Terminal Guidechoose
Human-friendly cut/awk alternative.
Official WebsiteFeatures
Simple SyntaxNegative IndicesField RangesFast
Replaces
cutInstallation
Homebrew
brew install chooseCargo (Rust)
cargo install chooseWhy use choose?
choose is a modern, intuitive alternative to traditional tools like cut and awk. It provides a simpler syntax for field selection and manipulation, making data extraction tasks more straightforward and less error-prone.
Human-Friendly Syntax
Intuitive field selection without complex regex patterns. Easy to read and remember.
Negative Indices Support
Select fields from the end of the line using negative indices, just like Python lists.
Flexible Delimiters
Support for any delimiter including spaces, tabs, colons, and custom delimiters.
Fast Performance
Written in Rust for blazing-fast execution, even on large datasets.
Installation
Using Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
Installation
brew install chooseUsing Cargo (Rust)
Installation
cargo install chooseVerify Installation
Verification
choose --versionBasic Usage
Simple Field Selection
Basic Examples
# Select a single field (0-indexed)
echo "apple banana cherry date" | choose 1
# Output: banana
# Select multiple non-consecutive fields
echo "apple banana cherry date" | choose 0 2
# Output: apple cherry
# Select a range of fields
echo "apple banana cherry date" | choose 0:2
# Output: apple banana cherry
# Select until the end
echo "apple banana cherry date" | choose 1:
# Output: banana cherry dateUsing Negative Indices
Negative Indices
# Select the last field
echo "apple banana cherry date" | choose -1
# Output: date
# Select everything except the last field
echo "apple banana cherry date" | choose 0:-1
# Output: apple banana cherry
# Select from second-to-last to end
echo "apple banana cherry date" | choose -2:
# Output: cherry dateCustom Delimiters
Delimiter Examples
# Using colon as delimiter (common for /etc/passwd)
echo "root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash" | choose -d: 0 4
# Output: root root
# Using comma as delimiter (CSV files)
echo "John,Doe,john@example.com,Engineer" | choose -d, 0 2
# Output: John john@example.com
# Using tab as delimiter
echo -e "name\tage\tcity" | choose -d$'\t' 0 2
# Output: name cityCommon Options
| Option | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
-d, --delimiter | Specify field delimiter | choose -d: 0 |
-f, --output-delimiter | Specify output delimiter | choose -f, 0 2 |
-r, --ranges | Output ranges info | choose -r 0:2 |
-n, --non-greedy | Non-greedy separator matching | choose -n 0 |
--output-field-separator | Alternative output separator syntax | choose --output-field-separator=- 0 2 |
Practical Examples
Processing Log Files
Log Processing
# Extract timestamp and error message from logs
cat /var/log/app.log | choose 0 1 -d' '
# Output: 2024-01-20 ERROR
# Get only the status code from access logs
cat /var/log/access.log | choose -d' ' 8
# Output: 200
# Extract multiple important fields from logs
cat /var/log/app.log | choose -d' ' 0 1 2 3
# Output: 2024-01-20 12:34:56 ERROR messageWorking with System Files
System Files
# Extract usernames from /etc/passwd
cat /etc/passwd | choose -d: 0
# Output: root, daemon, bin, ...
# Get user home directories
cat /etc/passwd | choose -d: 0 5
# Output: root /root, daemon /usr/sbin, ...
# Extract all fields except shell for a user
grep "^john:" /etc/passwd | choose -d: 0:-1
# Output: john:x:1000:1000:John Doe:/home/johnCSV Data Extraction
CSV Processing
# Extract name and email from CSV
cat users.csv | choose -d, 0 2
# Output: John john@example.com
# Get last two columns (excluding header)
tail -n +2 data.csv | choose -d, -2:
# Output: [last two columns]
# Select specific columns with custom output
cat records.csv | choose -d, -f' | ' 1 3 4
# Output: [field1] | [field3] | [field4]Text Processing Pipelines
Pipeline Examples
# Extract command names from history
history | choose 1
# Output: ls, cd, grep, ...
# Process network connections
netstat -an | choose 3 4 5
# Output: [local address] [remote address] [state]
# Get file sizes and permissions
ls -la | choose 0 4 8
# Output: -rw-r--r-- 1024 file.txtTips and Tricks
Creating Useful Aliases
Shell Aliases
# ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
# Extract usernames from passwd file
alias getusers='cat /etc/passwd | choose -d: 0'
# Get file permissions and names
alias perms='ls -la | choose 0 8'
# Extract URLs from text
alias geturls='choose -d/ 2 3'
# Process CSV with common delimiter
alias csv='choose -d,'Comparison with Traditional Tools
Tool Comparison
# Traditional cut approach (complex)
echo "a:b:c" | cut -d: -f1,3
# Using choose (simpler)
echo "a:b:c" | choose -d: 0 2
# Traditional awk approach (verbose)
echo "a b c" | awk '{print $1, $3}'
# Using choose (cleaner)
echo "a b c" | choose 0 2
# With different output delimiter
echo "a b c" | choose -f: 0 2
# Output: a:cAdvanced Field Selection
Advanced Selection
# Select all but skip one field
echo "1 2 3 4 5" | choose 0 2 4
# Output: 1 3 5
# Combine positive and negative indices
echo "a b c d e" | choose 0 2 -1
# Output: a c e
# Multiple ranges
echo "one two three four five six" | choose 0:1 3: -d' '
# Output: one two four five sixchoose vs cut vs awk
| Feature | cut | awk | choose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learning curve | Moderate | Steep | Gentle |
| Negative indices | No | No | Yes |
| Complex patterns | Limited | Advanced | Moderate |
| Speed | Fast | Good | Very fast |
| Use case fit | Simple extractions | Complex transformations | Daily field selection |
Tips
- •choose uses 0-based indexing like Python and most programming languages, making it intuitive for developers
- •The default delimiter is whitespace, which automatically collapses multiple spaces or tabs
- •Negative indices work similarly to Python slicing, making the tool more intuitive for modern developers
- •For CSV files with quoted fields containing delimiters, consider using more specialized tools like Miller or xsv
- •You can chain choose with other tools to build powerful data processing pipelines
- •Use
--rangesto debug your field selections before committing to processing large files