# FFF Claims to Be the Best Neovim File Picker. Is It?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/linkarzu-podcast-neovim-macos-emacs-linux-terminals-and-more-7321247/fff-claims-to-be-the-best-neovim-file-picker-is-it
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/linkarzu-podcast-neovim-macos-emacs-linux-terminals-and-more-7321247/fff-claims-to-be-the-best-neovim-file-picker-is-it.md
Podcast: [Linkarzu Podcast | Neovim, macOS, Emacs, Linux, Terminals and more.](https://stenobird.com/podcast/linkarzu-podcast-neovim-macos-emacs-linux-terminals-and-more-7321247)
Published: 2026-06-17T14:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://rss.com/podcasts/linkarzu/2907858
Audio file: https://content.rss.com/episodes/328363/2907858/linkarzu/2026_06_11_15_13_30_4924555e-4c76-44b7-aa53-0d87706bb644.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/linkarzu-podcast-neovim-macos-emacs-linux-terminals-and-more-7321247/episodes/fff-claims-to-be-the-best-neovim-file-picker-is-it
Duration seconds: 5608

## Resource

Interview with Dmitriy Kovalenko, creator of FFF, a fast file search picker for Neovim that describes itself as “the best file search picker for neovim. Period.” We’ll talk about why he built FFF, how it compares to tools like Telescope, fzf-lua, and snacks.nvim, and why file picking in Neovim is still such a hot topic. We’ll also get into performance, memory usage, plugin bloat, Rust, Neovim workflows, and the fun drama that happens when someone says their tool is the best. Dmitriy is also known for having strong opinions online. We’ll talk about open source, controversial takes, what makes a Neovim plugin actually good, and whether modern Neovim setups are becoming too bloated. Video: https://youtu.be/HRx3B5wYcrI What's the best way to support me? https://linkarzu.com/about/#youre-a-fraud-why-do-you-ask-for-money-isnt-youtube-ads-enough Timeline: 00:00:00 - Highlights 00:01:14 - Why are you so hated in the Neovim Subreddit? 00:06:22 - Snacks smart picker demo and why fff was born 00:09:44 - FFF weird view when small resolution. Previewing images 00:12:19 - What is FFF? Demo comparing it to snacks in chromium codebase 00:17:47 - Can you change the sorting options in FFF? 00:20:29 - Thoughts on telescope? 00:21:07 - how to search in hidden files? 00:26:49 - fff jacket giveaway 00:27:53 - Why Neovim and not other editor? 00:31:51 - Why Kitty and not Ghostty? 00:35:11 - Kitty sessions? Thoughts on Tmux? 00:38:57 - Kitty Sessions demo 00:40:48 - FFF sloppy 00:42:23 - FFF vs Snacks on the linux kernel codebase demo 00:44:34 - Typos for being so fast? 00:50:20 - Thoughts on mini.pick and Echasnovski's plugins 00:52:50 - Rust is your main language? 00:58:07 - Why are you daily driving macOS? 00:59:39 - Any apps that leverage FFF in a GUI? 01:04:08 - FFF sorting capabilities?…

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