Helix – tree file picker... TODAY?!?

config.toml

[keys.normal]
C-f = [":new", ":insert-output lf-pick", ":theme default", "select_all", "split_selection_on_newline", "goto_file", "goto_last_modified_file", ":buffer-close!", ":theme tokyonight_storm"]

lf-pick

# touch ~/.local/bin/lf-pick
# chmod +x ~/.local/bin/lf-pick

function lfp(){
  local TEMP=$(mktemp)
  lf -selection-path=$TEMP
  cat $TEMP
}

lfp

also I've faced with the issue when some key bindings does not work after file opening (for example Alt-d) :(

WSL2 + Ubuntu + Helix is lighter than vscode on windows. I don't see a reason to not use WSL if you've already switched to Helix. You're going to have issues all the time making things compatible with Windows.

I'm using WSL2 + Arch + Helix + Java in my job and works fine! Only in cases I need to debug in Weblogic I do with Apache Netbeans.

""
But, this hack with LF not work in my notebook. UI broken.
""
Correction: using keybinding works like a charm!!! thanks rs.

I want to see how will work in my desktop.

@lukepighetti use the redraw function to update the helix window instead of changing your theme:

[keys.normal]
C-f = [":new", ":insert-output lf-pick", "select_all", "split_selection_on_newline", "goto_file", "goto_last_modified_file", ":buffer-close!", ":redraw"]

@lukepighetti use the redraw function to update the helix window instead of changing your theme:

[keys.normal]
C-f = [":new", ":insert-output lf-pick", "select_all", "split_selection_on_newline", "goto_file", "goto_last_modified_file", ":buffer-close!", ":redraw"]

nice, thanks!

WSL2 + Ubuntu + Helix is lighter than vscode on windows. I don't see a reason to not use WSL if you've already switched to Helix. You're going to have issues all the time making things compatible with Windows.

Agree.. though

I noticed helix running slow in WSL.

If you benchmark the disks WSL create for you (lsblk, sudo gnome-disks or dd equivalent) you'll notice /sda inside WSL is 1000x times slower than your regular disk (some Mbps vs Gbps). 😵‍💫

WSL is virtualized and won't compare to native performance ever.
All programs inside WSL run slow as hell: e.g. chrome, webstorm, neovim, etc.

Some inconveniences i personally find in wsl:

• Official instructions to setup nerd font doesn't work.
• There's no official arch image with AUR (Apt repos does not compare in size and quality to aur / see repology.org)

Alternatives

• windows containers: actually not a solution (windows in windows??)
• docker desktop: you have to pay for it (uninstalled immediately)
• if you have to deal with windows virtualized in azure (even worse):
  • vm in vm doesnt work either (virtualbox)
  • alacritty and other terms doesn't work well or just crashes
• podman (virtualized with wsl ???)

The only benefit i see with wsl is the networking setup that works out of the box in windows (if you need vpn).

Still looking for a better workflow, maybe hyper-v with garuda, though require network setup for vpn access.

lfp(){
  local TEMP=$(mktemp)
  lf -selection-path=$TEMP
  cat $TEMP
}

lfp

worked for me

Yep, thanks, worked for me too on linux

Hei!
I really missed the functionality of open lf in the current directory. With helix itself seems impossibile to get the file path of the current buffer, but this guy is using wezterm to do that: https://quantonganh.com/2023/08/19/turn-helix-into-ide.md

Here what is working for me:

#!/bin/bash

function lfp(){
  status_line=$(wezterm cli get-text | rg -e "(?:NOR\s+|NORMAL|INS\s+|INSERT|SEL\s+|SELECT)\s+[\x{2800}-\x{28FF}]*\s+(\S*)\s[^│]* (\d+):*.*" -o --replace '$1 $2')
  filename=$(echo $status_line | awk '{ print $1}')
  local TEMP=$(mktemp)
  lf -selection-path=$TEMP $filename
  cat $TEMP
}

lfp