When exploring a project, I want to pick a directory to `cd` into using a picker

[marc-thieme]

Currently, the only way to change the working directory is using the cd command.
This works well when I already now which directory I want to change into.
However, when I am exploring a project, I like the following workflow:

1. Open the file explorer and look around the directories
2. When I have found a directory which seems relevant, I want to cd into that directory and continue exploring.
3. Then, I often switch between file picker and file explorer to explore the directory further. In this case, it is important that the picker open in the directory where I just cd'd into. Otherwise, there is either too much noise or I don't see all files that I am interested in when I'm in any other directory.

There are a few solutions to this problem. Using cd was just the easist to explain in the title:

• Have a . option in the file explorer which opens a new buffer that is the directory selected in the file explorer.

  → Then, I could use file_picker_in_current_buffer_directory to open the file picker in that directory.
  The buffer that is the directory could just be a buffer opening a new file inside the directory named . or named the same as the directory.
  If the file is made read-only, it also couldn't be written and accidentally create an actual file.

  This has the additional advantage that I could have multiple open directories at the same time between which I could switch just by switching the buffer.
  The disadvantage is that opening a file would change the directory where the file picker is opened in this way. Actually switching the working directory would mean that I could use file_picker_in_current_directory no matter what buffer I have focused.

• Alternatively, there could be a dedicated cd–picker and/or –explorer, which cds into the directory picked.

• Or there could be a cd–option in the current file explorer, perhaps represented by the aforementioned ..

The essence of this feature request is having a more exploratory and quick interface for the cd command (or the alternative solution with the "buffer is directory"–approach).

[marc-thieme]

Of course this is only relevant for directories which don't have any files. Otherwise, I could just pick any file and continue as in the "buffer is directory"–approach

[pascalkuthe]

I an not a fan of making cd too easy why is that even needed?

Helix does not use the CWD for much and for many things intentionally uses the workspace/repo root (and the model is generally 1 helix instance/workspace).

[marc-thieme]

Use Case and Motivation

Scenario: I just downloaded a big project from GitHub which I don't know yet.
It has a deep directory structure and is difficult to get an overview over it.

I want to walk through the directories.
When I see an interesting one, say a src/java folder of some deep module, I want to focus it.
Then, I want to explore only this directory further and not have to deal with files and folders from any other directories.

Currently, I don't know a way to do this conveniently with helix.
This is only because of the case when you have a few levels of directories without files.
For example, the directories in this case, there are no files within 4 levels of directories:

.
└── test/
    ├── resources/
    │   └── model/
    └── xtend/
        └── tools/
            └── vitruv/

If there was a file next to test/, I would open it .
Then, I'd be able to use file_picker_in_current_buffer_directory to use the normal file explorer
and file picker starting from this test/–directory to explore test/ further.

If such a file to select doesn't exist, I don't know a way to do this focus–based workflow.

Proposed Solutions

I am going to ditch the cd–idea for the reasons you mentioned.
If you want, I'll rename the title of the issue.

In the following, I copy the alternative solution I suggested:

Have a .–option in the file explorer which opens a new buffer that is the directory selected in the file explorer.
→ Then, I could use file_picker_in_current_buffer_directory to open the file picker in that directory.
The buffer that is the directory could just be a buffer opening a new file inside the directory named
. or named the same as the directory.
If the file is made read-only, it also couldn't be written and accidentally create an actual file.
This has the additional advantage that I could have multiple open directories at the same time between
which I could switch just by changing the buffer in focus.

Example

     ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
     │                                         2/2 ││test/                                         │
     │─────────────────────────────────────────────││                                              │
     │   ../                                       ││                                              │
     │ > ./                                        ││                                              │
     │   resources/                                ││                                              │
     │   xtend/                                    ││                                              │
     │                                             ││                                              │

After opening, it first opens an empty buffer which represents a file in the current directory.

 NOR   transitivechange/src/test/.                                                          1 sel  1:1

And from there, I can use file_picker_in_current_buffer_directory to open the file picker (or explorer) in the test/ directory.

     ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
     │                                       39/39 ││ <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>       │
     │─────────────────────────────────────────────││ <repository:Repository xmi:version="2.0" xml │
     │ > resources/model/empty.repository          ││                                              │
     │   resources/model/ms.repository             ││                                              │
     │   resources/model/ms_noSEFF.repository      ││                                              │
     │   …s/model/ms_repository_noSEFF_unedited.uml││                                              │
     │   resources/model/ms_repository_reduced.uml ││                                              │
     │   …lassjava/AssemblyContextConceptTest.xtend││                                              │
     │   …ssjava/CompositeDataTypeConceptTest.xtend││                                              │

Therefore, I now achieved a way to focus the directory I wanted.

[pascalkuthe]

We recently added that file explorer which can help eith workflows like thag. In the future we likely want to allow you to define a directory to pass to the file picker yourself. Abusing the CWD for this is not really something I think we should do and I don't want to add features for that