Zsh completiton with substring matching

A Zsh configuration combining the built-in completion system's matcher-list with the fzf-tab plugin enables case-insensitive substring matching on Tab completion, letting users type any middle fragment of a filename rather than its prefix. The setup adds the zstyle ':completion:*' matcher-list 'm:{a-zA-Z}={A-Za-z} l:|=* r:|=*' line to ~/.zshrc, so typing 'hx zero' matches GROUND_ZERO.md and 'hx fuego' matches 2026-10-14-hyprfuego.md. fzf-tab, hosted at github.com/Aloxaf/fzf-tab, layers an interactive fuzzy-search picker over the candidates Zsh supplies, where Enter inserts the filename and a second Enter runs the command.

AI wrote this: I wanted to type part of a filename, press Tab, and get the right file—even when that text appears in the middle. Two things make this comfortable: Zsh’s matching rules and the fzf-tab picker. Add this to ~/.zshrc, after your existing completion setup: | zstyle ‘:completion: ’ matcher-list ‘m:{a-zA-Z}={A-Za-z} l: | = r: | = ’ | This enables case-insensitive substring completion. For example: hx zero → hx GROUND ZERO.md hx fuego → hx 2026-10-14-hyprfuego.md No need to type the beginning, remember the capitalization, or work around a date prefix. This part uses Zsh’s built-in completion system. fzf-tab https://github.com/Aloxaf/fzf-tab adds an interactive fuzzy search menu to Tab completion. It uses the candidates supplied by Zsh. If several filenames contain zero, typing: hx zero opens a picker. Keep typing to filter the results, use the arrow keys to choose, and press Enter to insert the filename. You can also start without a fragment: hx Then type something like shapes inside the picker to find a matching file. Enter inserts it; another Enter runs the command. Esc cancels.