# `@inquirer/select`
Simple interactive command line prompt to display a list of choices (single select.)

# Special Thanks
[](https://graphite.dev/?utm_source=npmjs&utm_medium=repo&utm_campaign=inquirerjs)
### [Graphite is the AI developer productivity platform helping teams on GitHub ship higher quality software, faster](https://graphite.dev/?utm_source=npmjs&utm_medium=repo&utm_campaign=inquirerjs)
# Installation
npm |
yarn |
```sh
npm install @inquirer/prompts
```
|
```sh
yarn add @inquirer/prompts
```
|
Or |
```sh
npm install @inquirer/select
```
|
```sh
yarn add @inquirer/select
```
|
# Usage
```js
import { select, Separator } from '@inquirer/prompts';
// Or
// import select, { Separator } from '@inquirer/select';
const answer = await select({
message: 'Select a package manager',
choices: [
{
name: 'npm',
value: 'npm',
description: 'npm is the most popular package manager',
},
{
name: 'yarn',
value: 'yarn',
description: 'yarn is an awesome package manager',
},
new Separator(),
{
name: 'jspm',
value: 'jspm',
disabled: true,
},
{
name: 'pnpm',
value: 'pnpm',
disabled: '(pnpm is not available)',
},
],
});
```
## Options
| Property | Type | Required | Description |
| -------- | ----------------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| message | `string` | yes | The question to ask |
| choices | `Choice[]` | yes | List of the available choices. |
| default | `string` | no | Defines in front of which item the cursor will initially appear. When omitted, the cursor will appear on the first selectable item. |
| pageSize | `number` | no | By default, lists of choice longer than 7 will be paginated. Use this option to control how many choices will appear on the screen at once. |
| loop | `boolean` | no | Defaults to `true`. When set to `false`, the cursor will be constrained to the top and bottom of the choice list without looping. |
| theme | [See Theming](#Theming) | no | Customize look of the prompt. |
`Separator` objects can be used in the `choices` array to render non-selectable lines in the choice list. By default it'll render a line, but you can provide the text as argument (`new Separator('-- Dependencies --')`). This option is often used to add labels to groups within long list of options.
### `Choice` object
The `Choice` object is typed as
```ts
type Choice = {
value: Value;
name?: string;
description?: string;
short?: string;
disabled?: boolean | string;
};
```
Here's each property:
- `value`: The value is what will be returned by `await select()`.
- `name`: This is the string displayed in the choice list.
- `description`: Option for a longer description string that'll appear under the list when the cursor highlight a given choice.
- `short`: Once the prompt is done (press enter), we'll use `short` if defined to render next to the question. By default we'll use `name`.
- `disabled`: Disallow the option from being selected. If `disabled` is a string, it'll be used as a help tip explaining why the choice isn't available.
`choices` can also be an array of string, in which case the string will be used both as the `value` and the `name`.
## Theming
You can theme a prompt by passing a `theme` object option. The theme object only need to includes the keys you wish to modify, we'll fallback on the defaults for the rest.
```ts
type Theme = {
prefix: string | { idle: string; done: string };
spinner: {
interval: number;
frames: string[];
};
style: {
answer: (text: string) => string;
message: (text: string, status: 'idle' | 'done' | 'loading') => string;
error: (text: string) => string;
help: (text: string) => string;
highlight: (text: string) => string;
description: (text: string) => string;
disabled: (text: string) => string;
};
icon: {
cursor: string;
};
helpMode: 'always' | 'never' | 'auto';
indexMode: 'hidden' | 'number';
};
```
### `theme.helpMode`
- `auto` (default): Hide the help tips after an interaction occurs.
- `always`: The help tips will always show and never hide.
- `never`: The help tips will never show.
### `theme.indexMode`
Controls how indices are displayed before each choice:
- `hidden` (default): No indices are shown
- `number`: Display a number before each choice (e.g. "1. Option A")
# License
Copyright (c) 2023 Simon Boudrias (twitter: [@vaxilart](https://twitter.com/Vaxilart))
Licensed under the MIT license.