rd-better-cd: Modern TUI Directory Changer

rd-better-cd(rd) is a terminal tool that replaces the traditional cd command with a visual Text-based User Interface (TUI). It simplifies directory navigation via keyboard controls (including Vim-style shortcuts) and a modern interface, enabling one-click directory switching in Bash.

Features

• Intuitive TUI: Clean and modern interface for visual directory browsing.
  • Preview sub file's or dir's contents
• Keyboard Controls: Supports both standard arrow keys and Vim shortcuts (hjkl).
• Hidden Files Toggle: Easily show/hide dot-files (e.g., .git, .bashrc) with a single key.
• Bash Integration: Automatically updates the Bash working directory after selection (requires a simple function setup).

Keyboard Shortcuts

Keys	Function
ESC / ← / h	Go back to the parent directory.
Enter / → / l	Enter the selected subdirectory.
↑ / k	Move highlight up.
↓ / j	Move highlight down.
H (uppercase)	Toggle visibility of dot-files/directories.
Space	Confirm and switch Bash to the selected directory.
q / Q	Quit the TUI (Bash directory remains unchanged).

Step I - Installation

Method 1: Download Release (Recommended)

1. Go to the Releases page.
2. Download the latest release for your system (e.g., rd-better-cd-linux-amd64.tar.gz).
3. Extract the file:

tar -zxvf rd-better-cd-*.tar.gz

4. Move the binary to a system path (e.g., /usr/local/bin)

sudo mv rd-better-cd /usr/local/bin/

Method 2: Build from Source

• This part is on your own
• Basically all you need is:

git clone https://github.com/MrKyomoto/rd-better-cd.git
cd rd-better-cd
cargo build --release

• And then put the binary into /usr/local/bin/
• Remaining part is just like Method 1

Step II - Bash Integration (Required)

• To auto-switch the Bash directory, add this function to ~/.bashrc (or ~/.zshrc for Zsh):

rd() {
    # please replace it to your actual path
    RATATUI_BETTER_CD="rd-better-cd"
    TEMP_FILE="/tmp/rd_selected_dir"
    rm -f "$TEMP_FILE"
    "$RATATUI_BETTER_CD"
    if [ -f "$TEMP_FILE" ]; then
        SELECTED_DIR=$(cat "$TEMP_FILE" | tr -d '\r\n')
        rm -f "$TEMP_FILE"
        if [ -d "$SELECTED_DIR" ]; then
            cd "$SELECTED_DIR" || echo "Failed to cd: $SELECTED_DIR"
            echo "Current dir: $(pwd)"
        else
            echo "Invalid dir: $SELECTED_DIR"
        fi
    else
        echo "No directory selected."
    fi
}

• Apply the changes:

source ~/.bashrc  # or source ~/.zshrc

Usage

1. Launch: rd
2. Navigate with arrow keys/Vim keys (hjkl) (ESC or Enter are also supported)
3. Press Space to switch to the selected directory
4. Press H to toggle hidden files(starts with dot '.')
5. Press q/Q to quit (select current root directory)

Known Issues

• Git-related error: Entering .git directories may show a fatal error. This is harmless and does not affect functionality.