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Takuto Yuki
Takuto Yuki

Posted on • Edited on

Pick Files from a List for Git Add and Stash Directly in Your Terminal

#git #shell #tooling #opensource

Introduction

As developers, we often find ourselves working with Git in the terminal. While tools like VSCode or GUI-based Git clients offer file selection features, many developers prefer the simplicity and speed of the terminal.

Git also provides a built-in interactive mode with git add -i. Have you ever tried using it? Personally, I didn’t find it particularly user-friendly.

There are powerful tools like fzf or tig that enhance terminal interactivity, but sometimes you just don't need all those advanced features. For me, having a lightweight tool to interactively select files for git add and git stash felt like the perfect solution.

When selection isn't possible, the typical workflow often involves running git status, copying file names, and pasting them repeatedly for git add or git stash. This copy-paste process can be tedious and error-prone, especially in larger repositories.

To address this need, I wrote approximately 150 lines of code to create git-select-list, a simple yet effective tool for developers seeking interactivity without complexity. You can find the repository here: git-select-list.

Image git-select-list

Features

  • Interactive UI: Navigate with arrow keys, select with a or s, and toggle all with u.
  • Multiple Actions: Supports git add, git stash, git stash apply, and git stash drop.
  • Lightweight Setup: No external dependencies, with an included setup script.

Setup

1. Clone the repository 

   git clone https://github.com/pppp606/git-select-list.git
   cd git-select-list
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2. Run the setup script 

   bash setup.sh
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3. After setup, you can use the git ls command.

The setup script configures a convenient alias using Git's built-in alias feature:

   git config --global alias.ls '!sh $(pwd)/scripts/git-select-list.sh'
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This alias allows you to execute the tool directly as git ls, making it feel like a native Git command. If you haven’t explored Git’s alias functionality before, it’s a simple and powerful way to extend Git’s behavior without modifying your workflow.

Usage

Command Format 

git ls <action> [subaction]
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Supported Actions and Subactions

Command Description
git ls add Interactively select modified files to stage.
git ls stash Interactively select modified files to stash.
git ls stash apply Interactively select stashes to apply.
git ls stash drop Interactively select stashes to drop.

Key Bindings

  • Arrow Keys: Navigate between items.
  • a or s Key: Select or deselect the current item.
  • u Key: Select or deselect all items.
  • Enter Key: Confirm the selection.
  • ESC Key: Exit without making any changes.

Thanks for Checking It Out!

If you find git-select-list useful, feel free to use it in your projects. And if you like it, consider starring the repository on GitHub—it would make my day!

GitHub logo pppp606 / git-select-list

📋 Git Select List

git-select-list is a tool to interactively perform Git operations. It allows you to select files or stashes from a list for actions like git add, git stash, git stash apply, and git stash drop.

2025-01-11_20.29.54.mov

✨ Features

  • Interactive UI: Navigate with arrow keys, select with a or s, and toggle all with u.
  • Multiple Actions: Supports git add, git stash, git stash apply, and git stash drop.
  • Lightweight Setup: No external dependencies, with an included setup script.

🔨 Setup

  1. Clone this repository:

    git clone https://github.com/pppp606/git-select-list.git
cd git-select-list
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  2. Run the setup script:

    bash setup.sh
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  3. After setup, you can use the git ls command.

💻 Usage

Command Format

git ls <action> [subaction]
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Examples

Stage Files

  1. Run the following command 
    git ls add
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  2. Select files from the displayed list using a or u…


View on GitHub


Update (2025/01/18)

After some reflection, I decided that the original git sl alias felt slightly unnatural. To make the command more intuitive, I’ve changed the default alias from git sl to git ls. All instances of sl in this article have been updated to ls.

If you’re already using the tool, feel free to set your own alias that works best for you!

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