sdmenu

sdmenu is a command-line utility designed to display a menu of options to the user and capture their selection. It is commonly used in shell scripting to create interactive menus within terminal applications. The primary function of sdmenu is to present a list of choices, typically numbered or lettered, and wait for the user to input their desired option. Once a selection is made, sdmenu can pass that selection back to the calling script, allowing for conditional execution of commands based on user input.

The typical workflow involves a script calling sdmenu with a list of menu items. sdmenu then renders these items to the standard output in a formatted list. The user interacts with the script by typing a number or letter corresponding to their choice and pressing Enter. sdmenu validates the input, ensuring it matches one of the provided options, and then outputs the selected item or its associated value. This output can then be captured by the calling script using command substitution, for example, in Bash using $(sdmenu ...).

sdmenu offers flexibility in how menus are presented and how selections are handled. It can be configured to display titles, prompt messages, and handle invalid input gracefully. Its simplicity and ease of integration make it a popular choice for adding user-friendliness to command-line interfaces, enabling users to navigate complex scripts or choose from a set of predefined actions without needing to memorize commands.