FindItFaster: Sonar

pong… pong… is da sound of the Sonar

Fork of FindItFaster. Linux + WSL. File/content search powered by fzf, rg, bat.

What's new

0.1.5 — Fixes TYPE_FILTER in find-within-open-files (was a no-op). README updates.
0.1.4 — Filetype pickers (alt+j / alt+u), // tokens filter syntax.
0.1.3 — Preflight for missing tools. WSL paste.
0.1.1 — First Sonar release.

What's different from upstream

pattern // [type|!type|glob|!glob] ... filter syntax in find-within-files
New commands: search within current file, search within open files
Persisted fzf history (~/.cache/find-it-faster/history)
ctrl+x clears, ctrl+v pastes (wl-paste / xclip / powershell.exe)
findFiles.fzfDefaultCommand for custom listers (git ls-files, fd)
Single search root = terminal cwd
Linux only (WSL supported); macOS / native Windows removed

Install

sudo apt-get install -y fzf ripgrep bat && sudo ln -sf /usr/bin/batcat /usr/local/bin/bat

Missing fzf or rg at runtime → clear error in the terminal (doesn't auto-close). Missing bat → preview disabled, warning only.

WSL on Windows

wsl --install -d Ubuntu (PowerShell)
Install deps above in WSL
VSCode: install Remote - WSL, reopen folder in WSL
Install FindItFaster: Sonar into the WSL window

ctrl+v reads the Windows clipboard via powershell.exe.

Commands

Prefix: Sonar: in the command palette.

Command	Keybinding
Search file	`ctrl+shift+j`
Search file (with type filter)	`ctrl+shift+alt+j`
Search within files	`ctrl+shift+u`
Search within files (with type filter)	`ctrl+shift+alt+u`
Search within current file	—
Search within open files	—
Resume last search	—

The *With type filter variants pre-narrow rg via -t <type> — faster than any query-level filter on big repos.

Query syntax

Command	Matcher	Syntax
Search file	fzf	fzf extended-search
Search within current file	fzf	fzf extended-search
Search within files	rg	rg regex + `// tokens`
Search within open files	rg	rg regex + `// tokens`

fzf extended-search syntax (Search file, Search within current file)

Token	Meaning
`sbtrkt`	fuzzy match
`'wild`	exact match
`^music`	starts with `music`
`.mp3$`	ends with `.mp3`
`!fire`	NOT fuzzy `fire`
`!^music`	NOT starting with `music`
`!.mp3$`	NOT ending with `.mp3`
`a \\| b`	`a` OR `b`
`a b`	`a` AND `b`

Examples:

.svg$                      # every .svg file
icons .svg$                # .svg files matching "icons" fuzzily
'exact-name                # filenames containing the literal "exact-name"
^src .ts$ | .tsx$          # TypeScript under src/
config | settings .json$   # config.json or settings.json
test !.spec.               # anything with "test" but not ".spec."

rg regex + `// tokens` file filter (Search within files, Search within open files)

Left of // = rg regex. Right = space-separated file filters.

Token	Effect	rg flag
`c`	rg type (e.g. `.c`/`.h`)	`-t c`
`!c`	exclude C files	`-T c`
`*.c`	glob	`-g '*.c'`
`!*_test.c`	negated glob	`-g '!*_test.c'`
`src/**`	top-level `src/` only	`-g 'src/**'`
`!node_modules/**`	top-level `node_modules/` only	`-g '!node_modules/**'`
`.md`	shorthand for `*.md`	`-g '*.md'`

Glob vs type: contains *?/. → glob, otherwise rg type. rg --type-list for types.

Path globs are root-anchored. src/** matches top-level src/ only — use **/src/** for nested. Same for !node_modules/**.

Examples:

todo // c                       # "todo" in C files
handler // py !*_test.py        # "handler" in Python, skip test files
foo // src/**                   # "foo" under top-level src/ (use **/src/** for nested)
config // *.json !**/dist/**    # "config" in JSON, skip dist dirs
^import .* from // ts           # regex on the left, file filter on the right

Empty pattern: // py lists every .py file.

Recipes

First word = which command to run.

Find files

Search file    .svg$                      every SVG
Search file    ^src/ .ts$ | .tsx$         TS/TSX under src/
Search file    'README                    literal "README" in name
Search file    migration !.sql$           "migration" but not .sql
Search file    !test !spec                neither test nor spec
Search file    ^docs .md$                 markdown under docs/
Search file    config | settings .json$   config.json or settings.json

Search within files

Search within files   TODO // py                   TODOs in Python
Search within files   ^def\s+\w+ // py             Python function defs
Search within files   use[A-Z]\w+ // ts            React hooks (ts covers .tsx)
Search within files   from 'lodash' // ts js       lodash imports
Search within files   ^class\s+\w+ // java kotlin  class declarations
Search within files   https?://\S+ // md           URLs in markdown
Search within files   TODO|FIXME|XXX // !*_test.*  todos outside tests
Search within files   FIXME // src/** !*.lock      fixmes under src/, not lockfiles
Search within files    // py                       list all .py files

Search within current file

Search within current file   .error$          lines ending in "error"
Search within current file   ^return          lines starting with `return`
Search within current file   'throw           lines with literal "throw"
Search within current file   TODO | FIXME     either tag

Fastest: rg pre-filter (large repos)

ctrl+shift+alt+j  → "svg"    # only .svg files
ctrl+shift+alt+u  → "py"     # within .py only

Tips

ctrl+p / ctrl+n — query history (30 entries, persisted)
ctrl+v — paste (needs fzf ≥ 0.38 + clipboard tool)
ctrl+x — clear query

Settings

@ext:stoffej.fif-sonar in settings. Keys under fif-sonar.*.

General

Key	Default	Purpose
`general.hideTerminalAfterSuccess`	`true`	Hide terminal after pick.
`general.hideTerminalAfterFail`	`true`	Also hide on cancel.
`general.clearTerminalAfterUse`	`true`	`clear` before hiding.
`general.killTerminalAfterUse`	`true`	Dispose terminal fully.
`general.showMaximizedTerminal`	`false`	Maximize while picking.
`general.useGitIgnoreExcludes`	`true`	Honor `.gitignore`.
`general.useWorkspaceSearchExcludes`	`true`	Honor `search.exclude`.
`general.batTheme`	`"1337"`	Preview theme.
`general.openFileInPreviewEditor`	`false`	Open as Preview tabs.
`general.restoreFocusTerminal`	`false`	Re-focus prior terminal after pick.
`general.useTerminalInEditor`	`true`	Terminal in editor area.
`general.shellPathForTerminal`	`"/bin/bash"`	Shell used.
`general.shellArgsForTerminal`	`["--norc", "--noprofile"]`	Skip rc for fast spawn.

Find files

Key	Default	Purpose
`findFiles.showPreview`	`true`	bat preview pane.
`findFiles.previewCommand`	(built-in)	`{}` = filename.
`findFiles.previewWindowConfig`	(built-in)	fzf `--preview-window`.
`findFiles.fzfDefaultCommand`	`""`	Custom lister; empty = `rg --files`.

Find within files

Key	Default	Purpose
`findWithinFiles.showPreview`	`true`	Preview pane.
`findWithinFiles.previewCommand`	(built-in)	`{1}` = file, `{2}` = line.
`findWithinFiles.previewWindowConfig`	(built-in)	`--preview-window`.
`findWithinFiles.fuzzRipgrepQuery`	`false`	Whitespace → `.*`.

Advanced

Key	Default	Purpose
`advanced.disableStartupChecks`	`true`	Skip per-activation tool checks.
`advanced.useEditorSelectionAsQuery`	`true`	Seed query from selection.

Example settings

// git ls-files as lister
"fif-sonar.findFiles.fzfDefaultCommand": "git ls-files --cached --others --exclude-standard"

// keep terminal after pick
"fif-sonar.general.hideTerminalAfterSuccess": false,
"fif-sonar.general.killTerminalAfterUse": false

// use zsh
"fif-sonar.general.shellPathForTerminal": "/bin/zsh",
"fif-sonar.general.shellArgsForTerminal": []

// loose matching
"fif-sonar.findWithinFiles.fuzzRipgrepQuery": true

FAQ

Ctrl+K doesn't move up in fzf. Set "terminal.integrated.allowChords": false.

Files from other folders don't show up. Picker uses terminal cwd. Open the wider folder, or set findFiles.fzfDefaultCommand.

Terminal closes before I can read an error. On precondition failure the extension keeps it open. If it still disappears, a workspace override on hideTerminalAfterFail may be overriding the extension.

ctrl+v doesn't paste. Requires fzf ≥ 0.38 + one of wl-paste / xclip / powershell.exe.

Preview empty. bat missing. Install it.

Native Windows? Not supported. Use WSL.

Credits

Thanks to Tom Rijndorp for FindItFaster — this fork is built on it.

FindItFaster: Sonar

stoffej

FindItFaster: Sonar

What's new

What's different from upstream

Install

WSL on Windows

Commands

Query syntax

fzf extended-search syntax (Search file, Search within current file)

rg regex + // tokens file filter (Search within files, Search within open files)

Recipes

Tips

Settings

General

Find files

Find within files

Advanced

Example settings

FAQ

Credits

rg regex + `// tokens` file filter (Search within files, Search within open files)