git'
export SKIM_ALT_C_OPTS="--preview 'eza --tree --color=always {} | head -200'"

Migration from fzf

skim has high compatibility with fzf, so in most cases you can migrate by just changing the command name.

fzf	skim	Compatibility
`fzf`	`sk`	Fully compatible
`FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND`	`SKIM_DEFAULT_COMMAND`	Fully compatible
`FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS`	`SKIM_DEFAULT_OPTIONS`	Mostly compatible
`--preview`	`--preview`	Fully compatible
`--bind`	`--bind`	Fully compatible
fzf.vim	skim.vim	Mostly compatible

Migration Configuration

# Use fzf config as-is with skim (alias setup)
alias fzf='sk'

# Make environment variables compatible
export SKIM_DEFAULT_COMMAND="$FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND"
export SKIM_DEFAULT_OPTIONS="$FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS"

# Replace shell integration
# Load skim instead of fzf in .bashrc / .zshrc

Comparison with fzf

Feature	skim	fzf
Language	Rust	Go
Async Processing	Native support	Limited
Regex Search	Built-in support	Depends on external tools
Interactive Mode	-i option	Achieved with --bind
Community	Growing	Large
Plugins/Integration	Good	Extremely abundant
Memory Usage	Efficient	Standard

Tips

•The -i option (interactive mode) is skim's greatest feature. Full-text search combined with ripgrep is extremely powerful
•fzf users can simply set alias fzf=sk and continue using existing workflows as-is
•Toggle between regex mode and fuzzy mode with Ctrl+/
•Async processing ensures the UI never blocks, even with massive file counts
•Being Rust-based means fewer crashes from segmentation faults and more stability
•Combining --nth and -d allows you to search only specific fields

fzf - Command-line Fuzzy Finder

General-purpose command-line fuzzy finder

tools10 min read

peco - Interactive Filtering

Interactive filtering tool for command line

tools6 min read

Explore More

Browse Fuzzy Finders

See all tools in this category

All CLI Tools

Explore all tool categories

Features

Installation

Why Use skim?

Rust-Based

Async Processing

fzf Compatible

Unique Features

Installation

Basic Usage

Basic Commands

Pipeline Usage Examples

skim Output Example

Shell Integration

Useful Aliases

Vim/Neovim Integration

Installation

Main Commands

Key Mapping Examples

skim Key Bindings

skim Unique Features

Interactive Mode (-i)

Regex Search

Field Delimiter

Environment Variables

Migration from fzf

Comparison with fzf

Tips

Related Articles

fzf - Command-line Fuzzy Finder

peco - Interactive Filtering

Explore More