Lf.nvim

This is a neovim plugin for the lf file manager. It is very similar to lf.vim, except for that this is written in Lua.

NOTE: This plugin uses toggleterm.nvim and plenary.nvim

Setup/Configuration

-- Defaults
require("lf").setup({
  default_cmd = "lf", -- default `lf` command
  default_action = "edit", -- default action when `Lf` opens a file
  default_actions = { -- default action keybindings
    ["<C-t>"] = "tabedit",
    ["<C-x>"] = "split",
    ["<C-v>"] = "vsplit",
    ["<C-o>"] = "tab drop",
  },

  winblend = 10, -- psuedotransparency level
  dir = "", -- directory where `lf` starts ('gwd' is git-working-directory, "" is CWD)
  direction = "float", -- window type: float horizontal vertical
  border = "double", -- border kind: single double shadow curved
  height = 0.80, -- height of the *floating* window
  width = 0.85, -- width of the *floating* window
  escape_quit = true, -- map escape to the quit command (so it doesn't go into a meta normal mode)
  mappings = true, -- whether terminal buffer mapping is enabled
  tmux = false, -- tmux statusline can be disabled on opening of Lf
  highlights = { -- highlights passed to toggleterm
    Normal = { guibg = <VALUE> },
    NormalFloat = { link = 'Normal' },
    FloatBorder = {
      guifg = <VALUE>,
      guibg = <VALUE>
    }
  },

  -- Layout configurations
  layout_mapping = "<A-u>", -- resize window with this key

  views = { -- window dimensions to rotate through
    { width = 0.600, height = 0.600 },
    {
      width = 1.0 * fn.float2nr(fn.round(0.7 * o.columns)) / o.columns,
      height = 1.0 * fn.float2nr(fn.round(0.7 * o.lines)) / o.lines,
    },
    { width = 0.800, height = 0.800 },
    { width = 0.950, height = 0.950 },
  }
})

vim.api.nvim_set_keymap("n", "<mapping>", "<cmd>lua require('lf').start()", { noremap = true })

Another option is to use vim.keymap.set, which requires nvim 0.7.0 or higher. This doesn't require local variables and would allow customization of the program.

vim.keymap.set(
  "n",
  "<mapping>",
  function()
    require("lf").start(
      -- nil, -- this is the path to open Lf (nil means CWD)
              -- this argument is optional see `.start` below
      {
        -- Pass any options (if any) that you would like
        dir = "", -- directory where `lf` starts ('gwd' is git-working-directory)
        direction = "float", -- window type: float horizontal vertical
        border = "double", -- border kind: single double shadow curved
        height = 0.80, -- height of the *floating* window
        width = 0.85, -- width of the *floating* window
        mappings = true, -- whether terminal buffer mapping is enabled
    })
  end,
  { noremap = true }
)

There is a command that does basically the exact same thing :Lf. This command takes one optional argument, which is a directory for lf to start in.

require("lf").start()

This function is able to take two arguments. The first is the path (string), and the second is configuration options (table). If there is only one argument and it is a table, this will be treated as configuration options and lf will open in the current directory. The following are all valid:

require('lf').start({ border = "rounded" }) -- opens in CWD with rounded borders
require('lf').start(nil, { border = "rounded" }) -- opens in CWD with rounded borders

require('lf').start("~/.config") -- opens in `~/.config` with either `.setup()` or default options
require('lf').start("~/.config", nil) -- opens in `~/.config` with either `.setup()` or default options

require('lf').start(nil, nil) -- opens in CWD with either `.setup()` or default options
require('lf').start() -- opens in CWD with either `.setup()` or default options

require('lf').start("~/.config", { border = "rounded" }) -- opens in `~/.config` with rounded borders

Highlight Groups

The highlight groups that I know for sure work are the ones mentioned above (Normal, NormalFloat, FloatBorder). These are passed to toggleterm, and there is a plan in the future to make these Lf's own groups. For now, a one-shot way to change the color of the border of the terminal is the following:

:lua require("lf").start({ highlights = { FloatBorder = { guifg = "#819C3B" } } })

Default Actions

These are various ways to open the wanted file(s). The process works by creating a Neovim mapping to send lf a command to manually open the file. The available commands are anything that can open a file.

Resizing Window

The configuration option layout_mapping is the key-mapping that will cycle through the window views. Once the last view is reached, the cycle is restarted.

Neovim 0.7.0

If you do not have the nightly version of nvim, then the mappings field can be set to false. Otherwise, a notification will be display saying that you are not allowed to use these.

require("lf").start({ mappings = false })

Replacing Netrw

The only configurable environment variable is g:lf_netrw, which can be set to 1 to replace netrw

Key mappings

The mappings that are listed in the setup call above are the default bindings.

• <C-t> = tabedit
• <C-x> = split
• <C-v> = vsplit
• <C-o> = tab drop
• <A-u> = resize the floating window

A suggested binding to use to open Lf is <C-o> or <A-o>.

TODO

• :LfToggle command
• Find a way for lf to hijack keybindings
• Cycling through various sizes of the terminal (similar to rnvimr)
• Set tmux title of ToggleTerm
• Save previous size when terminal is closed, so it is restored on open
• Maybe: Disable lualine and other status lines