what does "<auto>" do in the file actions?

[armyers]

Hi,

I'm pretty new to the advanced features of neovim and to lua.

I see this block of code (and several like it) in the file lua/fzf-lua/actions.lua:

-- file actions
M.file_edit = function(selected, opts)
  local vimcmd = "<auto>"
  M.vimcmd_entry(vimcmd, selected, opts)
end

I've googled and searched the neovim help pages but cannot find any explanation of what "<auto>" does.

Please help! :)

Thank you!

[ibhagwan]

I've googled and searched the neovim help pages but cannot find any explanation of what "<auto>" does.

That’s because it’s meant to be used only internally inside fzf-lua :)

Until not long ago there were different code paths for buffer entries (buffers, lines, tabs, etc) and file entries (files, git_file, lsp_xxx, grep_xxx, etc), I combined the actions code for both and now file_edit = buf_edit. This simplified setting up the defaults in actions.files which now apply to both buffers and files (no need to define actions.buffers).

In short, <auto> just tells the combined action code to use :b <bufnr> and :e <filepath> respectively:

fzf-lua/lua/fzf-lua/actions.lua

Lines 129 to 130 in 985e100

	-- Adjust "<auto>" edits based on entry being buffer or filename
	local vimcmd = _vimcmd:gsub("<auto>", entry.bufnr and entry.bufname and "b" or "e")

The internal code deduplication resulting from said change:

fzf-lua/lua/fzf-lua/actions.lua

Lines 369 to 377 in 985e100

	M.buf_edit = M.file_edit
	M.buf_split = M.file_split
	M.buf_vsplit = M.file_vsplit
	M.buf_tabedit = M.file_tabedit
	M.buf_sel_to_qf = M.file_sel_to_qf
	M.buf_sel_to_ll = M.file_sel_to_ll
	M.buf_edit_or_qf = M.file_edit_or_qf
	M.buf_switch = M.file_switch
	M.buf_switch_or_edit = M.file_switch_or_edit

[armyers]

OK, that's cool. thank you!

so, I know the default behavior for file_edit when multiple files are selected in the picker is to add them to the quckfix list. I'd like to add an option to just open the files in separate buffers (not windows or tabs) so I can skip the step of working through the quickfix list. Does that sound like a reasonable use-case (workflow) and would that be relatively easy? :)

Thanks again!

[ibhagwan]

OK, that's cool. thank you!

so, I know the default behavior for file_edit when multiple files are selected in the picker is to add them to the quckfix list. I'd like to add an option to just open the files in separate buffers (not windows or tabs) so I can skip the step of working through the quickfix list. Does that sound like a reasonable use-case (workflow) and would that be relatively easy? :)

Thanks again!

The default action is file_edit_or_qf, what you want is also possible by using file_edit instead - either change the default in actions.files or add a new key bind mapped to file_edit.

[armyers]

ah, yes, that makes sense now. I just wasn't quite sure because I didn't know the function of "". and yes, I misspoke about the default behavior of file_edit; I was thinking about file_edit_or_qf, I guess.

thank you, again, for your great plugin and quick assistance.

[ibhagwan]

Ty @armyers!

Link to the README’s default actions with comments about the qf vs no qf:

fzf-lua/README.md

Lines 658 to 676 in 985e100

	actions = {
	-- Below are the default actions, setting any value in these tables will override
	-- the defaults, to inherit from the defaults change [1] from `false` to `true`
	files = {
	false, -- do not inherit from defaults
	-- Pickers inheriting these actions:
	-- files, git_files, git_status, grep, lsp, oldfiles, quickfix, loclist,
	-- tags, btags, args, buffers, tabs, lines, blines
	-- `file_edit_or_qf` opens a single selection or sends multiple selection to quickfix
	-- replace `enter` with `file_edit` to open all files/bufs whether single or multiple
	-- replace `enter` with `file_switch_or_edit` to attempt a switch in current tab first
	["enter"] = actions.file_edit_or_qf,
	["ctrl-s"] = actions.file_split,
	["ctrl-v"] = actions.file_vsplit,
	["ctrl-t"] = actions.file_tabedit,
	["alt-q"] = actions.file_sel_to_qf,
	["alt-Q"] = actions.file_sel_to_ll,
	},
	},

[armyers]

yes, I found that earlier and was just reviewing. I'll probably add a C-b mapping to call file_edit to open the selected files in buffers, like you suggested. Very cool.

Once again, thank you!

[armyers]

and fyi, that will remove a ton of friction from my workflow! I've been feeling a bit frustrated by not having a way to directly open the files in buffers that you (and telescope) have made so easy to find. Good stuff!

[armyers]

sorry, one more quick follow up. Here's my code:

return {
  {
    "ibhagwan/fzf-lua",
    enabled = true,
    -- optional for icon support
    dependencies = { "nvim-tree/nvim-web-devicons" },
    config = function()
      local actions = require("fzf-lua.actions")
      -- calling `setup` is optional for customization
      require("fzf-lua").setup({
        actions = {
          files = {
            true, -- inherit from defaults
            ["enter"] = actions.file_edit,
          },
        },
      })
    end,
  },
}

I stuck with using enter cuz I couldn't find a good alternative ctrl- combo. :/

I love it!

[ibhagwan]

looks great @armyers!