Tiny DC

Tiny DC (which stands for Tiny Directory Changer), is a tiny TUI aimed to make changing directories as efficient as possible.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9db48319-101c-4cdb-ac79-113cc2b78b77

Tiny DC is inspired by tere and z. It's faster than doing cd + ls and more convenient than using a GUI file explorer if you spend your time in the terminal. It also combines the functionality of z to quickly jump to directories that you've visited before. It's designed to be minimal and fast, with a focus on usability and performance.

Tiny DC is not a "file manager", it can only be used to browse and change directories. It doesn't have any manipulation features like copying, moving, or deleting files/directories.

NOTE: This was only tested on Linux, but it should work on MacOS and WSL as well. Windows support is still work in progress (PRs are welcome).

Features

• Fast and responsive TUI interface
• Quickly jump to frequently visited directories (similar to z)
• Search for directories by name
• Quickly and efficiently navigate through directories
  • vim-like keybindings + arrow keys
  • dynamic shortcuts for each listed directory (simply press the highlighted key/key combination on the right side of the directory name and you will be taken to that directory)

Setup

In order to use tiny-dc, you need to install it and then integrate it with your shell.

Step 1: Install tiny-dc

You can download the latest release

or

you can install tiny-dc from cargo:

cargo install tiny-dc

Step 2: Integrate it with your shell

> Bash/Zsh

For bash or zsh, add the following to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

# Change dc to whatever you want to use
dc() {
    local result=$(command tiny-dc "$@")
    [ -n "$result" ] && cd -- "$result"
}

# Change z to whatever you want to use
# This will allow you to use z as a shortcut for tiny-dc
# It will take you to the most "frecent" directory that you've visited before
z() {
    local result=$(command tiny-dc z "$@")
    [ -n "$result" ] && cd -- "$result"
}

# This is needed for the `z` command to work
# Every time you change directories, it will push the current directory to the
# tiny-dc index
cd() {
    builtin cd "$@" && tiny-dc push "$PWD"
}

After adding the above lines, run source ~/.bashrc or source ~/.zshrc to reload your shell configuration.

> fish

For fish, add the following to your ~/.config/fish/config.fish:

# Change dc to whatever you want to use
function dc
    set result (tiny-dc $argv)
    if test -n "$result"
        cd $result
    end
end

# Change z to whatever you want to use
# This will allow you to use z as a shortcut for tiny-dc
# It will take you to the most "frecent" directory that you've visited before
function z
    set result (tiny-dc z $argv)
    if test -n "$result"
        cd $result
    end
end

# This is needed for the `z` command to work
# Every time you change directories, it will push the current directory to the
# tiny-dc index
function cd
    builtin cd $argv; and tiny-dc push $PWD
end

> Nushell

For nushell, add the following to your ~/.config/nushell/config.nu:

# Change dc to whatever you want to use
def --env dc [...args: string] {
    let result = (tiny-dc ...$args)
    if $result != "" {
        cd $result
    }
}

# Change z to whatever you want to use
# This will allow you to use z as a shortcut for tiny-dc
# It will take you to the most "frecent" directory that you've visited before
def --env z [...args: string] {
    let result = (tiny-dc z ...$args)
    if $result != "" {
        cd $result
    }
}

# Make sure the built-in cd is saved so we can call it from within our new cd command.
alias cd-orig = cd

# This is needed for the `z` command to work
# Every time you change directories, it will push the current directory to the
# tiny-dc index
def --env cd [dir: path] {
    cd-orig $dir;
    tiny-dc push $dir
}

Step 3: Profit

Now you can use dc to open the TUI and navigate through your directories. You can also use z to quickly jump to the most "frecent" directory.

Keybindings

At any given time when using tiny-dc, you can press ? to see the help menu, which will show you the keybindings that are available.

Here is a list of keybindings that you can use in the TUI: