mini.files

mini.files

Generated from the main branch of ‘mini.nvim’

Demo

Features

  • Navigate file system using column view (Miller columns) to display nested directories. See :h MiniFiles-navigation for overview.

  • Opt-in preview of file or directory under cursor.

  • Manipulate files and directories by editing text buffers: create, delete, copy, rename, move. See :h MiniFiles-manipulation for overview.

  • Use as default file explorer instead of netrw.

  • Configurable:

    • Filter/prefix/sort of file system entries.
    • Mappings used for common explorer actions.
    • UI options: whether to show preview of file/directory under cursor, etc.
    • Bookmarks for quicker navigation.

See :h MiniFiles-examples for some common configuration examples.

Notes:

  • This module is written and thoroughly tested on Linux. Support for other platform/OS (like Windows or MacOS) is a goal, but there is no guarantee.

  • This module silently reacts to not enough permissions:

    • In case of missing file, check its or its parent read permissions.
    • In case of no manipulation result, check write permissions.

Dependencies

For full experience needs (still works without any of suggestions):

Quick start

Manipulation

  • Navigate to the directory in which manipulation should be done.

  • Edit buffer in the way representing file system action:

    • Create file/directory: create new line like file or dir/.
    • Create file/directory in the descendant directory: create new line like dir/file or dir/nested/.
    • Delete file/directory: delete whole line representing that entry.
    • Rename file/directory: change text to the right of that entry’s icon.
    • Copy file/directory: copy whole line and paste it in target directory.
    • Move file/directory: cut whole line and paste it in target directory.

  • Press =; read confirmation dialog; confirm with y/<CR> or not confirm with n/<Esc>.

For deeper overview, see :h MiniFiles-manipulation.

Installation

This plugin can be installed as part of ‘mini.nvim’ library (recommended) or as a standalone Git repository.

There are two branches to install from:

  • main (default, recommended) will have latest development version of plugin. All changes since last stable release should be perceived as being in beta testing phase (meaning they already passed alpha-testing and are moderately settled).
  • stable will be updated only upon releases with code tested during public beta-testing phase in main branch.

Here are code snippets for some common installation methods (use only one):

With mini.deps

  • ‘mini.nvim’ library:

    Branch Code snippet
    Main Follow recommended ‘mini.deps’ installation
    Stable Follow recommended ‘mini.deps’ installation

  • Standalone plugin:

    Branch Code snippet
    Main add(‘nvim-mini/mini.files’)
    Stable add({ source = ‘nvim-mini/mini.files’, checkout = ‘stable’ })
With folke/lazy.nvim

  • ‘mini.nvim’ library:

    Branch Code snippet
    Main { 'nvim-mini/mini.nvim', version = false },
    Stable { 'nvim-mini/mini.nvim', version = '*' },

  • Standalone plugin:

    Branch Code snippet
    Main { 'nvim-mini/mini.files', version = false },
    Stable { 'nvim-mini/mini.files', version = '*' },
With junegunn/vim-plug

  • ‘mini.nvim’ library:

    Branch Code snippet
    Main Plug 'nvim-mini/mini.nvim'
    Stable Plug 'nvim-mini/mini.nvim', { 'branch': 'stable' }

  • Standalone plugin:

    Branch Code snippet
    Main Plug 'nvim-mini/mini.files'
    Stable Plug 'nvim-mini/mini.files', { 'branch': 'stable' }

Important: don’t forget to call require('mini.files').setup() to enable its functionality.

Note: if you are on Windows, there might be problems with too long file paths (like error: unable to create file <some file name>: Filename too long). Try doing one of the following:

  • Enable corresponding git global config value: git config --system core.longpaths true. Then try to reinstall.
  • Install plugin in other place with shorter path.

Default config

-- No need to copy this inside `setup()`. Will be used automatically.
{
  -- Customization of shown content
  content = {
    -- Predicate for which file system entries to show
    filter = nil,
    -- What prefix to show to the left of file system entry
    prefix = nil,
    -- In which order to show file system entries
    sort = nil,
  },

  -- Module mappings created only inside explorer.
  -- Use `''` (empty string) to not create one.
  mappings = {
    close       = 'q',
    go_in       = 'l',
    go_in_plus  = 'L',
    go_out      = 'h',
    go_out_plus = 'H',
    mark_goto   = "'",
    mark_set    = 'm',
    reset       = '<BS>',
    reveal_cwd  = '@',
    show_help   = 'g?',
    synchronize = '=',
    trim_left   = '<',
    trim_right  = '>',
  },

  -- General options
  options = {
    -- Whether to delete permanently or move into module-specific trash
    permanent_delete = true,
    -- Whether to use for editing directories
    use_as_default_explorer = true,
  },

  -- Customization of explorer windows
  windows = {
    -- Maximum number of windows to show side by side
    max_number = math.huge,
    -- Whether to show preview of file/directory under cursor
    preview = false,
    -- Width of focused window
    width_focus = 50,
    -- Width of non-focused window
    width_nofocus = 15,
    -- Width of preview window
    width_preview = 25,
  },
}

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