pick

pick is a small python library to help you create curses based interactive selection list in the terminal.

Basic	Multiselect

Installation

$ pip install pick

Usage

pick comes with a simple api:

>>> from pick import pick

>>> title = 'Please choose your favorite programming language: '
>>> options = ['Java', 'JavaScript', 'Python', 'PHP', 'C++', 'Erlang', 'Haskell']
>>> option, index = pick(options, title)
>>> print(option)
>>> print(index)

outputs:

>>> C++
>>> 4

pick multiselect example:

>>> from pick import pick

>>> title = 'Please choose your favorite programming language (press SPACE to mark, ENTER to continue): '
>>> options = ['Java', 'JavaScript', 'Python', 'PHP', 'C++', 'Erlang', 'Haskell']
>>> selected = pick(options, title, multiselect=True, min_selection_count=1)
>>> print(selected)

outputs:

>>> [('Java', 0), ('C++', 4)]

Options

• options: a list of options to choose from
• title: (optional) a title above options list
• indicator: (optional) custom the selection indicator, defaults to *
• default_index: (optional) set this if the default selected option is not the first one
• multiselect: (optional), if set to True its possible to select multiple items by hitting SPACE
• min_selection_count: (optional) for multi select feature to dictate a minimum of selected items before continuing
• options_map_func: (optional) a mapping function to pass each option through before displaying

Register custom handlers

Sometimes you may need to register custom handlers for specific keyboard keys, you can use the register_custom_handler API:

>>> from pick import Picker
>>> title, options = 'Title', ['Option1', 'Option2']
>>> picker = Picker(options, title)
>>> def go_back(picker):
...     return None, -1
>>> picker.register_custom_handler(ord('h'),  go_back)
>>> option, index = picker.start()

• the custom handler will be called with the picker instance as it's parameter.
• the custom handler should either return a two element tuple, or None.
• if None is returned, the picker would continue to run, otherwise the picker will stop and return the tuple.

Options Map Function

If your options are not in a format that you want displayed (such as a dictionary), you can pass in a mapping function which each option will be run through. The return value of the function will be displayed.

the selected option returned will be the original value and not the displayed return result from the options_map_func function.

pick options map function example:

>>> from pick import pick

>>> title = 'Please choose an option: '
>>> options = [{'label': 'option1'}, {'label': 'option2'}, {'label': 'option3'}]

>>> def get_label(option): return option.get('label')

>>> selected = pick(options, title, indicator='*', options_map_func=get_label)
>>> print(selected)

displays:

Please choose an option:

* option1
  option2
  option3

outputs:

>>> ({ 'label': 'option1' }, 0)

Community Projects

pickpack: A fork of pick to select tree data.