# dircycle
Plugin for cycling through the directory stack
This plugin enables directory navigation similar to using back and forward on browsers or common file explorers like Finder or Nautilus. It uses a small zle trick that lets you cycle through your directory stack left or right using Ctrl + Shift + Left / Right . This is useful when moving back and forth between directories in development environments, and can be thought of as kind of a nondestructive pushd/popd.
## Enabling the plugin
1. Open your `.zshrc` file and add `dircycle` in the plugins section:
```zsh
plugins=(
# all your enabled plugins
dircycle
)
```
2. Restart the shell or restart your Terminal session:
```console
$ exec zsh
$
```
## Usage Examples
Say you opened these directories on the terminal:
```console
~$ cd Projects
~/Projects$ cd Hacktoberfest
~/Projects/Hacktoberfest$ cd oh-my-zsh
~/Projects/Hacktoberfest/oh-my-zsh$ dirs -v
0 ~/Projects/Hacktoberfest/oh-my-zsh
1 ~/Projects/Hacktoberfest
2 ~/Projects
3 ~
```
By pressing Ctrl + Shift + Left, the current working directory or `$CWD` will be from `oh-my-zsh` to `Hacktoberfest`. Press it again and it will be at `Projects`.
And by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Right, the `$CWD` will be from `Projects` to `Hacktoberfest`. Press it again and it will be at `oh-my-zsh`.
Here's a example history table with the same accessed directories like above:
| Current `$CWD` | Key press | New `$CWD` |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | --------------- |
| `oh-my-zsh` | Ctrl + Shift + Left | `Hacktoberfest` |
| `Hacktoberfest` | Ctrl + Shift + Left | `Projects` |
| `Projects` | Ctrl + Shift + Left | `~` |
| `~` | Ctrl + Shift + Right | `Projects` |
| `Projects` | Ctrl + Shift + Right | `Hacktoberfest` |
| `Hacktoberfest` | Ctrl + Shift + Right | `oh-my-zsh` |
| `oh-my-zsh` | Ctrl + Shift + Right | `~` |
Note the last traversal, when pressing Ctrl + Shift + Right on a last known `$CWD`, it will change back to the first known `$CWD`, which in the example is `~`.
Here's an asciinema cast demonstrating the example above:
[](https://asciinema.org/a/204406)
## Functions
| Function | Description |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `insert-cycledleft` | Change `$CWD` to the previous known stack, binded on Ctrl + Shift + Left |
| `insert-cycledright` | Change `$CWD` to the next known stack, binded on Ctrl + Shift + Right |
## Rebinding keys
You can bind these functions to other key sequences, as long as you know the bindkey sequence. For example, these commands bind to Alt + Shift + Left / Right in `xterm-256color`:
```zsh
bindkey '^[[1;4D' insert-cycledleft
bindkey '^[[1;4C' insert-cycledright
```
You can get the bindkey sequence by pressing Ctrl + V, then pressing the keyboard shortcut you want to use.