Fuzzy matching file contents, not file names: FZF-style searching isn't working, docs say FZF syntax is supported?

[gplusplus314]

I'm probably wrong in my terminology because I'm failing to search for any solutions. So here's a screenshot of me using Snack's Grep picker:

Notice I've typed evha, as in event handler, line the line of text in the buffer above it. I would have expected it to find that.

Here is the exact same query in the exact same working directory, except with fzf-lua:

Notice that it immediately matches.

It's much "fuzzier". I don't really know how to describe this behavior, and Snack's Picker documentation says it supports FZF syntax, so I'm really not sure what the "problem" is. I understand that grep, and as an extension rp/ripgrep is regex based, which isn't quite the same thing as a fuzzy match, but I just feel like I'm a bit lost in terminology and don't even know what to look for.

I'm willing to bet it's a PEBKAC or ID-10T error. I could use some help figuring this one out.

Thanks!

[drowning-cat]

Snack pickers work in two modes: live and non-live.

In live mode, all commands are sent directly to the underlying tool, which in this case is ripgrep. In non-live mode, the behavior is similar to fzf, but it uses Lua functions for searching instead. Keep in mind that fzf does not search files; it simply performs fuzzy matching on the provided input.

In live mode, you can pass arguments directly to the tool (see #1663 (comment)). In non-live mode, you can also narrow the results further using fields like file:<value> or text:<value>. Press <M-d> to see which fields are available for each item.

Tip

You can switch between modes using <C-g>.

As far as I understand, fzf-lua works as follows:

1. It searches every line using rg -e ''
2. Then it refines the output using fzf

The picker takes a different approach:

1. Picker runs rg <input> to perform a search in live mode
2. You can further refine the results by switching to non-live mode (uses matcher, filter)

Technically, it is possible to adjust the picker to follow the same approach as fzf-lua, though I am not sure if I will do that. Either way, the results will differ because the filtering logic is not the same.

[drowning-cat]

opts = {
  picker = {
    sources = {
      grep = {
        need_search = false,
        live = false,

[pbnj-dragon]

This is great info. I didn't know field searches only work in non-live mode. How can we surface this info in user-facing docs (e.g. ADVANCED.md or a repo Wiki)?

[drowning-cat]

The best solution would be to add a separate section in picker.md with additional details on how the picker works, but no one will bother to create one. I think most of the questions have already been answered, and it's fine to leave everything as it is.

[gplusplus314]

Thanks for the explanation and solution.