[Nyarlathoteppppp]

Refs #938

This is the "separate, smaller issue" from #938. The watcher hang itself is handled in #939; this PR doesn't touch it.

Problem

file_search and content_search with a cwd that differs from the current root fail at once with timeout waiting for index scan and return nothing, unless require('fff.file_picker').setup() was called first.

ensure_indexed (lua/fff/main.lua) calls core.ensure_initialized(), switches the root, then waits on file_picker.wait_for_initial_scan. That returns false while file_picker.state.initialized is unset, and only file_picker.setup() sets it. setup() is only called from the picker UI (picker_ui.lua:126,626), so a caller that only uses the programmatic API never gets past the wait. The existing specs call setup() in before_each, which is why they didn't catch it.

Reproduction

From a checkout of main (7353971), nvim --headless -u NONE -i NONE -l repro.lua:

vim.opt.rtp:prepend(vim.fn.getcwd())
vim.g.fff = { frecency = { db_path = vim.fn.tempname() }, history = { db_path = vim.fn.tempname() } }
local r = require('fff').file_search('', { cwd = vim.fn.getcwd() .. '/crates' })
print(#r.items)

Before: FFF file_search: timeout waiting for index scan, then 0. After: 100.

Fix

ensure_indexed calls file_picker.setup() right after core.ensure_initialized() if it hasn't run yet, the same check the picker UI does before opening. setup() only sets the Lua-side flag and base_path, so nothing changes for callers that open the picker or already call setup(). No public API change.

I left wait_for_initial_scan and the other file_picker guards as they are. If you'd rather have core.ensure_initialized() set the flag, I can move it there.

Tests

New cwd switching without the picker UI block in tests/programmatic_search_spec.lua. It saves file_picker.state.initialized and sets it to false in before_each (restored in after_each), then runs file_search and content_search against a fresh sandbox cwd and checks that nothing is notified as an error and the sandbox file or match comes back. The notify check matters for content_search: polling for the match alone would pass without the fix.

With lua/fff/main.lua reverted the spec gives 12 pass / 2 fail, both timeout waiting for index scan; with the fix, 14/14.

Ran locally on macOS arm64, Neovim 0.12.6, with the prebuilt aarch64-apple-darwin.dylib from the 0.11.1-nightly.7353971 release in target/release/ (I don't have cargo here, and this PR only changes Lua):

• PlenaryBustedDirectory tests/ (what make test-lua runs): 71 pass, 0 fail
• stylua --check ., luacheck lua/, lua-language-server --check=.: clean (the vim.notify stub needs a duplicate-set-field disable)

programmatic_search_spec.lua is flaky on macOS under load, both on main and on this branch (3/30 runs each, every failure stuck ~50 s on a scan wait), which looks like the #938 hang that #939 fixes. On an otherwise idle machine, 50 more runs of this branch had no hangs.

Not run: a Rust build, Neovim 0.10.4 (CI's version), Linux, Windows, make test-lua-snap.

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review.

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• tests/programmatic_search_spec.lua

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Walkthrough

Programmatic searches now set up the file picker when it is uninitialized. Tests cover file and content searches in a new working directory without opening the picker UI.

Changes: Programmatic search

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Initialize the picker for programmatic searches lua/fff/main.lua, tests/programmatic_search_spec.lua	ensure_indexed sets up the file picker when it is uninitialized and uses the loaded module to wait for the initial scan. Tests check sandbox search results and error notifications when picker UI setup is disabled.

Priority: Normal

Estimated code review effort: 2 (Simple) | ~10 minutes

Change: Bug fix

Suggested reviewers: dmtrkovalenko

Merge Risk: Minimal · up to fb97e

No concrete merge-blocking risk is established by the reviewed evidence.

Pre-merge checks: 4 · 1

Failed checks: 1 warning

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage		Docstring coverage is 50.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 2 functions across 2 files.	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

Passed checks: 4 passed

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check		Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check		The title clearly identifies the main fix: file_search and content_search work with a different cwd without requiring the picker UI.
Linked Issues check		Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check		Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

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