VSCodeVim / VSCodeVim/Vim

Search in Explorer not recognizing h/j/k/l keys when lowercase

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#9,457 1 comment 2 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Dominant language
TypeScript
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Description

Describe the bug
The / search feature in the Explorer View of VS Code is not recognizing the h/j/k/l keys. Oddly enough, search works if typing H/J/K/L (seems to ignore vim motion keys when uppercased.)

To Reproduce

  1. Use / to search for a file/folder
  2. Try h/j/k/l to navigate (buggy behavior)
  3. Try H/J/K/L to navigate (proper behavior)

Example:

            |--- Folder1
type /l ==>          v       (lowercased l)
                |--- AAA.txt
                |--- BBB.txt
                |--- CCC.txt
                |--- LLL.txt
            |--- Folder2
                |--- HHH.txt

(Opens AAA.txt, instead of moving focus to LLL.txt)

            |--- Folder1
type /L ==>          v       (UPPERCASED L)
                |--- AAA.txt
                |--- BBB.txt
                |--- CCC.txt
                |--- LLL.txt
            |--- Folder2
                |--- HHH.txt

(Moves focus to LLL.txt, working as expected)

            |--- Folder1
type /h ==>          v
                |--- AAA.txt
                |--- BBB.txt
                |--- CCC.txt
                |--- LLL.txt
            |--- Folder2
                |--- HHH.txt
(Moves focus to Folder1, instead of moving focus to HHH.txt)

Expected behavior
Expected that h/j/k/l (lowercased) could act as search characters. Instead, when in search mode, h/j/k/l still act as nav keys.

Environment

  • Extension (VsCodeVim) version: 1.29.0
  • VSCode version: 1.96.4
  • OS: Windows 11 Pro (Version 24H2; OS build 26100.2605)

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

No source file or test is named; begin by reproducing the Explorer View / search steps and locating the TypeScript handling for search and navigation. Done means lowercase h/j/k/l are accepted as search characters while uppercase behavior and navigation remain correct.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript, vscode
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
42/100

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