try

README

try - Temporary Project Directory Manager

A Go implementation of the try CLI tool for managing temporary project directories, with full feature parity to the original Ruby version.

Features

• Interactive TUI: Fuzzy search and navigate your try directories with a beautiful terminal interface
• Smart Search: Fuzzy matching with intelligent scoring based on recency and naming patterns
• Date Prefixes: Automatically prefix directories with YYYY-MM-DD- for easy organization
• Directory Operations: Create, rename, and delete try directories
• Git Integration: Clone repositories and create worktrees directly into try directories
• Shell Integration: Seamless cd navigation through shell wrapper functions
• Cross-Platform: Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows

Installation

Using Go Install

go install github.com/bscott/try/cmd/try@latest

From Source

git clone https://github.com/bscott/try.git
cd try
go build -o try ./cmd/try
sudo mv try /usr/local/bin/

Quick Start

1. Initialize shell integration:

# For bash/zsh (add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc)
eval "$(try init)"

# For fish (add to ~/.config/fish/config.fish)
try init | source

1. Use the TUI:

# Launch interactive TUI
try

# The TUI opens with fuzzy search - just start typing!

Usage

Commands

• try - Launch interactive TUI
• try init [path] - Generate shell integration script
• try exec - Execute TUI and output shell command (used by wrapper)

Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigation

• ↑/↓ or Ctrl+P/N - Move selection up/down
• Enter - Select entry and navigate to directory

Search Input

• Ctrl+A - Move cursor to start
• Ctrl+E - Move cursor to end
• Ctrl+B - Move cursor back one character
• Ctrl+F - Move cursor forward one character
• Ctrl+K - Kill to end of line
• Ctrl+W - Delete word backward
• Backspace - Delete character backward

Actions

• Ctrl+D - Toggle delete mode / mark entry for deletion
• Ctrl+R - Rename selected entry
• Ctrl+T - Create new try directory
• Ctrl+H - Show help
• Esc - Cancel current action / return to normal mode
• Ctrl+C - Quit

Delete Flow

1. Press Ctrl+D to enter delete mode
2. Press Ctrl+D again to mark/unmark entries (✗ indicator appears)
3. Press Enter to show confirmation prompt
4. Type YES exactly to confirm deletion
5. Press Esc to cancel at any point

Create Flow

1. Press Ctrl+T to open create prompt
2. Enter name (without date prefix)
3. Press Enter to create
4. Directory is created as YYYY-MM-DD-{name} and you're navigated to it

Rename Flow

1. Select entry and press Ctrl+R
2. Edit the name (date prefix is preserved)
3. Press Enter to confirm or Esc to cancel

Configuration

Environment Variables

• TRY_PATH - Base directory for try directories (default: ~/src/tries)

Example:

export TRY_PATH="$HOME/experiments"
eval "$(try init)"

Git Integration

Clone repositories directly into try directories:

try clone https://github.com/user/repo.git

Create worktrees:

try worktree feature-branch

Fuzzy Matching Algorithm

The fuzzy matcher uses intelligent scoring:

1. Recency: Newer directories score higher
2. Date Prefix Bonus: Entries with YYYY-MM-DD- prefix get +10 points
3. Character Matches: +1 per matched character
4. Word Boundaries: +1 for matches at word start
5. Proximity: Closer matches score higher
6. Density: Tighter match spans score higher
7. Length Penalty: Shorter names score slightly higher

Empty queries show all entries sorted by modification time (newest first).

Project Structure

try/
├── cmd/try/              # Main entry point
│   ├── main.go
│   ├── exec.go           # TUI launcher
│   └── init.go           # Shell integration
├── internal/
│   ├── config/           # Configuration management
│   ├── tries/            # Directory operations
│   ├── fuzzy/            # Fuzzy matching algorithm
│   ├── tui/              # Bubble Tea TUI
│   ├── git/              # Git operations
│   └── shell/            # Shell integration
└── README.md

Development

Running Tests

go test ./...

Building

go build -o try ./cmd/try

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Credits

• Original Ruby implementation: tobi/try
• TUI framework: Bubble Tea
• Styling: Lipgloss