# Install fuzzy-find with Homebrew, MacPorts

Fuzzy filename finder matching across directories as well as files. Version 0.6.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with macports: sudo port install fuzzy-find.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:fuzzy-find
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install fuzzy-find
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install fuzzy-find
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/fuzzy-find/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:fuzzy-find
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 0.6.0
- **Source summary:** Fuzzy filename finder matching across directories as well as files
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/silentbicycle/ff>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/silentbicycle/ff>
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- ff (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 0.6.0
## Project history and usage

fuzzy-find is the packaged name for ff, a small C command-line program that searches directory trees using basic fuzzy completion.

### Project history

The official README says ff was written because find -name only scans filenames and regular expressions for fuzzy completion are cumbersome. The GitHub repository was created in 2012 and identifies the project as fuzzy-completion for finding files.

### Adoption history

Homebrew packages the tool as fuzzy-find with executable ff and stable version 0.6.0. MacPorts also has a fuzzy-find port in the sysutils category with homepage set to the official GitHub repository.

### How it is used

ff recursively searches from the current directory by default, with options for root directory, dotfiles, directories-only output, case-insensitive matching, symlink following, nonrecursive mode, and a consecutive-match toggle character.

### Why package nerds care

fuzzy-find is package-nerd-relevant because it is intentionally tiny, builds from one C file, and gives users a fast-installable fuzzy filename search command long before broader fuzzy-finder ecosystems became common defaults.

### Timeline

- 2012: GitHub repository created.
- 2013: GitHub repository last pushed according to GitHub metadata.
- 2026: Homebrew formula reports stable version 0.6.0.
- 2026: MacPorts lists fuzzy-find version 0.6 in sysutils.

### Related projects

- The README references SLIME fuzzy completion and compound completion as conceptual relatives.

### Sources

- <https://api.github.com/repos/silentbicycle/ff>
- <https://formulae.brew.sh/api/formula/fuzzy-find.json>
- <https://github.com/silentbicycle/ff>
- <https://ports.macports.org/port/fuzzy-find/summary>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/silentbicycle/ff/master/README.md>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

## Other Package-Manager Records

- MacPorts - fuzzy-find: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: sysutils/fuzzy-find/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/fuzzy-find.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/fuzzy-find.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph