A Go reimplementation of tobi/try with GitHub cloning, deletion support, and better performance

Ever find yourself with 50 directories named test, test2, new-test, actually-working-test, scattered across your filesystem? Or worse, just coding in /tmp and losing everything?

try is here for your beautifully chaotic mind.

Instantly navigate through all your experiment directories with:

• Fuzzy search that just works
• Smart sorting - recently used stuff bubbles to the top
• Auto-dating - creates directories like 2025-08-17-redis-experiment
• Zero config - single binary, no dependencies

brew tap melonamin/formulae
brew install try

Download the latest release from GitHub Releases:

curl -L https://github.com/melonamin/try/releases/latest/download/try-macos-universal.zip -o try.zip
unzip try.zip
chmod +x try-macos-universal
sudo mv try-macos-universal /usr/local/bin/try

curl -L https://github.com/melonamin/try/releases/latest/download/try-linux-amd64.tar.gz | tar xz
chmod +x try-linux-amd64
sudo mv try-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/try

curl -L https://github.com/melonamin/try/releases/latest/download/try-linux-arm64.tar.gz | tar xz
chmod +x try-linux-arm64
sudo mv try-linux-arm64 /usr/local/bin/try

go install github.com/melonamin/try@latest

git clone https://github.com/melonamin/try.git
cd try
go build -o ~/.local/bin/try

You're learning Redis. You create /tmp/redis-test. Then ~/Desktop/redis-actually. Then ~/projects/testing-redis-again. Three weeks later you can't find that brilliant connection pooling solution you wrote at 2am.

All your experiments in one place, with instant fuzzy search:

$ try pool
→ 2025-08-14-redis-connection-pool    2h, 18.5
  2025-08-03-thread-pool              3d, 12.1
  2025-07-22-db-pooling               2w, 8.3
  + Create new: pool

Type, arrow down, enter. You're there.

• Clone repos directly: try --clone https://github.com/user/repo
• Auto-detect GitHub URLs in search
• Creates dated folders like 2025-01-21-repo-name

• Press Ctrl+D to delete directories
• Safe two-step confirmation process
• Visual warnings to prevent accidents

• Pre-compiled regex patterns
• Faster startup and search
• Timeout protection for git operations

Not just substring matching - it's smart:

• rds matches redis-server
• connpool matches connection-pool
• Recent stuff scores higher
• Shorter names win on equal matches

• Shows how long ago you touched each project
• Recently accessed directories float to the top
• Perfect for "what was I working on yesterday?"

• Clean, minimal interface
• Highlights matches as you type
• Shows scores so you know why things are ranked
• Dark mode by default (because obviously)

• Everything lives in ~/src/tries (configurable via TRY_PATH)
• Auto-prefixes with dates: 2025-08-17-your-idea
• Skip the date prompt if you already typed a name

try                                      # Browse all experiments
try redis                                # Jump to redis experiment or create new
try new api                              # Start with "2025-01-21-new-api"
try github.com/user/repo                 # Shows clone option in TUI
try --clone https://github.com/user/repo # Clone directly without TUI
try --select-only                        # Output selected path (for shell integration)
try -s redis                             # Search and output path without launching shell
try --help                               # See all options

• ↑/↓ - Navigate entries
• Ctrl+j/k - Navigate (vim-style)
• Enter - Select directory or create new
• Ctrl+N - Quick create new experiment
• Ctrl+D - Delete selected directory
• Ctrl+U - Clear search
• ESC/q - Cancel and exit
• Just type to filter

try supports both environment variables and a configuration file. Environment variables always override config file settings.

export TRY_PATH=~/code/sketches    # Override base directory
export TRY_SHELL=/bin/fish         # Override shell (instead of $SHELL)

Defaults:

• Path: ~/src/tries
• Shell: $SHELL or /bin/bash

On first run, try creates a configuration file at ~/.config/try/config where you can set:

• Path: Base directory for experiments
• Shell: Override which shell to use (instead of $SHELL)

Example config:

{
  "path": "/home/user/experiments",
  "shell": "fish"
}

Note: The config file uses ~/.config/try on all platforms (Linux, macOS, Windows) for consistency and to avoid macOS Application Support restrictions with symlinks.

Settings are resolved in this order (highest priority first):

1. TRY_PATH and TRY_SHELL environment variables
2. Config file (~/.config/try/config)
3. Default values

This means you can have a config file for default settings and temporarily override them with environment variables.

try launches a new shell subprocess by default for several reasons:

1. Clean Environment - Each experiment gets a fresh shell environment without inheriting temporary variables or functions
2. Easy Exit - Simply exit to return to your original directory and environment
3. Project Isolation - Different experiments can have different environment setups without conflicts
4. Safety - Can't accidentally modify your parent shell's state
5. Cross-Shell Compatibility - Works identically across bash, zsh, fish, etc.

If you prefer to cd in your current shell instead of launching a subprocess, use the --select-only (-s) flag with shell functions:

Add to your .bashrc or .zshrc:

# Function to cd to selected try directory
trycd() {
    local dir
    dir=$(try --select-only "$@")
    if [[ -n "$dir" ]]; then
        cd "$dir"
        echo "Changed to: $(basename "$dir")"
    fi
}
alias tc=trycd  # Short alias

# Or simpler one-liner
alias trycd='cd $(try -s)'

Add to your ~/.config/fish/config.fish:

# Function to cd to selected try directory
function trycd
    set -l dir (try --select-only $argv)
    if test -n "$dir"
        cd $dir
        echo "Changed to: "(basename $dir)
    end
end
alias tc=trycd  # Short alias

# Using shell functions
trycd                    # Browse and cd to selection
trycd redis              # Search for 'redis' and cd
tc neural                # Short alias

# Direct usage
cd $(try -s)             # Browse and cd
cd $(try -s tensorflow)  # Search and cd

In select-only mode:

• The TUI interface appears on stderr (so you can see it)
• The selected path is output to stdout (so it can be captured)
• Colors are preserved using ANSI256 profile
• Works with command substitution: $(try -s)

This project is a fork of tobi/try, originally created by Tobi Lütke. The original Ruby implementation provided the excellent foundation and user experience that this Go version builds upon.

Key additions in this fork:

• GitHub repository cloning functionality
• Directory deletion with safety confirmation
• Performance optimizations for large directory sets
• Enhanced keyboard shortcuts

Your brain doesn't work in neat folders. You have ideas, you try things, you context-switch like a caffeinated squirrel. This tool embraces that.

Every experiment gets a home. Every home is instantly findable. Your 2am coding sessions are no longer lost to the void.

Q: Why not just use cd and ls? A: Because you have 200 directories and can't remember if you called it test-redis, redis-test, or new-redis-thing.

Q: Why not use fzf? A: fzf is great for files. This is specifically for project directories, with time-awareness and auto-creation built in.

Q: Why does it launch a new shell instead of just cd? A: Launching a subprocess provides a clean, isolated environment for each experiment. You can always use --select-only mode with shell functions if you prefer cd behavior.

Q: Can I use this for real projects? A: You can, but it's designed for experiments. Real projects deserve real names in real locations.

Q: What if I have thousands of experiments? A: First, welcome to the club. Second, it handles it fine - the scoring algorithm ensures relevant stuff stays on top.

Contributions are welcome! The codebase is a single Go file (main.go) using the Bubble Tea TUI framework. Feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

MIT - Do whatever you want with it.