confhelp 0.5.0

Config-driven parser for keybindings with fzf interface

confhelp

Find and edit your keybindings instantly.

The Problem

Over time you accumulate tmux bindings, zsh aliases, vim mappings, custom functions - scattered across dozens of files. You know you set something up, but where?

Two pain points:

1. Finding bindings - "What key did I bind for git status?" "Do I have an alias for docker compose?"
2. Editing bindings - You remember it exists, now you need to change it. Which file? What line? grep → open → scroll → find → edit. Every. Single. Time.

The Solution

confhelp -b ~/dotfiles --edit

Fuzzy search all your bindings → select one → opens $EDITOR at exact file:line.

Install

pip install confhelp

Usage

# Output all bindings (uses base_dirs from config)
confhelp

# Interactive fzf selection
confhelp --select

# Select and open in $EDITOR at line
confhelp --edit

# JSON output
confhelp -f json

# Override base directory
confhelp -b ~/other-dotfiles

# Show keys defined more than once
confhelp --conflicts

# Report lines that look like bindings but failed to parse
confhelp --check

Example output:

[tmux]   prefix+g   display-popup -w 80%...   .tmux.conf:42
[alias]  gs         git status                .zsh_aliases:15
[bind]   ^[e        edit-command-line         .zshrc:89

The --edit flag drops you directly into the file at the exact line. Change the binding, save, done.

Config Format

Define parsers in TOML. Each section describes how to extract bindings from a set of files:

# Default directories to search (no -b needed)
base_dirs = ["~/dotfiles", "~/work-dotfiles"]

[tmux]
paths = [".tmux.conf"]
match_line = "^bind"
regex = 'bind(?:-key)?\s+(?:-n\s+)?(\S+)(.*)'
key_group = 1
desc_group = 2
type = "tmux"
truncate = 100

[alias]
paths = [".zsh_aliases", ".zsh_claude"]
regex = "alias\\s+(?:-[gs]\\s+)?([^=]+)=(.*)"
key_group = 1
desc_group = 2
type = "alias"
strip_quotes = true

[abbrev]
paths = [".zsh_abbreviations"]
match_line = '".*"'
regex = '''"([^"]+)"\s+'([^']+)''''
key_group = 1
desc_group = 2
type = "abbrev"

[nvim]
paths = [".config/nvim/lua/**/*.lua"]  # glob pattern
match_line = "vim.keymap.set"
regex = 'vim\.keymap\.set\([^,]+,\s*"([^"]+)".*desc\s*=\s*"([^"]+)"'
key_group = 1
desc_group = 2
type = "nvim"

Config Options

Option	Description
paths	List of files or glob patterns (e.g., **/*.lua)
regex	Pattern with capture groups for key/desc
key_group	Capture group number for the key
desc_group	Capture group number for description
match_line	Only process lines matching this pattern
skip_comment	Skip lines starting with #
truncate	Max length for description
strip_quotes	Remove surrounding quotes from desc
desc_literal	Use fixed string as description
desc_from_comment	Extract desc from trailing # comment

Output Formats

• pipe (default): pipe-delimited [type]|key|desc|file:line
• tsv: Tab-separated
• json: JSON array

The pipe format works well with column -t -s'|' for aligned display.

Integration Examples

confhelp outputs text. How you display it is up to you.

Alacritty Popup

Spawn a centered popup window showing bindings. Enter jumps to the file:

selection=$(confhelp -b ~/dotfiles | column -t -s'|' | fzf)
# parse selection, open in editor

See examples/alacritty-popup.sh for a complete implementation.

tmux Popup

tmux display-popup -w 80% -h 80% -E 'confhelp -b ~/dotfiles --select'

See examples/tmux-popup.sh for a complete implementation.

Rofi/dmenu

confhelp -b ~/dotfiles | rofi -dmenu

Acknowledgments

Inspired by Extracto.

License

MIT