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The command palette is your keyboard-driven control center in Fresh. Press Ctrl+P to instantly access files, run commands, switch buffers, or jump to any line — all with fuzzy matching.

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Opening the Command Palette

The command palette opens in file finder mode by default, letting you quickly open files without typing any prefix.

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Command Palette Modes

The command palette has four distinct modes, each triggered by a prefix character:
A hints line at the bottom of the palette shows available prefixes and their meanings.

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File Finder Mode

The default mode — open files quickly with fuzzy matching:
1

Open palette

Press Ctrl+P (opens in file finder mode automatically)
2

Type to search

Type parts of the filename or path
3

Select and open

Use ↑/↓ arrows to select, press Enter to open, or Tab to accept the top suggestion

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Fuzzy Matching

Fresh’s fuzzy matching is incredibly flexible:
Pro Tip: Space-separated terms match independently, so feat group finds files containing both “feat” and “group” anywhere in their path.

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File Finder Behavior

Git Integration

Uses git to find files — only shows files tracked by git (respects .gitignore)

Fast

Indexes files in the background for instant results even in large projects

Smart Ranking

Files you’ve opened recently appear higher in results

Path Context

Shows full file paths to disambiguate files with the same name

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Command Mode

Search and execute any editor command:
1

Open command mode

Press Ctrl+P then type > (or just press Ctrl+P and type >)
2

Search for command

Type to filter commands (e.g., “split”, “theme”, “save”)
3

Execute

Press Enter to run the selected command

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Commonly Used Commands

  • Split Vertical — Create side-by-side panes
  • Split Horizontal — Create top/bottom panes
  • Close Split — Remove current split
  • Toggle File Explorer — Show/hide sidebar
  • Toggle Line Wrap — Wrap long lines
  • Toggle Line Numbers — Show/hide line numbers
  • Save — Save current file
  • Save As — Save to a new location
  • Close Buffer — Close current file
  • New File — Create a new buffer
  • Revert File — Reload from disk
  • Sort Lines — Sort selected lines alphabetically
  • Trim Trailing Whitespace — Remove trailing spaces
  • Toggle Comment — Comment/uncomment lines
  • Go to Matching Bracket — Jump to matching brace
  • Search and Replace in Project — Project-wide find/replace
  • Query Replace — Interactive y/n/! replace
  • Find Next — Jump to next search match
  • Go to Definition — Jump to symbol definition
  • Find References — Show all usages
  • Rename Symbol — Rename across files
  • Format Document — Auto-format code
  • Code Actions — Show available fixes
  • Open Settings — Open settings UI
  • Select Theme — Browse and apply color themes
  • Configure Keybindings — Open keybinding editor
  • Set Language — Override file syntax highlighting
Discoverability: Not sure what command you need? Just type keywords like “format”, “git”, or “split” to see related commands.

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Buffer Switch Mode

Quickly switch between open files:
1

Open buffer mode

Press Ctrl+P then type #
2

Type buffer name

Type part of the filename or path
3

Switch

Press Enter to switch to the selected buffer
Buffer vs File Finder: Buffer mode (#) only shows currently open files, while file finder (no prefix) searches all files in your project.

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When to Use Buffer Mode

Use Buffer Mode When

  • Switching between files you already have open
  • You have many files open and want to filter by name
  • You want to see what’s currently open

Use File Finder When

  • Opening a file that isn’t currently open
  • You don’t remember if the file is already open
  • Exploring the project structure

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Go to Line Mode

Jump directly to any line number:
1

Open go to line

Press Ctrl+G (direct shortcut) or Ctrl+P then type :
2

Enter line number

Type the line number (e.g., 42)
3

Jump

Press Enter to move cursor to that line
Direct Shortcut: Ctrl+G is faster than Ctrl+P then : for go to line.

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Large File Support

When working with large files:
1

File shows byte offsets

Large files display byte offsets instead of line numbers for performance
2

Use go to line

Press Ctrl+G — Fresh offers to scan the file for line numbers
3

Wait for scan

Only the line index is kept in memory, not file contents. Over SSH, scanning runs server-side.
4

Navigate normally

After scanning, go to line works with line numbers

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Command Palette Tips

You can always start typing in file finder mode (no prefix), then add >, #, or : to switch modes mid-search.
Press Tab to accept the top suggestion in any mode. Great for quick file opening.
The file finder ranks recently opened files higher, so your most-used files are always at the top.
Not sure what features Fresh has? Open command mode (>) and type keywords to explore.
You can open the command palette from any context — editor, terminal, settings — though some commands may only be available in specific contexts.

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Keyboard Navigation

Navigate the command palette efficiently:

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Examples and Workflows

1

Open component

Ctrl+P → type Button → Enter
2

Open test file

Ctrl+P → type Button test → Enter
3

Open styles

Ctrl+P → type Button css → Enter

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Workflow 2: Split and Format

1

Create split

Ctrl+P → > → type split vert → Enter
2

Open file in split

Ctrl+P → type filename → Enter
3

Format code

Ctrl+P → > → type format → Enter

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Workflow 3: Jump to Error

1

See error on line 156

Compiler output shows: error on line 156
2

Jump directly

Ctrl+G → type 156 → Enter

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Customizing the Command Palette

While the command palette itself isn’t customizable, you can:

Add Custom Keybindings

Bind frequently used commands to keyboard shortcuts. See Keyboard Configuration.

Create Aliases

Some commands have multiple names/aliases that appear in search results.

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Performance

Fast Even in Large Projects: Fresh’s command palette is optimized for large codebases. The file finder can handle projects with 100,000+ files without lag.
Indexing: File finder uses git which indexes your repository. First search may take a moment in very large repos, but subsequent searches are near-instant.

Navigation

Learn about all navigation features

File Explorer

Browse files visually with the sidebar

Keyboard Configuration

Customize keyboard shortcuts