GDB-FZF: GDB with FZF

GDB-FZF enhances the GDB command line by integrating fzf, the powerful command-line fuzzy finder. It provides a fast and intuitive way to search command history, discover commands, and navigate tab completions.

Disable Help Preview	Enable Help Preview

Disable Longest Common Prefix Completion	Enable Longest Common Prefix Completion

Disable Only List Completion Field	Enable Only List Completion Field

GDB Command Help with Pager (Ctrl-v)

Features

• History Search (Ctrl-r): Instantly fuzzy search your entire GDB command history with fzf.
• Command Search (Ctrl-t): Find any GDB command without knowing its exact name.
• Tab Completion (Tab): Enhances GDB's native completion. It first completes the longest common prefix, and if multiple options remain, it opens an fzf menu to interactively filter and select the final choice.
• Live Command Preview: When searching commands, an optional preview window displays the GDB help text for the highlighted item.

Requirements

• GDB with Python 3 support.
• fzf installed and available in your system's PATH.
• Dynamically Linked Readline: The script requires access to GDB's readline symbols, which is standard for most GDB builds.

Installation

1. Save the Script: Save the code as gdb-fzf.py in your GDB configuration directory (e.g., ~/.gdb/gdb-fzf.py).

2. Load in GDB: Add the following line to your ~/.gdbinit file. This is the recommended way to load it automatically.

   source ~/.gdb/gdb-fzf.py

   (Replace ~/.gdb/gdb-fzf.py with the actual path if you saved it elsewhere.)

Usage

Once loaded, the following keybindings are active in the GDB prompt:

Keybinding	Action
Ctrl-r	Open fzf to search command history.
Ctrl-t	Open fzf to search all available GDB commands.
Tab	Trigger GDB's completion. If multiple options exist, fzf will open.

Once fzf startup, the following keybindings are active in the FZF prompt:

Keybinding	Action
Tab	Move selection down
Shift-Tab	Move selection up
Ctrl-v	Show GDB command help in pager view

In the fzf window, type to filter, use Enter to select, and Esc to cancel. For advanced search patterns, see the official fzf search syntax guide.

Configuration

You can customize behavior by editing the global variables at the top of gdb-fzf.py:

• READLINE_LONGEST_COMMON_PREFIX_COMPLETION: Set to False to disable longest common prefix completion.

  READLINE_LONGEST_COMMON_PREFIX_COMPLETION = True

• FZF_PREVIEW: Set to False to disable the command help preview window.

  FZF_PREVIEW = True

• FZF_ONLY_LIST_COMPLETION_FIELD: Set to False to disable only list completion filed in fzf.

  FZF_ONLY_LIST_COMPLETION_FIELD = True

• FZF_HELP_PAGER: Configures the pager used to display GDB command help documentation.

  FZF_HELP_PAGER = "less -i"

• FZF_ARGS: A list of command-line arguments passed to fzf. Modify this to change fzf's appearance or behavior (e.g., --height, --layout).

  FZF_ARGS = [
      'fzf',
      '--height=40%',
      # ... other args
  ]

Troubleshooting

• gdb-fzf: ... Is fzf installed and in your PATH? Ensure the fzf executable is installed and its location is in your $PATH.

• Failed to resolve the following required symbols: ... This script requires a dynamically linked GDB to access readline functions. This error is rare but may occur with custom or static GDB builds.

• Keybindings do not work:

  • Check for error messages when GDB starts to see if the script failed to load.
  • Ensure other GDB scripts are not overriding the Ctrl-r or Ctrl-t bindings.

License

This project is forked and improved from plusls/gdb-fzf. Please refer to the original repository for license details.