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Selecting from a List of Options in bash
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Selecting from a List of Options in bash

InfinityCoder February 9, 2017

You need to provide the user with a list of options to choose from and you don’t want to make them type any more than necessary.

Use bash’s built-in select construct to generate a menu, then have the user choose by typing the number of the selection:

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# cookbook filename: select_dir
 
directorylist="Finished $(ls /)"
 
PS3='Directory to process? ' # Set a useful select prompt
until [ "$directory" == "Finished" ]; do
 
  printf "%b" "\a\n\nSelect a directory to process:\n" >&2
  select directory in $directorylist; do
 
     # User types a number which is stored in $REPLY, but select
     # returns the value of the entry
     if [ "$directory" = "Finished" ]; then
        echo "Finished processing directories."
        break
     elif [ -n "$directory" ]; then
        echo "You chose number $REPLY, processing $directory ..."
        # Do something here
        break
     else
        echo "Invalid selection!"
     fi # end of handle user's selection
 
   done # end of select a directory
done # end of while not finished

The select function makes it trivial to present a numbered list to the user on STDERR, from which they may make a choice.

Don’t forget to provide an “exit” or “finished” choice.
The number the user typed is returned in $REPLY, and the value of that entry is returned in the variable you specified in the select construct.

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