Unable to execute bash/zsh functions in --bind

[callumacrae]

• [x] I have read through the manual page (man fzf)
• [x] I have the latest version of fzf
• [x] I have searched through the existing issues

Info

• OS
  • [ ] Linux
  • [x] Mac OS X
  • [ ] Windows
  • [ ] Etc.
• Shell
  • [x] bash
  • [x] zsh
  • [ ] fish

Problem / Steps to reproduce

I feel like this must have come up before but was unable to find an issue!

I'm trying to bind a key to execute a function set in the shell—set locally for demo purposes but the same happens in .zshrc files.

It fails in zsh:

It fails in bash too:

I've tried to look into the source to figure it out myself but am unfamiliar with how Go works so struggled to make any progress: https://github.com/junegunn/fzf/blob/cd2340141100e057005d31e653c0ce7a0f7a4af7/src/util/util_unix.go#L12

[junegunn]

foo() {
  echo foo
}

# You should export the function
export -f foo

fzf --preview 'foo'

[callumacrae]

Thanks!

For anyone else who finds this issue, the problem was that functions aren't available to child processes.

Unfortunately in ZSH, it looks like you can't export functions - the recommended alternative is to use autoloaded functions instead, or you could make a proper script and add it to your $PATH.

I just put all my scripts in big strings 🤷‍♂️