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Select mixin

:class:sciwork.fs.select.Select builds on the listing helpers to pick one or many paths either programmatically or via interactive prompts.

select_paths

Return a single path or a list of paths from folder_path after applying filters and sorting. When multiple=False (default) the function returns a single :class:pathlib.Path; enabling multiple returns a list.

Important knobs:

  • recursive — traverse subdirectories before selection.
  • include_hidden / follow_symlinks — propagate to the underlying directory listing.
  • pattern/antipattern/shell_pattern — filter by name.
  • sort_by — "name" (default), "mtime", "ctime", "size" or "ext" ("exts" is accepted as an alias).
  • path_type — limit to "files", "folders" or "any".
  • allowed_exts — restrict file selections by extension.
  • descending — reverse the sort order.
  • default_index / default_indices — bypass the interactive prompt by pre-selecting indices (1-based).
  • prompt_text — customize the question shown to the user when prompting.
  • return_absolute_paths — return absolute paths instead of paths relative to the selected root.
# Pick a single CSV file by the most recent modification time.
csv_path = fs.select_paths(
    "data",
    pattern=".csv",
    sort_by="mtime",
)

# Select multiple image files using an interactive prompt
images = fs.select_paths(
    "photos",
    pattern=".jpg",
    multiple=True,
    allowed_exts=[".jpg", ".jpeg"]
)

When there is only a single candidate, the method returns it immediately. With a console :class:Prompter <sciwork.console.prompter.Prompter> available, the prompt displays numbered entries and validates indices; otherwise the fallback relies on input.