ghgrab - "grab anything you want"

A simple, pretty terminal tool that lets you search and download files from GitHub without leaving your CLI.

ghgrab provides a streamlined command-line interface for cherry-picking specific files or folders from any GitHub repository, powered by the Rust tokio and ratatui ecosystem. Focused on speed and ease of use, it offers a beautiful TUI that lets you grab exactly what you need; all without the wait times of a full git clone.

Why use ghgrab?

• No more clone-and-delete: Grab exactly what you need, when you need it.
• Easy on the eyes: A clean terminal interface that makes browsing feel smooth.
• Works where you are: Installs quickly via NPM, Cargo, or PIP.
• Find things fast: Quickly search and navigate through any repo's folders with fuzzy search.
• Repo discovery built in: Type a repo keyword from home to search GitHub repos, filter them, then open instantly.
• File Preview: Preview source code and text files directly in the TUI.
• Handles the big stuff: Built-in support for GitHub LFS (Large File Storage).
• Batch mode: Select a bunch of files and folders to download them all at once.

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Installation

NPM

npm install -g @ghgrab/ghgrab

Cargo

cargo install ghgrab

pipx (Recommended for Python)

pipx install ghgrab

Nix

To have the latest commit:

nix run github:abhixdd/ghgrab

To have a specific tagged version:

nix run "github:abhixdd/ghgrab/<tag>"

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Quick Start

Just type ghgrab to start browsing:

ghgrab

Or, if you already have a link, just paste it in:

# Browse a repository
ghgrab https://github.com/rust-lang/rust
# Download to current directory directly
ghgrab https://github.com/rust-lang/rust --cwd --no-folder

You can also type a repository keyword on the home screen (for example ratatui) and press Enter to open repository search mode.

CLI Flags

Flag	Description
--cwd	Forces download to the current working directory.
--no-folder	Downloads files directly without creating a subfolder for the repo.
--token <TOKEN>	Use a specific GitHub token for this run (doesn't save to settings).

Agent Mode

For scripts, agents, and other non-interactive workflows, ghgrab includes a machine-friendly agent command that prints a stable JSON envelope with api_version, ok, command, and either data or error.

# Fetch the repository tree as JSON
ghgrab agent tree https://github.com/rust-lang/rust
# Fetch the repository tree with an explicit token for scripts or agents
ghgrab agent tree https://github.com/rust-lang/rust --token YOUR_TOKEN
# Download specific paths from a repository
ghgrab agent download https://github.com/rust-lang/rust src/tools README.md --out ./tmp
# Download an explicit subtree
ghgrab agent download https://github.com/rust-lang/rust --subtree src/tools --out ./tmp
# Download the entire repository
ghgrab agent download https://github.com/rust-lang/rust --repo --out ./tmp
# Download into the current working directory without creating a repo folder
ghgrab agent download https://github.com/rust-lang/rust src/tools --cwd --no-folder

You can pass --token <TOKEN> to agent tree and agent download when an external tool, CI job, or coding agent should authenticate without relying on saved local config.

Configuration

To manage your settings:

# Set your token
ghgrab config set token YOUR_TOKEN
# Set a custom download folder
ghgrab config set path "/your/custom/path"# View your current settings (token is masked)
ghgrab config list
# Remove settings
ghgrab config unset token
ghgrab config unset path

Keyboard Shortcuts (How to move around)

We've kept it pretty standard, but here's a quick cheat sheet:

Key	Action
Enter (home)	Open URL or start repository search
Enter / l / Right (browser)	Enter directory
Backspace / h / Left	Go back to previous folder
Delete (home)	Delete character at cursor
Tab	Auto-fill https://github.com/ (Home page)
/	Start Searching (File list)
Esc	Exit Search or Return Home (file list) or Quit (home screen)
q / Q	Quit (from file list)
Ctrl+q	Force Quit (anywhere)
Space	Toggle selection for the current item
p / P	Preview current file
a	Select All items
u	Unselect all items
d / D	Download selected items
i	Toggle Icons (Emoji / ASCII)
g / Home	Jump to Top
G / End	Jump to Bottom

Repository Search Mode Shortcuts

Key	Action
j / k / ↑ / ↓	Move selection
Enter	Open selected repository
f	Toggle include/exclude forks
m	Cycle minimum stars (Any, 10+, 50+, 100+, 500+, 1000+)
l	Cycle language filter
s	Cycle sort (Stars, Updated, Name)
x	Reset all filters
r	Refresh current search
Esc	Return to home input

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Join the community

If you find a bug, have an idea for a cool new feature, or just want to help out, we'd love to hear from you! Check out our Contributing Guide to see how you can get involved.

License

Distributed under the MIT License. It's open, free, and yours to play with. See LICENSE for the fine print.