# Scripting and shell integration (/docs/guides/scripting)

Jump into repositories with print-path, refresh the cache from cron, and rely on exit codes in scripts.

## Jump into a repository [#jump-into-a-repository]

`-p` or `--print-path` changes what `enter` does. The action menu is skipped: `enter` on a repository picks it, clones it first when it is not on disk, and prints its absolute path on stdout. Everything else, including the screen and git's progress, goes to stderr.

```bash
cd "$(gh select -p)"
```

A shell function that does not `cd` when you quit without picking:

<Tabs groupId="shell" persist items={["bash and zsh", "fish"]}>
<Tab value="bash and zsh">

```bash
ghcd() {
  local dir
  dir=$(gh select --print-path) && cd "$dir"
}
```

</Tab>
<Tab value="fish">

```sh
function ghcd
    set -l dir (gh select --print-path); and cd $dir
end
```

</Tab>
</Tabs>

Quitting without a pick exits with status `130`, so the `&&` stops and `cd ""` never runs.

Combine it with a clone root so new clones land in one place:

```bash
GH_SELECT_CLONE_DIR=~/dev gh select -p
```

## Refresh the cache on a schedule [#refresh-the-cache-on-a-schedule]

`gh select refresh` fetches every repository you can access, saves the cache and prints the count. It never opens the screen, so it suits cron and timers.

```bash
gh select refresh
```

```txt title="Output"
Refreshed 312 repositories
```

```txt title="crontab"
*/30 * * * * gh select refresh >/dev/null 2>&1
```

Other commands, `doctor`, `limits`, `version` and `help`, also run once and exit.

## Checking a version in a script [#checking-a-version-in-a-script]

```bash
gh select version
```

```txt title="stdout"
gh-select v2.6.0
```

A newer release, when the last daily check found one, is named on stderr, so `$(gh select version)` still captures only the version line. A local build prints `dev+COMMIT`, with `-dirty` when the tree had uncommitted changes.

## Exit codes [#exit-codes]

| Code  | Meaning                                                                            |
| ----- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `0`   | success                                                                            |
| `1`   | a runtime error, printed on stderr after `error`                                   |
| `2`   | a command line that could not be understood, with the closest valid name suggested |
| `130` | `--print-path` ended without a pick                                                |

See [exit codes](/docs/reference/exit-codes) for details.

## Plain output [#plain-output]

Help and error output is colored only when stderr or stdout is a terminal. Set `NO_COLOR` to any value to turn color off.