How do I open a file by name without knowing its full path?

Explanation

The :find command searches for a file by name across all directories listed in Vim's path option, so you can open files without typing full paths. Combined with wildcard expansion and tab-completion, it becomes a lightweight fuzzy-file opener — especially useful in large projects.

How it works

• :find filename searches each directory in 'path' for a file matching the name
• Tab-complete the filename after :find to cycle through matches
• Wildcards are supported: :find *.go or :find user* narrows results
• The path option defaults to . (current dir) and an empty string (current file's dir). Add project roots with :set path+=src/** to search recursively

Example

Suppose your project has src/models/user.go. With:

:set path+=src/**

You can open it with:

:find user.go

Or use tab-completion to explore matches:

:find user<Tab>

Tips

• Add set path+=** in your .vimrc to recursively search from the current directory (use with caution in huge repos)
• :sfind opens the file in a horizontal split; :vert sfind in a vertical split
• :tabfind opens the file in a new tab
• The 'suffixesadd' option lets :find try appending extensions automatically (e.g., .go, .py) so you can omit them