ctrlp.vim/doc/ctrlp.txt

*ctrlp.txt*       Full path fuzzy file, buffer and MRU file finder. v1.5.8
*CtrlP* *ControlP* *'ctrlp'* *'ctrl-p'*
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===============================================================================
CONTENTS                                                       *ctrlp-contents*

    1. Intro........................................|ctrlp-intro|
    2. Options......................................|ctrlp-options|
    3. Commands.....................................|ctrlp-commands|
    4. Mappings.....................................|ctrlp-mappings|
    5. Input Formats................................|ctrlp-input-formats|

===============================================================================
1. Intro                                                          *ctrlp-intro*

Full path fuzzy file, buffer and MRU file finder with an intuitive interface.
Written in pure Vimscript for MacVim and Vim version 7.0+. Has full support for
Vim’s |regexp| as search pattern, built-in MRU monitoring, project’s root
finder, and more.

===============================================================================
2. Options                                                      *ctrlp-options*

Below are the available options and their default values.

                                                                *'g:ctrlp_map'*
Use this option to change the mapping to invoke |CtrlP| in |Normal| mode: >
  let g:ctrlp_map = '<c-p>'
<

                                                             *'g:loaded_ctrlp'*
Use this option to disable the plugin completely: >
  let g:loaded_ctrlp = 1
<

                                                        *'g:ctrlp_by_filename'*
Set this to 1 to set search by filename (not full path) as the default: >
  let g:ctrlp_by_filename = 0
<

                                                      *'g:ctrlp_regexp_search'*
Set this to 1 to set |regexp| search as the default mode: >
  let g:ctrlp_regexp_search = 0
<

                                                *'g:ctrlp_match_window_bottom'*
Set this to 0 to show the match window at the top of the screen: >
  let g:ctrlp_match_window_bottom = 1
<

                                              *'g:ctrlp_match_window_reversed'*
Reverse the sort order of the matched files in the match window. The default
setting is from bottom to top: >
  let g:ctrlp_match_window_reversed = 1
<

                                                         *'g:ctrlp_max_height'*
Set the maximum height of the match window: >
  let g:ctrlp_max_height = 10
<

                                                     *'g:ctrlp_jump_to_buffer'*
Set this to 0 to disable the jump-to-open-buffer feature; set to 2 to also jump
tab if the selected buffer’s opened in another tab: >
  let g:ctrlp_jump_to_buffer = 1
<

                                                  *'g:ctrlp_working_path_mode'*
                                                             *SetWorkingPath()*
When starting up the prompt, temporarily set the working directory (i.e. the
|current-directory|) to:
  1 - the parent directory of the current file.
  2 - the nearest ancestor that contains one of these directories/files:
      .git/
      .hg/
      .bzr/
      _darcs/
      root.dir
      .vimprojects
  0 - don’t manage working directory.
>
  let g:ctrlp_working_path_mode = 2
<
You can use this functionality outside of |CtrlP| by adding the following line
to your |.vimrc|; the parameter is the same (1, 2 or 0): >
  au BufEnter * cal ctrlp#SetWorkingPath(2)
<

                                                       *'g:ctrlp_root_markers'*
Use this to set your own root markers for the |SetWorkingPath()| function, in
addition to the default ones. Your markers will take precedence: >
  let g:ctrlp_root_markers = ['']
<

                                                        *'g:ctrlp_use_caching'*
Set this to 0 to disable per-session caching. When disabled, caching will still
be enabled for directories that have more than 4000 files: >
  let g:ctrlp_use_caching = 1
<
Note: you can quickly purge the cache by pressing <F5> while inside |CtrlP|.

                                                *'g:ctrlp_clear_cache_on_exit'*
Set this to 0 to enable cross-sessions caching: >
  let g:ctrlp_clear_cache_on_exit = 1
<

                                                          *'g:ctrlp_cache_dir'*
Set the parent directory for the '.ctrlp_cache' directory: >
  let g:ctrlp_cache_dir = $HOME
<

                                                    *'g:ctrlp_prompt_mappings'*
Use this to customize the mappings inside |CtrlP|’s prompt to your liking. You
only need to keep the lines that you’ve changed the values (inside []): >
  let g:ctrlp_prompt_mappings = {
    \ 'PrtBS()':              ['<bs>'],
    \ 'PrtDelete()':          ['<del>'],
    \ 'PrtDeleteWord()':      ['<c-w>'],
    \ 'PrtClear()':           ['<c-u>'],
    \ 'PrtSelectMove("j")':   ['<c-j>', '<down>'],
    \ 'PrtSelectMove("k")':   ['<c-k>', '<up>'],
    \ 'PrtHistory(-1)':       ['<c-n>'],
    \ 'PrtHistory(1)':        ['<c-p>'],
    \ 'AcceptSelection("e")': ['<cr>'],
    \ 'AcceptSelection("h")': ['<c-x>', '<c-cr>', '<c-s>'],
    \ 'AcceptSelection("t")': ['<c-t>'],
    \ 'AcceptSelection("v")': ['<c-v>', '<c-q>'],
    \ 'ToggleFocus()':        ['<tab>'],
    \ 'ToggleRegex()':        ['<c-r>'],
    \ 'ToggleByFname()':      ['<c-d>'],
    \ 'ToggleType(1)':        ['<c-f>', '<c-up'],
    \ 'ToggleType(-1)':       ['<c-b>', '<c-down>'],
    \ 'PrtCurStart()':        ['<c-a>'],
    \ 'PrtCurEnd()':          ['<c-e>'],
    \ 'PrtCurLeft()':         ['<c-h>', '<left>'],
    \ 'PrtCurRight()':        ['<c-l>', '<right>'],
    \ 'PrtClearCache()':      ['<F5>'],
    \ 'CreateNewFile()':      ['<c-y>'],
    \ 'MarkToOpen()':         ['<c-z>'],
    \ 'OpenMulti()':          ['<c-o>'],
    \ 'PrtExit()':            ['<esc>', '<c-c>', '<c-g>'],
    \ }
<

                                                          *'g:ctrlp_mru_files'*
Set this to 0 to completely disable the Most Recently Used files feature: >
  let g:ctrlp_mru_files = 1
<

                                                           *'g:ctrlp_mruf_max'*
Specify the number of recently opened files you want |CtrlP| to remember: >
  let g:ctrlp_mruf_max = 150
<

                                                       *'g:ctrlp_mruf_exclude'*
Files you don’t want |CtrlP| to remember; use |regexp| to specify the patterns:
>
  let g:ctrlp_mruf_exclude = ''
<
Examples: >
  let g:ctrlp_mruf_exclude = '/tmp/.*\|/temp/.*' " MacOSX/Linux
  let g:ctrlp_mruf_exclude = '^C:\\dev\\tmp\\.*' " Windows
<

                                                       *'g:ctrlp_mruf_include'*
And if you want |CtrlP| to only remember some files, specify them here: >
  let g:ctrlp_mruf_include = ''
<
Example: >
  let g:ctrlp_mruf_include = '\.py$\|\.rb$'
<

                                                           *'g:ctrlp_dotfiles'*
Set this to 0 if you don’t want |CtrlP| to search for dotfiles and dotdirs: >
  let g:ctrlp_dotfiles = 1
<
You can also use |'wildignore'| to exclude anything from the search.
e.g. exclude version control directories from the results: >
  set wildignore+=*/.git/*,*/.hg/*,*/.svn/*  " Linux/MacOSX
  set wildignore+=.git\*,.hg\*,.svn\*        " Windows
<
Note: the `*/` in front of each dotfile glob is required for the dotfiles
search feature to work correctly along side with |wildignore|. If you’ve
disabled dotfiles search (set |g:ctrlp_dotfiles| to 0), then you can ignore
this.

Other note: |wildignore| influences the result of |expand()|, |globpath()| and
|glob()| which many plugins use to find stuff on the system (e.g. fugitive.vim
looks for .git/, some other plugins look for external .exe tools on Windows).
So be a little mindful of what you put in your |wildignore|.

                                                    *'g:ctrlp_highlight_match'*
Use this to enable/disable highlighting of the matched patterns and to specify
the highlight group that’ll be used: >
  let g:ctrlp_highlight_match = [1, 'Identifier']
<

                                                          *'g:ctrlp_max_files'*
The maximum number of files to scan, set to 0 for no limit: >
  let g:ctrlp_max_files = 20000
<

                                                          *'g:ctrlp_max_depth'*
The maximum depth of a directory tree to recurse into: >
  let g:ctrlp_max_depth = 40
<
Note: the larger these values, the more memory Vim uses.

                                                       *'g:ctrlp_user_command'*
Specify an external tool to use for listing files instead of using Vim’s
globpath(). Use %s in place of the target directory: >
  let g:ctrlp_user_command = ''
<
Examples: >
  let g:ctrlp_user_command = 'find %s -type f'       " MacOSX/Linux
  let g:ctrlp_user_command = 'dir %s /-n /b /s /a-d' " Windows
<
You can also use 'grep', 'findstr' or something else to filter the results.
Examples: >
  let g:ctrlp_user_command = 'find %s -type f | grep (?!tmp/.*)'
  let g:ctrlp_user_command = 'dir %s /-n /b /s /a-d | findstr .*\.py$'
<
Use a version control listing command when inside a repository: >
  let g:ctrlp_user_command = [marker, command, secondary_command]
<
If the secondary_command is empty or not defined, globpath() will be used when
outside a repo. Examples: >
  let g:ctrlp_user_command = ['.git/', 'cd %s && git ls-files']
  let g:ctrlp_user_command = ['.hg/', 'hg --cwd %s locate --fullpath -I .']
<

                                                      *'g:ctrlp_open_new_file'*
Use this option to specify how the newly created file is to be opened when
pressing <c-y>:
  1 - in a new tab
  2 - in a new horizontal split
  3 - in a new vertical split
  0 - in the current window
>
  let g:ctrlp_open_new_file = 3
<

                                                        *'g:ctrlp_max_history'*
The maximum number of input strings you want |CtrlP| to remember. The default
value mirrors Vim’s global |'history'| option. E.g. `set history=50`: >
  let g:ctrlp_max_history = &history
<
Set to 0 to disable prompt’s history.

                                                         *'g:ctrlp_open_multi'*
If non-zero this will enable opening multiple files with <c-z> and <c-o>: >
  let g:ctrlp_open_multi = 1
<
If bigger than 1, it’ll be used as the maximum number of windows to create when
opening the files (the rest will be hidden buffers). If is 1, <c-o> will open
all files, each in a vertical split.

===============================================================================
3. Commands                                                    *ctrlp-commands*

                                                                       *:CtrlP*
:CtrlP [starting-directory]
   Open the |CtrlP| prompt in find file mode.
   If no argument is given, the value of |g:ctrlp_working_path_mode| will be
   used to determine the starting directory.
   You can use <tab> to auto-complete the [starting-directory] when typing it.

                                                                 *:CtrlPBuffer*
:CtrlPBuffer
   Open the |CtrlP| prompt in find buffer mode.

                                                               *:CtrlPMRUFiles*
:CtrlPMRUFiles
   Open the |CtrlP| prompt in find Most-Recently-Used file mode.

                                                             *:ClearCtrlPCache*
:ClearCtrlPCache
   Flush the cache for the current working directory. Same as pressing <F5>
   inside |CtrlP|.

                                                         *:ClearAllCtrlPCaches*
:ClearAllCtrlPCaches
   Delete all the cache files saved in |ctrlp_cache_dir|.

                                                                  *:ResetCtrlP*
:ResetCtrlP
   Reset all options, take in new values of the option variables (section 2).

The following commands ignore the value of |g:ctrlp_working_path_mode|:

                                                                  *:CtrlPCurWD*
:CtrlPCurWD
   This acts like |:CtrlP| with |path_mode| = 0
   Find files in the |current-directory|.

                                                                *:CtrlPCurFile*
:CtrlPCurFile
   This acts like |:CtrlP| with |path_mode| = 1
   Find files in the same directory as the active buffer, regardless of what
   the |current-directory| is.

                                                                   *:CtrlPRoot*
:CtrlPRoot
   This acts like |:CtrlP| with |path_mode| = 2
   Find files in the project’s root directory.
   Check |working_path_mode| to see how |CtrlP| finds a root.

===============================================================================
4. Mappings                                                    *ctrlp-mappings*

                                                                *'ctrlp-<c-p>'*
<c-p>
   Default |Normal| mode mapping to open the |CtrlP| prompt.

Once inside the prompt:

  <c-r>                                                    *'ctrlp-fullregexp'*
    Toggle between the string mode (section 5.a & b) and full |regexp| mode.
    (note: in full |regexp| mode, the prompt’s base is 'r>>' instead of '>>>')

    See also |input-formats| and |g:ctrlp_regexp_search|.

  <c-d>
    Toggle between full path search and filename only search.
    (note: in filename mode, the prompt’s base is '>d>' instead of '>>>')

  <c-f>, 'forward'
  <c-up>
    Scroll to the 'next' search type in the sequence. Currently file, buffer
    and most recently used file (MRU) are available.

  <c-b>, 'backward'
  <c-down>
    Scroll to the 'previous' search type in the sequence.

  <tab>
    Toggle the focus between the match window and the prompt.

  <c-j>,
  <down>
    Move selection down

  <c-k>,
  <up>
    Move selection up

  <c-a>
    Move the cursor to the 'start' of the prompt

  <c-e>
    Move the cursor to the 'end' of the prompt

  <c-h>,
  <left>
    Move the cursor one character to the 'left'

  <c-l>,
  <right>
    Move the cursor one character to the 'right'

  <c-w>
    Delete a preceding inner word

  <c-u>
    Clear the input field

  <cr>
    Open selected file with the method specified with |g:ctrlp_split_window|

  <c-t>
    Open selected file in a new 'tab'

  <c-v>
    Open selected file in a 'vertical' split

  <c-cr>,
  <c-s>,
  <c-x>
    Open selected file in a 'horizontal' split

  <c-y>
    Create a new file and its parent directories.

  <c-n>
    'Next' string in the prompt’s history

  <c-p>
    'Previous' string in the prompt’s history

  <c-z>
    Mark/unmark a file to be opened with <c-o>.

  <c-o>
    Open files marked by <c-z>.

  <F5>
    Refresh the match window and purge the cache for the current directory.
    Or remove deleted files from MRU list.

  <esc>,
  <c-c>,
  <c-g>
    Exit |CtrlP|. <c-c> can also be used to stop the file scan.

Chose your own mappings with |g:ctrlp_prompt_mappings|.

When inside the match window (press <tab> to switch):

  a-z
  0-9
  ~^-=;`',.+!@#$%&_(){}[]
    Cycle through the lines with the first letter (of paths or filenames) that
    matches that key.

===============================================================================
5. Input Formats                                          *ctrlp-input-formats*

                                                   *ctrlp-prompt-input-formats*
Formats for inputting in the prompt:

a)  Simple string.
    e.g. 'abc' is understood internally as 'a[^a]\{-}b[^b]\{-}c'

b)  Vim |regexp|. If the input string contains '*' or '|', it’ll be treated as
    a Vim’s |regexp| |pattern| without any modification.
    e.g. 'abc\d*efg' will be read as 'abc\d*efg'.

    See also |ctrlp-fullregexp| (key map) and |g:ctrlp_regexp_search| (option).

c)  End the string with a colon ':' followed by a Vim command to execute that
    command after opening the file. If you need to use ':' in the command,
    escape it with a backslash: '\:'.
    e.g. 'abc:45' will open the selected file and jump to line 45.
         'abc:/my\:function' will open the selected file and jump to the first
         instance of 'my:function'.
         'abc:+setf\ myfiletype|50' will open the selected file and set its
         filetype to 'myfiletype' then jump to line 50.

    See also Vim’s |++opt| and |+cmd|.

d)  Type exactly two dots (..) at the start of the line and press enter to go
    backward in the directory tree by 1 level. If the parent directory is
    large, this might be slow.

e)  Type the name of a non-existent file and press <c-y> to create it.
    e.g. 'parentdir/file.txt' will create a directory named 'parentdir' as well
    as 'file.txt'. Use '\' in place of '/' on Windows (if |'ssl'| is not set).

f)  Submit ? to open this help file.

===============================================================================
EXTENDING                                                     *ctrlp-extending*

Extending |CtrlP| is made to be incredibly simple. Just create a .vim file
following a short guidelines, place the file in the right spot and add a line
to your .vimrc.

To see how it all works, get the sample.vim from the 'extensions' branch on the
git repository (https://github.com/kien/ctrlp.vim/tree/extensions), and place
it (along with the parent directories) somewhere in your runtimepath. Then put
this into your .vimrc: >
  let g:ctrlp_extensions = ['sample']
<
A 4th search type will show up the next time you open |CtrlP|.

For more details, check out the comments inside sample.vim.

===============================================================================
CREDITS                                                         *ctrlp-credits*

Developed by Kien Nguyen (github.com/kien), primarily based on the Command-T
and the LustyExplorer plugins. No code was taken from these plugins, but I did
clone the majority of their (awesome) interfaces and the way they work.

The was originally written as a module for a would-be larger plugin called
AutoDoc.vim which I’ve stopped developing because of lost of interest. I really
liked the way Command-T and LustyExplorer deal with user’s input, so I wrote a
pure Vimscript version of their prompt window, intended to use it for the
aforementioned plugin.

Homepage:             http://kien.github.com/ctrlp.vim
Git repository:       https://github.com/kien/ctrlp.vim
Mercurial repository: https://bitbucket.org/kien/ctrlp.vim

===============================================================================
THANKS                                                           *ctrlp-thanks*

Thanks to everyone that has submitted ideas, bug reports, helped debugging or
came up with solutions on gibhub, bitbucket, and through email.

===============================================================================
CHANGELOG                                                     *ctrlp-changelog*

Before 2011/10/30

    + New feature: Support for custom extensions.
                   <F5> now removes non-existent files from MRU list.
    + New option: |g:ctrlp_jump_to_buffer|

Before 2011/10/12

    + New features: Open multiple files.
                    Pass Vim’s ++opt and +cmd to the opening file (section 5.c)
                    Auto-complete each dir for |:CtrlP| [starting-directory]
    + New mappings: <c-z> mark/unmark a file to be opened with <c-o>.
                    <c-o> open all marked files.
    + New option: |g:ctrlp_open_multi|
    + Remove |g:ctrlp_persistent_input|, |g:ctrlp_live_update| and <c-^>.

Before 2011/09/29

    + New mappings: <c-n>, <c-p> next/prev string in the input history.
                    <c-y> create a new file and its parent dirs.
    + New options: |g:ctrlp_open_new_file|,
                   |g:ctrlp_max_history|
    + Added a new open-in-horizontal-split mapping: <c-x>

Before 2011/09/19

    + New command: |ResetCtrlP|
    + New options: |g:ctrlp_max_files|,
                   |g:ctrlp_max_depth|,
                   |g:ctrlp_live_update|
    + New mapping: <c-^>

Before 2011/09/12

    + Ability to cycle through matched lines in the match window.
    + Extended the behavior of |g:ctrlp_persistent_input|
    + Extended the behavior of |:CtrlP|
    + New options: |g:ctrlp_dotfiles|,
                   |g:ctrlp_clear_cache_on_exit|,
                   |g:ctrlp_highlight_match|,
                   |g:ctrlp_user_command|
    + New input format: '..' (section 5.d)
    + New mapping: <F5>.
    + New commands: |:CtrlPCurWD|,
                    |:CtrlPCurFile|,
                    |:CtrlPRoot|

    + New feature: Search in most recently used (MRU) files
    + New mapping: <c-b>.
    + Extended the behavior of <c-f>.
    + New options: |g:ctrlp_mru_files|,
                   |g:ctrlp_mruf_max|,
                   |g:ctrlp_mruf_exclude|,
                   |g:ctrlp_mruf_include|
    + New command: |:CtrlPMRUFiles|

First public release: 2011/09/06

===============================================================================
vim:et:ts=2:sw=2:sts=2