goto - Ultra fast directory switching

A lightweight, intuitive directory bookmarking system for bash and zsh that helps you navigate your filesystem with ease.

Features

• 📌 Named Bookmarks - Save directories with memorable names
• 🔢 Numbered Bookmarks - Quick access with numbers (1-15) for temporary bookmarks
• 🚀 Ultra-fast Navigation - Shortcuts g1 through g9 for instant access
• 📝 Smart Tab Completion - See all bookmarks with paths before jumping
• 🔗 Path Variables - Access all bookmarks as shell variables ($g1-$g15, plus the named bookmarks)
• 💾 Persistent Storage - Bookmarks survive shell restarts
• 🎯 Zero Dependencies - Pure shell script, no external tools needed
• 📊 Clean Formatting - Formatted output, easy to scan

Installation

1. Clone or download goto.sh to your preferred location:

git clone https://github.com/nkanellopoulos/goto.git ~/goto

2. Add to your shell configuration:

For bash (~/.bashrc):

source ~/goto/goto.sh

For zsh (~/.zshrc):

source ~/goto/goto.sh

3. Reload your shell or run:

source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc

Usage

Basic Commands

Command	Description
mk	Bookmark current directory
mk <name>	Bookmark current directory with a name
gt	List all bookmarks
gt <number>	Go to bookmark by number
gt <name>	Go to bookmark by name
g1...g9	Quick shortcuts for bookmarks 1-9
ml	List all bookmarks (alias for gt)
mkr <number/name>	Remove a bookmark
mkc	Clear all bookmarks

Examples

# Navigate to your projects directory
cd ~/Projects/my-awesome-project

# Bookmark it with a name
mk awesome
✓ Marked 'awesome'

# Go to your downloads folder and bookmark it
cd ~/Downloads
mk
✓ Marked

# See all your bookmarks
gt
  1  awesome     ~/Projects/my-awesome-project
  2  ----------  ~/Downloads

# Jump using the name
gt awesome
/Users/you/Projects/my-awesome-project

# Or use the number
gt 2
/Users/you/Downloads

# Even faster with shortcuts
g1  # Goes to bookmark 1 instantly

# Tab completion shows your bookmarks
gt <TAB>
  1  awesome     ~/Projects/my-awesome-project
  2  ----------  ~/Downloads

Advanced Usage

# Bookmark with spaces in names (use quotes)
mk "client work"

# Update an existing bookmark name
cd /new/path
mk awesome  # Updates the 'awesome' bookmark to current directory
✓ Updated 'awesome'

# Remove bookmarks
mkr awesome  # Remove by name
mkr 2        # Remove by number
✓ Removed

# If you try to bookmark the same directory twice
mk
Already bookmarked: 3) ~/Projects/my-awesome-project

# Use bookmark paths in other commands
echo $g1  # Prints the path of bookmark 1
cp file.txt $g2/  # Copy file to bookmark 2
ls -la $g3  # List contents of bookmark 3

# Named bookmarks are also available as variables
echo $awesome  # Prints the path of the 'awesome' bookmark
cd $awesome/subdir  # Navigate to subdirectory of named bookmark
diff $frontend/app.js $backend/server.js  # Compare files across bookmarks

Tips & Tricks

1. Project Organization - Bookmark your active projects:

   mk frontend
   mk backend
   mk docs

2. Quick Switching - Use g1, g2, etc. for your most-used directories

3. Temporary Bookmarks - Use numbers for temporary bookmarks, names for permanent ones

4. Manual Organization - You can carefully edit ~/.goto_bookmarks to reorganize your bookmarks' order

Shell Integration

You can add the current bookmark name to your shell prompt. You can either copy the function from prompt_integration.sh or source it directly:

# Add this to your .bashrc or .zshrc
source ~/goto/prompt_integration.sh

Then modify your prompt:

For bash:

PS1='$(_get_bookmark_name)\u@\h:\w\$ '

For zsh:

setopt PROMPT_SUBST
PROMPT='$(_get_bookmark_name)%n@%m:%~%# '

This will show [awesome] when you're in a named bookmark, [2] for unnamed bookmarks (showing the bookmark number), or nothing if not bookmarked.

Note: If you have an existing custom prompt, you can prepend the bookmark indicator:

# For bash
PS1='$(_get_bookmark_name)'$PS1

# For zsh
PROMPT='$(_get_bookmark_name)'$PROMPT

Configuration

Bookmarks are stored in ~/.goto_bookmarks as a simple text file. Format:

name|/full/path/to/directory
|/path/without/name

Compatibility

• ✅ bash 4.0+
• ✅ zsh 5.0+
• ✅ macOS Terminal, iTerm2
• ✅ Linux All distributions
• ✅ WSL Windows Subsystem for Linux

License

MIT License - feel free to use in personal and commercial projects.

Why goto?

Advantages over cd

• Memory - No need to remember long paths
• Speed - Jump anywhere in 2-3 keystrokes
• Persistence - Bookmarks survive terminal restarts

Advantages over pushd/popd

• Named References - Use meaningful names, not just stack positions
• Persistence - Stack doesn't survive shell exit
• Visibility - See all bookmarks at once

Advantages over CDPATH

• Explicit Control - Bookmark exactly what you want
• Names - Reference by meaningful names
• Portability - Works the same everywhere

Advantages over z/autojump

• Predictable - No surprises from frequency-based algorithms
• Immediate - Works right after bookmarking, no "learning" period
• Transparent - You control what's bookmarked

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to submit issues and enhancement requests.

Author

Nikos Kanellopoulos

Created with frustration from typing long paths too many times. 🚀