[mini.pick:grep] Live globs #2171

drowning-cat · 2025-12-14T14:32:49Z

drowning-cat
Dec 14, 2025

This is an override of MiniPick.builtin.grep_live via MiniPick.registry.grep_live.

For easier navigation use #2169.

Glob mode (NEW!)

Description

Pattern	Globs

The <C-o> mapping is used to toggle a secondary mode that allows modifying multiple globs on the fly, rather than just adding them as in the default mini.nvim behavior.

Parsing notes

In glob_mode, the query is split by spaces %s+. If you need to include a space delimiter, you must escape it with a backslash \:

*glob1* *glob2* *glob3\ \ *

You can change the logic for parsing globs in the parse_globs function. For example, instead of using a space ( ) as the separator, you can use a comma (,) instead. For additional information, see #2171 (comment).

Code

MiniPick.registry.grep_live = function(local_opts, opts)
  local_opts = vim.tbl_extend("keep", local_opts or {}, { globs = {} })
  opts = vim.tbl_extend("keep", opts or {}, { source = {} })

  local cwd = vim.fs.abspath(opts.source.cwd or vim.fn.getcwd())
  local set_items_opts = { do_match = false, querytick = MiniPick.get_querytick() }

  local rg_cmd = function(pattern, globs)
    local cmd =
      { "rg", "--column", "--line-number", "--no-heading", "--field-match-separator", "\\x00", "--color=never" }
    for _, g in ipairs(globs) do
      vim.list_extend(cmd, { "--glob", g })
    end
    local case = vim.o.ignorecase and (vim.o.smartcase and "smart-case" or "ignore-case") or "case-sensitive"
    vim.list_extend(cmd, { "--" .. case })
    vim.list_extend(cmd, { "--", pattern })
    return cmd
  end

  local parse_globs = function(query_str)
    local escape = function(str)
      return str:gsub("\\ ", "\1")
    end
    local unescape = function(str)
      return str:gsub("\1", "\\ ")
    end
    local after_split = vim.split(escape(query_str), "%s+", { trimempty = true })
    return vim.tbl_map(unescape, after_split)
  end

  local glob_mode = false
  local glob_query = {}
  local pattern_query = {}

  local query_globs = {}
  local globs = {}

  local process
  local match = function(_, _, query)
    pcall(vim.loop.process_kill, process)
    if MiniPick.get_querytick() == set_items_opts.querytick then
      return
    end
    if glob_mode then
      glob_query = query
      query_globs = parse_globs(table.concat(query))
      globs = {}
      vim.list_extend(globs, local_opts.globs)
      vim.list_extend(globs, query_globs)
    else
      pattern_query = query
    end
    if vim.tbl_isempty(pattern_query) and vim.tbl_isempty(query_globs) then
      return MiniPick.set_picker_items({}, set_items_opts)
    end
    set_items_opts.querytick = MiniPick.get_querytick()
    local cmd = rg_cmd(table.concat(pattern_query), globs)
    -- NOTE: You can update `source_name` here on `query` match
    process = MiniPick.set_picker_items_from_cli(cmd, { set_items_opts = set_items_opts, spawn_opts = { cwd = cwd } })
  end

  local toggle_glob = function()
    glob_mode = not glob_mode
    if glob_mode then
      MiniPick.set_picker_opts({ source = { name = "Grep live (rg*)" } })
      -- WARN: After `MiniPick.set_picker_opts`
      MiniPick.set_picker_query(glob_query)
    else
      local suffix = vim.tbl_isempty(globs) and "" or " | " .. table.concat(globs, ", ")
      local source_name = string.format("Grep live (rg%s)", suffix)
      MiniPick.set_picker_opts({ source = { name = source_name } })
      MiniPick.set_picker_query(pattern_query)
    end
  end

  local show_fn = MiniPick.config.source.show
    or function(buf_id, items, query)
      MiniPick.default_show(buf_id, items, query, { show_icons = true })
    end

  local show = function(buf, items, _)
    show_fn(buf, items, pattern_query)
  end

  return MiniPick.start(vim.tbl_deep_extend("force", opts or {}, {
    source = {
      name = "Grep live (rg)",
      items = {},
      match = match,
      show = show,
    },
    mappings = {
      toggle_glob = { char = "<C-o>", func = toggle_glob },
    },
  }))
end

Glob in the query

Hide

Description

Write globs directly inside the input instead of using <C-o>, because it’s easier to visualize changes immediately:

-> vim.print | plugins/**, *json
   ^^^^^^^^^   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
   pattern     globs

Parsing notes

The trailing space at the end of the pattern is removed, so if you need a space in the pattern, use two spaces instead of one:

vim.print  |
          ^ trimmed

The globs pattern is split by commas ,, and empty globs are skipped. Also, each individual glob is trimmed by one space on both sides. Therefore, if you need an empty string at the start of the individual glob, use two spaces:

| *glob1  , glob2 
 ^       ^ ^     ^ trimmed

Code

MiniPick.registry.grep_live = function(local_opts, opts)
  local_opts = vim.tbl_extend("keep", local_opts or {}, { globs = {} })
  opts = vim.tbl_extend("keep", opts or {}, { source = {} })

  local cwd = vim.fs.abspath(opts.source.cwd or vim.fn.getcwd())
  local set_items_opts = { do_match = false, querytick = MiniPick.get_querytick() }

  local rg_cmd = function(pattern, globs)
    local cmd =
      { "rg", "--column", "--line-number", "--no-heading", "--field-match-separator", "\\x00", "--color=never" }
    for _, g in ipairs(globs) do
      vim.list_extend(cmd, { "--glob", g })
    end
    local case = vim.o.ignorecase and (vim.o.smartcase and "smart-case" or "ignore-case") or "case-sensitive"
    vim.list_extend(cmd, { "--" .. case })
    vim.list_extend(cmd, { "--", pattern })
    return cmd
  end

  local trim_space_1 = function(str, l, r)
    str = l and string.gsub(str, "^ ", "") or str
    str = r and string.gsub(str, " $", "") or str
    return str
  end

  -- NOTE: Parse query into command
  -- "search string  | glob1 , glob2, glob3 "
  -- trimmed        ^ ^     ^ ^      ^     ^
  local make_live_cmd = function(query_str, init_globs)
    local left, right = unpack(vim.split(query_str, "|"))
    local pattern = trim_space_1(left, nil, true)
    local globs = vim.split(trim_space_1(right or "", true, true), " ?, ?", { trimempty = true })
    local combined_globs = {}
    vim.list_extend(combined_globs, init_globs or {})
    vim.list_extend(combined_globs, globs)
    return rg_cmd(pattern, combined_globs), pattern, combined_globs
  end

  local make_source_name = function(globs)
    globs = globs or {}
    local globs_suffix = vim.tbl_isempty(globs) and "" or (" | " .. table.concat(globs, ","))
    return string.format("Grep live (rg%s)", globs_suffix)
  end

  local match_ticket
  local process
  local match = function(_, _, query)
    pcall(vim.loop.process_kill, process)
    if MiniPick.get_querytick() == set_items_opts.querytick then
      return
    end
    if #query == 0 then
      return MiniPick.set_picker_items({}, set_items_opts)
    end
    set_items_opts.querytick = MiniPick.get_querytick()
    -- Create cmd
    local cmd, _, globs = make_live_cmd(table.concat(query), local_opts.globs)
    -- Only update when cmd changes
    local cmd_id = table.concat(cmd)
    if cmd_id == match_ticket then
      return
    end
    match_ticket = cmd_id
    -- Update source name
    MiniPick.set_picker_opts({ source = { name = make_source_name(globs) } })
    -- Update items
    process = MiniPick.set_picker_items_from_cli(cmd, { set_items_opts = set_items_opts, spawn_opts = { cwd = cwd } })
  end

  return MiniPick.start(vim.tbl_deep_extend("force", opts or {}, {
    source = {
      name = make_source_name(),
      items = {},
      match = match,
      show = minipick_grep_show,
    },
  }))
end

echasnovski · 2025-12-14T14:43:11Z

echasnovski
Dec 14, 2025
Maintainer

Thanks for sharing!

Looks useful indeed. My problem with "in query parsing" of this sort of information is that this requires a design to ignore it. For example, to actually search for a | character.

3 replies

drowning-cat Dec 14, 2025
Author

Indeed, very good point. I hadn’t thought about that. It seems like additional escaping might be needed.

As a side note, another approach is the live/non-live mode used by snacks.nvim. It toggles between two sets of queries with different syntaxes: one is sent to the underlying tool, and the other is used for refining.

I like the snacks.nvim approach because multiple refinements feel somewhat excessive.

Related discussions:

echasnovski Dec 14, 2025
Maintainer

... because multiple refinements feel somewhat excessive.

Refine is a source agnostic method which also works well with grep_live. And multiple refinements is not that uncommon, at least in my usage.

drowning-cat Dec 14, 2025
Author

Interesting. I treat it literally like a shell prompt: fd (1) | rg (2) is enough for me, since I don’t search large codebases. For me, the idea of using multiple refinements without a way to go back makes it a little uncomfortable.

By the way, non-live mode is also source agnostic, with the additional feature of searching by an item fields.

drowning-cat · 2025-12-16T15:01:46Z

drowning-cat
Dec 16, 2025
Author

I've updated the code to handle escaping properly and changed the behavior to toggle glob mode with <C-o>. In this mode, the query is split by spaces (%s+), but single space can be explicitly escaped with \ if needed. Since the glob patterns support this, I simply pass the escaped spaces to the underlying command.

Alternatively, the query could be split by commas (escaped as \,). This approach is easier to follow since commas are much less common in file and folder names. The only downside is that we would lose the ability to visually separate glob patterns with spaces, as spaces would then be treated as part of the pattern. So, I’ve chosen spaces as the separator.

0 replies

[mini.pick:grep] Live globs #2171

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

drowning-cat Dec 14, 2025

Glob mode (NEW!)

Description

Parsing notes

Code

Glob in the query

Description

Parsing notes

Code

Replies: 2 comments · 3 replies

Uh oh!

echasnovski Dec 14, 2025 Maintainer

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

drowning-cat Dec 14, 2025 Author

Uh oh!

echasnovski Dec 14, 2025 Maintainer

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

drowning-cat Dec 14, 2025 Author

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

drowning-cat Dec 16, 2025 Author

drowning-cat
Dec 14, 2025

Replies: 2 comments 3 replies

echasnovski
Dec 14, 2025
Maintainer

drowning-cat Dec 14, 2025
Author

echasnovski Dec 14, 2025
Maintainer

drowning-cat Dec 14, 2025
Author

drowning-cat
Dec 16, 2025
Author