In a fast-paced development environment, efficiency is key. Searching for files, commits, or code snippets in a Git repository can be time-consuming if you're relying solely on built-in Git commands. Fortunately, tools like Fuzzy Finder (fzf) and Ripgrep (rg) can significantly enhance your Git workflow, making navigation and searching seamless.

Let’s explore how to use these tools with your simple-repo example, starting with setting up local branches for feature-branch and bugfix-branch.

Installing fzf and ripgrep on Ubuntu

To install both tools on Ubuntu, use the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install fzf ripgrep -y

Verify the installations:

fzf --version
rg --version

What Are Fuzzy Finder and Ripgrep?

  • Fuzzy Finder (fzf): A command-line fuzzy finder that helps you quickly search and navigate through lists, including files, Git commits, branches, and more.
  • Ripgrep (rg): A blazing-fast search tool for finding text within files. It is significantly faster than traditional tools like grep and respects .gitignore by default.

Using fzf and rg in Your Git Workflow

Let’s use your simple-repo as an example to demonstrate how these tools can enhance your workflow.

1. Cloning the Repository

Clone your repository from GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/markbosire/simple-repo.git
cd simple-repo

2. Setting Up Local Branches

After cloning, you’ll only have the master branch locally. To create local branches for feature-branch and bugfix-branch that track their remote counterparts, use the following commands:

git checkout -b feature-branch origin/feature-branch
git checkout -b bugfix-branch origin/bugfix-branch

Now, when you run git branch, you’ll see:

bugfix-branch
  feature-branch
* master

3. Finding and Checking Out Branches

Instead of manually typing out branch names, use fzf to interactively search and switch branches.

List and Checkout Local Branches 

git branch | fzf | xargs git checkout

Example Usage

If you type feature, fzf will filter branches like feature-branch. Selecting it will check out that branch.

4. Searching Through Git History

Searching through commit messages can be tedious with git log. Use fzf to search through your commit history and checkout a commit:

git log --oneline --graph --decorate --color --all | fzf | cut -d' ' -f1 | xargs git checkout

Example Usage

If you type feature, fzf will filter commits related to the feature-branch. Selecting a commit will check it out.

5. Searching for a File in the Repository

If you need to find a file quickly within your simple-repo:

git ls-files | fzf

To open the selected file in VS Code:

git ls-files | fzf | xargs code

Example Usage

If you type file, fzf will filter files like file1.txt and file2.txt. Selecting one will open it in VS Code.

6. Finding Specific Code Snippets with Ripgrep

When searching for code snippets within your repository, ripgrep (rg) is much faster than grep. For example, to find occurrences of Hello in your simple-repo:

rg Hello

Example Usage

If you type Hello, ripgrep will list occurrences across files.

Expected Output:

file1.txt:1:Hello, World!

To integrate ripgrep with fzf for interactive searching:

rg --files | fzf --preview='rg --color=always --line-number {}'

7. Searching for Changed Files in Git

To search within modified or staged files:

git diff --name-only | fzf

For searching unstaged changes:

git status -s | awk '{print $2}' | fzf

Example Usage

If you modify file1.txt and type file, fzf will show the modified file.

8. Grepping Through Git-Tracked Files Only

By default, ripgrep searches all files, including ignored ones. To limit it to only Git-tracked files:

rg --files | fzf --preview='rg --color=always --line-number {}'

Alternatively, to search for a specific pattern in your simple-repo:

rg "simple" $(git ls-files)

Example Usage

If you type simple, ripgrep will show occurrences in file2.txt.

Expected Output:

file2.txt:1:This is a simple repository.

9. Interactive Staging

Staging selected files interactively:

git status -s | fzf | awk '{print $2}' | xargs git add

Example Usage

If you modify file1.txt and type file, fzf will show the modified file. Selecting it will stage the file.

Conclusion

Using fzf and ripgrep in your Git workflow can greatly improve your efficiency, making it easier to navigate repositories, find relevant information, and streamline daily tasks. By integrating these tools into your workflow with your simple-repo, you can reduce friction and focus more on coding rather than searching for files or commits.