The quick-fasd Emacs package integrates the Fasd tool into the Emacs environment. Fasd is a command-line utility that provides fast access to frequently used files and directories.

After installing quick-fasd and enabling quick-fasd-mode:

• All visited files and directories are automatically added to the Fasd database.
• The quick-fasd-find-path function prompts for input and presents candidates from the Fasd index. (For example, recently accessed files can be opened, and frequently used directories can be visited without leaving Emacs.)
• When invoked from the minibuffer, quick-fasd-find-path appends the selected path, simplifying completion.

If this package improves the workflow, consider supporting the project by ⭐ starring quick-fasd.el on GitHub so that more Emacs users can benefit from it.

Requirements

• The fasd command line tool.

Installation

1. If you haven’t already done so, add MELPA repository to your Emacs configuration.

2. Add the following code to your Emacs init file to install easysession from MELPA:

(use-package quick-fasd
  :ensure t
  :bind (("C-x C-d" . quick-fasd-find-path)
         :map minibuffer-local-completion-map
         ("C-x C-d" . quick-fasd-find-path))
  :config
  (quick-fasd-mode))

Usage

Key binding

Add a shortcut key for quick-fasd-find-path:

(global-set-key (kbd "C-x C-d") 'quick-fasd-find-path)

;; When `quick-fasd-find-path' is invoked from the minibuffer, it appends
;; the selected path, simplifying completion.
;; Path insertion can be disabled by setting `quick-fasd-minibuffer-insert-path' to nil.
(define-key minibuffer-local-completion-map (kbd "C-x C-d") 'quick-fasd-find-path)

Customizations

You can configure quick-fasd using Emacs’ customization system:

M-x customize-group RET quick-fasd RET

Passing custom arguments to Fasd

The quick-fasd package allows customizing the types of results returned by Fasd using quick-fasd-standard-search:

;; Display directories only
(setq quick-fasd-standard-search '("-d"))

;; Display files only
(setq quick-fasd-standard-search '("-f"))

;; Display both files and directories
(setq quick-fasd-standard-search '("-a"))

Initial Prompt

By default, quick-fasd prompts for an initial query. To bypass the prompt and display all results immediately, set:

(setq quick-fasd-enable-initial-prompt nil)

Setting this to nil is useful when using completion frameworks such as Consult, Vertico, or Orderless, allowing them to handle filtering instead of fasd. However, fetching all paths from fasd can be slower for large file databases and may produce an overwhelming number of candidates.

Completion Function

The M-x quick-fasd-find-path command uses the standard completing-read-function, which may be backed by Consult, helm, ido, or any other completion framework you have configured.

Standard Search Behavior

By default, quick-fasd searches for both files and directories using the -a parameter. You can customize this behavior by setting the quick-fasd-standard-search option to refine the search criteria.

Automatically adding paths on buffer or window change

Quick-Fasd can optionally add the current file or directory to the Fasd database whenever the buffer or window changes. This behavior is controlled by the quick-fasd-auto-add-on-buffer-change option.

To enable automatic path addition, set the option to t:

(setq quick-fasd-auto-add-on-buffer-change t)

When enabled, Quick-Fasd will track every file or directory visited in Emacs, including those accessed through buffers and Dired windows, without requiring manual addition.

Benefits:

• Seamless tracking: Ensures that all relevant files and directories are added to Fasd automatically.
• Improved workflow: Facilitates faster navigation through frequently accessed paths using Quick-Fasd commands, without the need to manually update the database.

Drawbacks:

• Increased background activity: Each buffer or window change spawns a background process to update the Fasd database. While this does not block Emacs, it can generate extra system activity if buffers are switched frequently.
• Database growth: Continuous automatic additions may increase the size of the Fasd database over time, potentially including entries that are rarely used.

Use this option when the convenience of automatic tracking outweighs the potential performance and database size considerations.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between quick-fasd and the fasd Emacs package?

The quick-fasd Emacs package is a fork of the unmaintained fasd Emacs package. It supersedes fasd by providing additional features and bug fixes.

Key differences and improvements in quick-fasd include:

• When quick-fasd-find-path is invoked from the minibuffer, it appends the selected path, simplifying completion. (This can be disabled by setting quick-fasd-minibuffer-insert-path to nil)
• Adds support for indirect Dired buffers.
• Enhances dired-mode detection to append paths using the fasd command, increasing their priority for subsequent fasd usage.
• Fixes an issue in quick-fasd-add-path to ensure it respects quick-fasd-executable-path.
• Caches the path to the fasd executable for efficiency.
• Enhances modularity and readability of quick-fasd functions.
• Fixes all Emacs warnings.
• Renames global-quick-fasd-mode to quick-fasd-mode.
• Refines overall code readability and structure.
• Removes Ivy support, delegating it to a possible third-party package.
• Allows customizing the Lighter
• Removes the trailing slash from directories before adding them to Fasd ensures consistent path entries and prevents duplicates.
• Normalizes the path before adding it to Fasd by expanding it (e.g., replacing ~/ with the home directory).
• Provides a function to remove a specified path from the Fasd database (quick-fasd-delete-path).
• Can optionally add the current file or directory to the Fasd database whenever the buffer or window changes. This behavior is controlled by the quick-fasd-auto-add-on-buffer-change option.

Author and License

The quick-fasd Emacs package James Cherti and is distributed under terms of the GNU General Public License version 3, or, at your choice, any later version. It is based on the fasd package, originally written by Steckerhalter.

Copyright (C) 2024-2025 James Cherti

Copyright (C) 2013-2021 Steckerhalter

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program.

Links

• quick-fasd.el @GitHub
• quick-fasd.el @MELPA

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