Search
Search keys and values using regular expressions. Recall and edit previous expressions from search history.
Search keys and values
Section titled “Search keys and values”Press /, enter a regular expression, and press Enter to search. You can also enter a plain word.
Search includes descendants of collapsed nodes. It moves to a matching node; press n for the next match or N for the previous one. After the last match, it wraps to the first.
| Example | Matches |
|---|---|
failed | Keys or values containing failed |
failed|scheduled | Keys or values containing either word |
(?i)failed | Keys or values containing failed, ignoring case with the (?i) regular expression flag |
Search does not run while you type. Press Enter to run it or Esc / Ctrl+C to cancel. Invalid regular expressions and empty expressions produce an error.
Regular search matches each node’s own key or value. To filter by the full path, including ancestors, and the value together, use flatten.
Narrow the search scope
Section titled “Narrow the search scope”To narrow the search, select the node you want to inspect and run :focus. You can also specify a path.
:focus @0 .items[0]Within focus, / searches only the opened subtree. The same search controls work on jaq results. In side-by-side mode, search applies to the active pane.
Search history
Section titled “Search history”
While entering a / search, press ↑ to recall an older expression or ↓ for a newer one. Edit the selected expression and press Enter to search.
Pressing ↓ past the newest history entry restores the input you had before browsing history. Moving beyond the oldest entry does not wrap around.
Search history is shared across the input, focus, and jaq views, with up to 1,000 entries saved across sessions. Valid expressions are saved even if there are no matches. Empty expressions, invalid regular expressions, and canceled input are not saved.
History is stored in vy/history.search.jsonl under the operating system’s local data directory, separately from command history.
If you want to use the arrow keys to edit multiline expressions, you can change the history bindings.
[keybinds.view.browse]older_search_history = ["Ctrl+P"] # Default: ["Up"]newer_search_history = ["Ctrl+N"] # Default: ["Down"]