↓ Skip to main content
Romain Lespinasse
The Simplest Way to Make Just Interactive: Use --choose

The Simplest Way to Make Just Interactive: Use --choose

·2 mins· EN
Tips & Tricks Terminal Productivity Just Fzf
Table of Contents

The “Native” Way
#

While you can manually pipe just --list into fzf, just has a built-in feature that handles this natively. If you have fzf installed, you don’t need a custom recipe at all.

The One-Liner
#

Simply run:

just --choose

This command automatically parses your recipes, opens fzf, and executes your selection once you hit Enter.

Level Up with Shell Aliases
#

If you find yourself running specific types of tasks frequently, you can combine just --choose with a shell alias. This is perfect for filtering down to specific “namespaces” if you use a prefix naming convention (e.g., docker-build, docker-up).

Add this to your .zshrc or .bashrc:

# General interactive just
alias j='just --choose'

# Interactive just filtered for Docker tasks only
alias jd='just --choose --chooser "fzf --query=docker"'

Customizing the UI
#

You can customize the look and feel of the chooser globally by setting the JUST_CHOOSER environment variable. This allows you to add colors or change the layout without touching your justfile.

export JUST_CHOOSER='fzf --header "⚡ Select Task" --height 40% --layout reverse --border'

Why this is better
#

  1. Zero Boilerplate: You don’t need to pollute your justfile with a “menu” recipe.
  2. Clean Output: It respects docstrings and ignores internal recipes (those starting with an underscore).
  3. Speed: It’s a single binary call rather than a chain of piped commands.

The “One-Touch” Justfile
#

If you want the interactive menu to appear by default when you just type just in your terminal, add this to the top of your file:

# Run the interactive chooser by default
default:
    @just --choose

Conclusion
#

Ultimately, using just --choose transforms your justfile from a static list of commands into a dynamic, user-friendly CLI.

By moving away from manual piping and embracing built-in flags and environment variables, you reduce maintenance overhead while significantly improving your daily terminal workflow.

Whether you’re automating a complex Docker environment or just looking for a faster way to trigger local builds, making your tools interactive by default ensures that your productivity stays as high as your command-line efficiency.

Related