No more getting lost: solving the “test folder all over the floor”?

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Try is a lightweight Ruby tool that centralizes your code experimentation projects in a single directory (e.g., ~/src/tries) and quickly finds or creates a dated directory (e.g., 2025-01-18-redis-test) with fuzzy search.
Flexible installation method: you can install it via gem install try-cli or download a single file directly from curl, just add eval “$(try init)” to the shell and use it – no complex configuration required. It prioritizes recent projects through intelligent matching, helping you avoid problems such as the scattered distribution of the “test” folder and the loss of experimental results in the /tmp directory. This tool saves you time switching between different experimental ideas, allowing cluttered experimental projects to always be quickly accessible and maintain efficient development.

People who do development probably have a common black history:

A bunch of desktops:

test
test2
redis-test
redis-final
redis-final-2
tmp-project
demo-new-new

If you look at it again in two months, you won’t know which one is the “true final version”.

Until I came across a very niche Ruby CLI tool –

try

What it does is very simple, but very ruthless:

Keep all your “experimental projects” in one place.

What problem does it solve?

If you often:

  • Test a Redis temporarily
  • Write a small script to validate the idea
  • Try a CLI tool
  • Make an API demo
  • Play with an AI little project

You must have encountered:

  • Some are left in ~/Desktop
  • Some are in ~/tmp
  • Some are in ~/Documents
  • Some just forgot where to put it

 try And the idea is:

All your experiments must be in one place.

The default is similar to:

~/src/tries

And the table of contents automatically generates the date:

2026-02-17-redis-test
2026-02-16-openai-cli
2026-02-14-shell-script

Don’t think about naming conventions, it helps you standardize.

The search is “fuzzy”

All you need to do is enter:

try redis

It prioritizes the time and lists related items.

Recently used row front.

That’s much faster than if you were flipping through the Finder.

It’s not Docker, it’s not environment isolation

Many people will misunderstand.

It does not do environmental isolation.
No virtual containers are created.
Not sandbox.

It just does one thing:

Help you manage your “experimental space”.

But it is precisely this thing that can save lives.

Why are these tools addictive?

Because it is not the function that changes.

It’s your way of thinking.

When you know:

“Any experiment is in the tries directory”

The load on your brain will be reduced instantly.

You won’t think anymore:

  • Where to put it?
  • Can you find it in the future?
  • Do you want to create a demo folder?

You just need to:

try new idea-name

Then start writing code.

Installation is almost zero threshold

Ruby users can:

gem install try

Or curl directly to a single file.

Add another sentence to the shell:

eval "$(try init)"

can be used.

No complex configurations.

Github：https://github.com/tobi/try
Tubing:

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