Fuzzy is a lightweight, standalone fuzzy search and filtering library that works in both browser and Node.js environments. It implements fuzzy matching algorithms similar to Sublime Text's command-p file search, allowing developers to perform approximate string matching where characters in a search pattern can match non-consecutive characters in target strings.
npm install fuzzyvar fuzzy = require('fuzzy');Browser (global):
// Available as global 'fuzzy' object
console.log(fuzzy);Note: This library does not support ES module imports. Use CommonJS require() or browser global access only.
var fuzzy = require('fuzzy');
// Simple string filtering
var list = ['baconing', 'narwhal', 'a mighty bear canoe'];
var results = fuzzy.filter('bcn', list);
var matches = results.map(function(el) { return el.string; });
console.log(matches);
// ['baconing', 'a mighty bear canoe']
// With highlighting
var options = { pre: '<b>', post: '</b>' };
var highlighted = fuzzy.filter('bcn', list, options);
console.log(highlighted[0].string);
// '<b>b</b>a<b>c</b>o<b>n</b>ing'Tests if a pattern fuzzy matches a string, returning a simple boolean result.
/**
* Does pattern fuzzy match str?
* @param {string} pattern - The search pattern
* @param {string} str - The string to test against
* @returns {boolean} True if pattern matches, false otherwise
*/
fuzzy.test(pattern, str);Usage Example:
var fuzzy = require('fuzzy');
console.log(fuzzy.test('back', 'imaback')); // true
console.log(fuzzy.test('back', 'bakck')); // true
console.log(fuzzy.test('back', 'abck')); // falsePerforms fuzzy matching with scoring and optional highlighting of matched characters.
/**
* If pattern matches str, wrap each matching character in opts.pre and opts.post.
* If no match, return null.
* @param {string} pattern - The search pattern
* @param {string} str - The string to match against
* @param {Object} [opts] - Options object
* @param {string} [opts.pre=''] - String to wrap before matching characters
* @param {string} [opts.post=''] - String to wrap after matching characters
* @param {boolean} [opts.caseSensitive=false] - Whether matching is case sensitive
* @returns {Object|null} Match result with rendered string and score, or null if no match
*/
fuzzy.match(pattern, str, opts);Usage Example:
var fuzzy = require('fuzzy');
var result = fuzzy.match('ab', 'ZaZbZ', {pre: '<', post: '>'});
console.log(result.rendered); // 'Z<a>Z<b>Z'
console.log(result.score); // 3
// Case sensitivity
var result2 = fuzzy.match('Ab', 'aB', {caseSensitive: true});
console.log(result2); // null (no match due to case sensitivity)Main entry point that filters an array for fuzzy matches and returns results with ranking and metadata.
/**
* Filters arr for matches against pattern. Returns an array with matching values.
* @param {string} pattern - The search pattern
* @param {Array} arr - Array of items to filter
* @param {Object} [opts] - Options object
* @param {string} [opts.pre=''] - String to wrap before matching characters
* @param {string} [opts.post=''] - String to wrap after matching characters
* @param {Function} [opts.extract] - Function to extract string from each element for matching
* @returns {Array} Array of FilterResult objects sorted by score
*/
fuzzy.filter(pattern, arr, opts);Usage Examples:
var fuzzy = require('fuzzy');
// Basic array filtering
var list = ['baconing', 'narwhal', 'a mighty bear canoe'];
var results = fuzzy.filter('bcn', list);
console.log(results);
// [
// {string: 'baconing', score: 3, index: 0, original: 'baconing'},
// {string: 'a mighty bear canoe', score: 3, index: 2, original: 'a mighty bear canoe'}
// ]
// With highlighting
var options = { pre: '<b>', post: '</b>' };
var highlighted = fuzzy.filter('bcn', list, options);
console.log(highlighted[0].string);
// '<b>b</b>a<b>c</b>o<b>n</b>ing'
// With object extraction
var objectList = [
{name: 'baconing', category: 'food'},
{name: 'narwhal', category: 'animal'},
{name: 'a mighty bear canoe', category: 'vehicle'}
];
var extractResults = fuzzy.filter('bcn', objectList, {
pre: '<b>',
post: '</b>',
extract: function(el) { return el.name; }
});
console.log(extractResults[0]);
// {
// string: '<b>b</b>a<b>c</b>o<b>n</b>ing',
// score: 3,
// index: 0,
// original: {name: 'baconing', category: 'food'}
// }Simplified filtering that returns only matching strings from an array, without scoring or metadata.
/**
* Return all elements of array that have a fuzzy match against pattern.
* @param {string} pattern - The search pattern
* @param {Array<string>} array - Array of strings to filter
* @returns {Array<string>} Array of strings that match the pattern
*/
fuzzy.simpleFilter(pattern, array);Usage Example:
var fuzzy = require('fuzzy');
var list = ['baconing', 'narwhal', 'a mighty bear canoe'];
var matches = fuzzy.simpleFilter('bcn', list);
console.log(matches);
// ['baconing', 'a mighty bear canoe']/**
* Result object returned by fuzzy.match()
* @typedef {Object} MatchResult
* @property {string} rendered - The string with highlighted matches
* @property {number} score - The match score (higher = better match)
*//**
* Result object returned by fuzzy.filter()
* @typedef {Object} FilterResult
* @property {string} string - The rendered string with highlights
* @property {number} score - The match score (higher = better match)
* @property {number} index - Original index in the input array
* @property {*} original - The original element from the input array
*//**
* Options for fuzzy.match()
* @typedef {Object} MatchOptions
* @property {string} [pre=''] - String to wrap before matching characters
* @property {string} [post=''] - String to wrap after matching characters
* @property {boolean} [caseSensitive=false] - Whether matching is case sensitive
*//**
* Options for fuzzy.filter()
* @typedef {Object} FilterOptions
* @property {string} [pre=''] - String to wrap before matching characters
* @property {string} [post=''] - String to wrap after matching characters
* @property {Function} [extract] - Function to extract string from each element for matching
*/fuzzy.match() returns null when no match is foundfuzzy.filter() returns an empty array when no matches are foundfuzzy.filter() returns the original array unchangedfuzzy.filter() returns an empty arrayThe fuzzy matching algorithm uses a scoring system that: