Published on : 2025-07-10 17:43
       
       Managing multiple Git repositories for different services or 
       components can get tedious. Whether you're working on small 
       personal projects like a blog, a Gemini site, or HTTP 
       microservices, jumping between directories and pulling the latest 
       changes manually is a chore.
       
       That’s why I wrote a simple, POSIX-compliant shell script to:
       
        * Automatically pull updates from a list of Git repositories
        * Provide an interactive menu to open any of them in VS Code
        * Work reliably in any POSIX shell (`sh`), not just Bash
       
       Let’s break it down.
       
        - 📝 The Script
       
          #!/bin/sh
       
          # Go to working directory
          cd /path/to/your/repos
       
          # List of repositories (folders)
          repos="finger gemini gopher http"
       
          # Pull latest changes
          for repo in $repos; do
             echo "Updating $repo repo"
             cd "$repo" && git pull && cd ..
          done
       
          # Display repo menu
          createmenu() {
             while :; do
                echo ""
                echo "Select a repo to open:"
                echo "---------------------------"
       
                i=1
                for repo in $repos; do
                      echo "$i) $repo"
                      i=$((i + 1))
                done
                echo "$i) Exit"
       
                printf "Enter your choice (1-$i): "
                read choice
       
                case $choice in
                      ''|*[!0-9]*)
                         echo "Invalid input: please enter a number."
                         continue
                         ;;
                esac
       
                if [ "$choice" -eq "$i" ]; then
                      echo "Exiting..."
                      exit
                elif [ "$choice" -ge 1 ] && [ "$choice" -lt "$i" ]; then
                      j=1
                      for repo in $repos; do
                         if [ "$j" -eq "$choice" ]; then
                            echo "Opening $repo..."
                            cd "$repo" && code .
                            exit
                         fi
                         j=$((j + 1))
                      done
                else
                   echo "Please select a number from 1 to $i."
                fi
             done
          }
       
          createmenu
       
        - ⚙️ What It Does
       
        * Batch git pull - It loops over your list of repositories and 
        runs git pull in each. Great for keeping all your local copies up 
        to date.
        * Interactive Menu - After updating, it presents a numbered menu 
        to select one of the repos. Once selected, it uses code . to open 
        that directory in Visual Studio Code.
        * Exit Option & Input Validation - You can cleanly exit by 
        choosing the last number. It re-prompts if you enter an invalid 
        number or non-numeric input — no crashing, no surprises.
       
        - 🔧 Why POSIX sh?
       
       While Bash offers features like arrays and select, I wanted this 
       script to run in any Unix-like environment, including:
       
        * Alpine-based Docker containers
        * Minimal CI systems
        * macOS (which defaults to sh for scripts)
        * Embedded or limited-resource environments
       
       This means no Bash-isms — just pure POSIX sh, making it portable 
       and dependable.
       
        - 🚀 How To Use
        
       Save the script as update-git-repos.sh
       
        -- Edit variables
       You have to edit only 2 things at the top of the script:
       
          # Go to working directory
          cd /path/to/your/repos - the folder that contains all your 
          cloned repositories
       
          # List of repositories (folders)
          repos="finger gemini gopher http" - list of folders/
          repositories you want to update/pull - this should be located 
          in the folder set above
       
        -- Make it executable:
          chmod +x update-git-repos.sh
          ./update-git-repos.sh
       You can add an alias for the script by adding this line to your 
       shell's config file (e.g., .bashrc, .zshrc, or .profile):
       
          alias update-repos='/full/path/to/update-git-repos.sh'
       
 (DIR) Using aliases for complex and daily terminal commands
       
       
       💡 Final Thoughts
       
       This script has been a small but helpful productivity boost for 
       juggling multiple personal projects. It saves time, avoids 
       repetitive commands, and keeps everything in sync. And because 
       it's written in portable sh, it'll run practically anywhere.
       
       If you find this useful, feel free to adapt it to your own 
       workflow:
       
        * Tie it into your dotfiles,
        * Or make it open editors other than VS Code.
       
       The point is: let your tools work for you.
       
       Happy hacking!
       
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