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Full path fuzzy file, buffer, mru, tag, ... finder for Vim.

  • Written in pure Vimscript for MacVim, gVim and Vim 7.0+.
  • Full support for Vim's regexp as search patterns.
  • Built-in Most Recently Used (MRU) files monitoring and search.
  • Built-in project's root finder.
  • Open multiple files at once.
  • Create new files and directories.
  • Execute Ex commands on an opening file (jump to a line, to a string or do anything).
  • Optional cross-sessions caching and history allow for fast initialization.
  • Mappings and usage conform to Vim's conventions.

Screenshot: CtrlP in regex and full path mode with 3 files selected to open.
screenshot

Basic Usage:

  • Run :CtrlP or :CtrlP [starting-directory] to invoke CtrlP in find file mode.
  • Run :CtrlPBuffer or :CtrlPMRU to start CtrlP in find buffer or find MRU file mode.
  • Run :CtrlPMixed to search in Files, Buffers and MRU files at the same time.

Check :help ctrlp-commands and :help ctrlp-extensions for other commands.

Once CtrlP is open:
  • Press <F5> to purge the cache for the current directory to get new files, remove deleted files and apply new ignore options.
  • Press <c-f> and <c-b> to cycle between modes.
  • Press <c-d> to switch to filename search instead of full path.
  • Press <c-r> to switch to regexp mode.
  • Use <c-j>, <c-k> or the arrow keys to navigate the result list.
  • Use <c-t> or <c-v>, <c-x> to open the selected entry in a new tab or in a new split.
  • Use <c-n>, <c-p> to select the next/previous string in the prompt's history.
  • Use <c-y> to create a new file and its parent directories.
  • Use <c-z> to mark/unmark multiple files and <c-o> to open them.

Run :help ctrlp-mappings or submit ? in CtrlP for more mapping help.

  • Submit two or more dots .. to go up the directory tree by one or multiple levels.
  • End the input with a colon : followed by a command to execute it after opening the file:
    • Use :25 to jump to line 25.
    • Use :/any\:\ string to jump to the first instance of any: string.
    • Use :+setfiletype\ myfiletype|25 to set the filetype to myfiletype then jump to line 25.
    • Use :diffthis when opening files marked by <c-z> to run :diffthis on the first 4 files.

Basic Options:

  • Change the default mapping and the default command to invoke CtrlP: 
    let g:ctrlp_map = '<c-p>'
let g:ctrlp_cmd = 'CtrlP'
  • When invoked, unless a starting directory is specified, CtrlP will set its local working directory according to this variable: 
    let g:ctrlp_working_path_mode = 'ra'
    'c' - the directory of the current file.
    'r' - the nearest ancestor that contains one of these directories or files: .git .hg .svn .bzr _darcs, and your own root markers defined with the g:ctrlp_root_markers option.
    'a' - like 'c', but only applies when the current working directory outside of CtrlP isn't a direct ancestor of the directory of the current file.
    0 or '' (empty string) - disable this feature.
  • Exclude files or directories using Vim's wildignore: 
    set wildignore+=*/tmp/*,*.so,*.swp,*.zip     " Linux/MacOSX
set wildignore+=*\\tmp\\*,*.swp,*.zip,*.exe  " Windows
    And/Or CtrlP's own g:ctrlp_custom_ignore: 
    let g:ctrlp_custom_ignore = '\v[\/]\.(git|hg|svn)$'
let g:ctrlp_custom_ignore = {
	\ 'dir':  '\v[\/]\.(git|hg|svn)$',
	\ 'file': '\v\.(exe|so|dll)$',
	\ 'link': 'SOME_BAD_SYMBOLIC_LINKS',
	\ }
  • 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 = 'find %s -type f'        " MacOSX/Linux
let g:ctrlp_user_command = 'dir %s /-n /b /s /a-d'  " Windows
    Single VCS listing command: 
    let g:ctrlp_user_command = ['.git', 'cd %s && git ls-files']
let g:ctrlp_user_command = ['.git', 'cd %s && git ls-files . -co --exclude-standard', 'find %s -type f']
let g:ctrlp_user_command = ['.hg', 'hg --cwd %s locate -I .']
    Multiple VCS listing commands: 
    let g:ctrlp_user_command = {
	\ 'types': {
		\ 1: ['.git', 'cd %s && git ls-files'],
		\ 2: ['.hg', 'hg --cwd %s locate -I .'],
		\ },
	\ 'fallback': 'find %s -type f'
	\ }

Check :help ctrlp-options for other options.

Get ctrlp.vim:

  1. Clone the plugin into a separate directory: 
    $ cd ~/.vim
$ git clone https://github.com/kien/ctrlp.vim.git bundle/ctrlp.vim
    Or if you prefer Mercurial: 
    $ hg clone https://bitbucket.org/kien/ctrlp.vim bundle/ctrlp.vim
  2. Add to your ~/.vimrc: 
    set runtimepath^=~/.vim/bundle/ctrlp.vim
  3. Run at Vim's command line: 
    :helptags ~/.vim/bundle/ctrlp.vim/doc
  4. Restart Vim and check :help ctrlp.txt for usage instructions and configuration details.

Direct downloads:

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