git select

Interactive git branch selector in the terminal.

• Highlight the currently active branch in green.
• Navigate with arrows or j/k keys.
• Press Enter to switch the selected branch.
• Press q to quit.

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Installation

Build

make

Install

sudo make install

This installs the git-select binary to /usr/local/bin/.

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Usage

Run in any git repository:

git select

The program will:

1. Display a prompt and the branch table (git branch -v output).
2. Highlight the currently active branch.
3. Allow navigation with arrows or j/k.
4. Checkout the selected branch with Enter.
5. Quit with q.

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Example Output

Here is an example of how git select looks for terminal:

$ git select
Select git branch (↑/↓ j/k, Enter to switch, q to quit)
  1-initial-setup                         a1b2c3d   initialize project structure
  2-api-refactor                          b2c3d4e   refactor request handling
  3-ui-polish                             c3d4e5f   adjust spacing and colors
  experiment-fast-build                   d4e5f6a   test alternative build flags
➜ main                                   e5f6a7b   merge feature branches
  release-2025-01                         f6a7b8c   prepare release artifacts
  spike-performance                       a7b8c9d   measure cold start latency

• ➜ marks the currently selected branch (highlighted).
• main is the active branch (green).
• Navigate with arrows or j/k, press Enter to switch, q to quit.
• Lines are truncated to terminal width to prevent wrapping issues.

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Optional: Create a shorter alias

If you want even faster access, you can add an alias in your shell configuration (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.):

# shorter alias for git select
alias br='git select'

Reload your shell:

source ~/.bashrc   # or ~/.zshrc

Then you can run:

br

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Dependencies

• Standard C++ compiler (g++)
• POSIX-compatible terminal (Linux, macOS)

No external libraries required.