nvim-tree / nvim-tree/nvim-tree.lua

Customizable filter composition logic

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feature request PR please QOL
Dominant language
Lua
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

When using the git_clean and no_buffer filters together, I think it would be more useful to show files that are either dirty or open in a buffer. The current behavior is to only show files that are both dirty and open in a buffer.

Can this functionality be implemented utilising API?
Not currently, the filter logic is not exposed in the public API.

Describe the solution you'd like
Exposing the various filter functions to the public api in a way that they could be composed in the custom filter would be my preferred solution. Something like this would be nice:

require('nvim-tree').setup({
  filters = {
    no_buffer = false,
    git_clean = false,
    custom = function (path)
      local filter_api = require('nvim-tree.api.filter')

      -- return true only when *both* git_clean and no_buffer would filter the path. These
      -- functions should not check the enabled/disabled state of the function so that the
      -- custom filter can have precedence while still using their result.
      return filter_api.git_clean(path) and filter_api.no_buffer(path)
    end
  }
})

Describe alternatives you've considered
I've implemented the behavior I want in my config with a couple janky runtime patches to nvim-tree's internal filter API:

local filters = require('nvim-tree.explorer.filters')
local enum = require('nvim-tree.enum')

local should_filter = filters.should_filter
local should_filter_as_reason = filters.should_filter_as_reason

filters.should_filter = function (self, path, fs_stat, status)
  if self.state.no_buffer and not self:buf(path, status.bufinfo) then
    return false
  end

  if self.state.git_clean and not self:git(path, status.project) then
    return false
  end

  return should_filter(self, path, fs_stat, status)
end

filters.should_filter_as_reason = function (self, path, fs_stat, status)
  if not should_filter(self, path, fs_stat, status) then
    return enum.FILTER_REASON.none
  end

  return should_filter_as_reason(self, path, fs_stat, status)
end

Additional context

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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

Start with nvim-tree.explorer.filters and enum, focusing on the existing should_filter and should_filter_as_reason paths shown in the issue. Review how the public API could expose filter functions without their enabled-state checks; done means custom filters can compose git_clean and no_buffer with predictable precedence and preserve filter reasons.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
lua
Domain
devtools
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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