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.

What it does

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

Installation

Homebrew (macOS)

brew tap melonamin/formulae
brew install try

Download Pre-built Binaries

Download the latest release from GitHub Releases:

macOS (Universal)

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

Linux (amd64)

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

Linux (arm64)

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

Using Go

go install github.com/melonamin/try@latest

Build from Source

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

The Problem

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.

The Solution

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.

What's New in This Fork

📦 GitHub Repository Cloning

• 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

🗑️ Directory Deletion

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

⚡ Performance Improvements

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

Original Features

🎯 Smart Fuzzy Search

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

⏰ Time-Aware

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

🎨 Pretty TUI

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

📁 Organized Chaos

• 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

Usage

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 --help                               # See all options

Keyboard Shortcuts

• ↑/↓ - 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

Configuration

Set TRY_PATH to change where experiments are stored:

export TRY_PATH=~/code/sketches

Default: ~/src/tries

Comparison with Original

Feature	Original (Ruby)	This Fork (Go)
Language	Ruby	Go
Installation	Ruby required	Single binary
GitHub Cloning	❌	✅ Built-in
Delete Directories	❌	✅ With confirmation
Paste Support	✅	✅ Full URL paste
Performance	Good	Excellent
Binary Size	~20KB + Ruby	~4-5MB standalone
Cross-platform	Ruby dependent	Native binaries
Shell Integration	✅ Via eval	❌ Spawns subshell
Dependencies	Ruby runtime	None

Acknowledgements

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

The Philosophy

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.

FAQ

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: 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.

Contributing

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.

License

MIT - Do whatever you want with it.