fsel

fsel (stands for Folder Select) is a Text User Interface (TUI) program to easily navigate the folders of your project(s) in the terminal.

Conceptually, UI of fsel is similar to Mac's finder app: selected folders are shown next to each other.

• fsel is intended for navigation inside your project, it is not intended to navigate the entire file system.
• fsel auto-detects the root folder of your project: if there is a directory .git, or .svn, then it's the root of your project.
• fsel memorizes history of your navigation in the project; later it, suggests folders that you have recently visited.

Installation

• Run python3 setup.py install or python3 setup.py install --user.
• Run source key_bindings.bash to add key bindings.
• Put source /path/to/key_bindings.bash to your .bashrc to persist these key bindings.

Key bindings for command-line

Executables

• Ctrl-Alt-Space: run selected executable
• Alt-Z: run one of the recent executables
• Alt-Shift-Z: insert the full path of one of the recent executables into command line

Change directory

• Alt-X: cd into the selected directory
• Alt-Shift-X: cd into a recent directory

Insert file path into command line

• Ctrl-]: insert the relative file path into command line
• Alt-]: insert the full file path into command line
• Alt-Shift-]: insert the relative file path from the root into command line
• Ctrl-Alt-]: insert the full path of one of the recent files into command line

Insert folder path into command line

• Ctrl-G: insert the relative path to folder into command line
• Alt-G: insert the full path to the folder into command line
• Alt-Shift-G: insert the relative path to folder from root into command line
• Ctrl-Alt-G: insert the full path of one of the recent folders into command line

Key reference

• Escape: exit
• Enter: navigate (cd) to the currently selected folder
• Up, Down: select another sub-folder in the selected folder
• Left, Right: select sub-folder or parent folder
• Home, End: select folder at the beginning or the end of the current path
• Tab: navigate (cd) to the end of the current path
• Shift-Tab: navigate (cd) to the root folder
• Type to search for a file or folder
• Alt-Up, Alt-Down: go to the previous/next search match

Type to search in the currently selected folder. If there are matches, then

• Alt+Up: go to the previous match
• Alt+Down: go to the next match
• Alt+PageUp: go to the first match
• Alt+PageDown: go to the last match
• Backspace: erase last character of the search term
• Delete: cancel search

Configuration/history file

The file ~/.fsel_history contains the list or project roots and keeps navigation history for the folder under these roots.

It has the following format:

{
  "/path/to/root/of/project1": { ... },
  "/path/to/root/of/project2": { ... }
}

Add the roots of your projects to this file to keep navigation history for them.