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1. iselect provides an up-down list, (as input from a prior pipe), in which the user can tag multiple entries, (as output to the next pipe):

    # show some available executables ending in '*sh*' to run through `whatis`
    find /bin /sbin /usr/bin -maxdepth 1 -type f -executable -name '*sh'   | \
    iselect -t "select some executables to run 'whatis' on..." -a -m | \
    xargs -d '\n' -r whatis 
   

Output (after tagging a few on my system):

    dash (1)             - command interpreter (shell)
    ssh (1)              - OpenSSH SSH client (remote login program)
    mosh (1)             - mobile shell with roaming and intelligent local echo
    yash (1)             - a POSIX-compliant command line shell

2. vipe allows interactively editing (with one's favorite text editor) what goes through a pipe. Example:

    # take a list of executables with long names from `/bin`, edit that
    # list as needed with `mcedit`, and run `wc` on the output.
    find /bin -type f | grep '...............' | EDITOR=mcedit vipe | xargs wc
   

Output (after deleting some lines while in mcedit):

       378   2505  67608 /bin/ntfs-3g.secaudit
       334   2250 105136 /bin/lowntfs-3g
       67    952  27152 /bin/nc.traditional
       126    877  47544 /bin/systemd-machine-id-setup
       905   6584 247440 total

Note on push & pull: iselect starts with a list in which nothing is selected. vipe starts with a list in which every item shown will be sent through the pipe, unless the user deletes it.

In Debian-based distros, both utils can be installed with apt-get install moreutils iselect.

1. iselect provides an up-down list, (as input from a prior pipe), in which the user can tag multiple entries, (as output to the next pipe):

    # show some available executables ending in '*sh*' to run through `whatis`
    find /bin /sbin /usr/bin -maxdepth 1 -type f -executable -name '*sh'   |
    iselect -t "select some executables to run 'whatis' on..." -a -m |
    xargs -d '\n' -r whatis 
   

Output after pressing the spacebar to tag a few on my system:

    dash (1)             - command interpreter (shell)
    ssh (1)              - OpenSSH SSH client (remote login program)
    mosh (1)             - mobile shell with roaming and intelligent local echo
    yash (1)             - a POSIX-compliant command line shell

2. vipe allows interactively editing (with one's favorite text editor) what goes through a pipe. Example:

    # take a list of executables with long names from `/bin`, edit that
    # list as needed with `mcedit`, and run `wc` on the output.
    find /bin -type f | grep '...............' | EDITOR=mcedit vipe | xargs wc
   

Output (after deleting some lines while in mcedit):

       378   2505  67608 /bin/ntfs-3g.secaudit
       334   2250 105136 /bin/lowntfs-3g
       67    952  27152 /bin/nc.traditional
       126    877  47544 /bin/systemd-machine-id-setup
       905   6584 247440 total

Note on push & pull:

• iselect starts with a list in which nothing is selected.
• vipe starts with a list in which every item shown will be sent through the pipe, unless the user deletes it.

In Debian-based distros, both utils can be installed with apt-get install moreutils iselect.

1. iselect provides an up-down list in which the user can tag multiple entries:

    # show some available executables ending in '*sh*' to run through `whatis`
    find /bin /sbin /usr/bin -maxdepth 1 -type f -executable -name '*sh'   | \
    iselect -t "select some executables to run 'whatis' on..." -a -m | \
    xargs -d '\n' -r whatis 
   

Output (after tagging a few on my system):

    dash (1)             - command interpreter (shell)
    ssh (1)              - OpenSSH SSH client (remote login program)
    mosh (1)             - mobile shell with roaming and intelligent local echo
    yash (1)             - a POSIX-compliant command line shell

2. vipe allows interactively editing (with one's favorite text editor) what goes through a pipe. Example:

    # take a list of executables with long names from `/bin`, edit that
    # list as needed with `mcedit`, and run `wc` on the output.
    find /bin -type f | grep '...............' | EDITOR=mcedit vipe | xargs wc
   

Output (after deleting some lines while in mcedit):

       378   2505  67608 /bin/ntfs-3g.secaudit
       334   2250 105136 /bin/lowntfs-3g
       67    952  27152 /bin/nc.traditional
       126    877  47544 /bin/systemd-machine-id-setup
       905   6584 247440 total

Note on push & pull: iselect starts with a list in which nothing is selected. vipe starts with a list in which every item shown will be sent through the pipe, unless the user deletes it.

In Debian-based distros, both utils can be installed with apt-get install moreutils iselect.

1. iselect provides an up-down list, (as input from a prior pipe), in which the user can tag multiple entries, (as output to the next pipe):

    # show some available executables ending in '*sh*' to run through `whatis`
    find /bin /sbin /usr/bin -maxdepth 1 -type f -executable -name '*sh'   | \
    iselect -t "select some executables to run 'whatis' on..." -a -m | \
    xargs -d '\n' -r whatis 
   

Output (after tagging a few on my system):

    dash (1)             - command interpreter (shell)
    ssh (1)              - OpenSSH SSH client (remote login program)
    mosh (1)             - mobile shell with roaming and intelligent local echo
    yash (1)             - a POSIX-compliant command line shell

2. vipe allows interactively editing (with one's favorite text editor) what goes through a pipe. Example:

    # take a list of executables with long names from `/bin`, edit that
    # list as needed with `mcedit`, and run `wc` on the output.
    find /bin -type f | grep '...............' | EDITOR=mcedit vipe | xargs wc
   

Output (after deleting some lines while in mcedit):

       378   2505  67608 /bin/ntfs-3g.secaudit
       334   2250 105136 /bin/lowntfs-3g
       67    952  27152 /bin/nc.traditional
       126    877  47544 /bin/systemd-machine-id-setup
       905   6584 247440 total

Note on push & pull: iselect starts with a list in which nothing is selected. vipe starts with a list in which every item shown will be sent through the pipe, unless the user deletes it.

In Debian-based distros, both utils can be installed with apt-get install moreutils iselect.

vipe allows interactively editing (with one's favorite text editor) what goes through a pipe. In Debian-based distros, install with apt-get install moreutils. Example:

# take a list of executables with long names from `/bin`, edit that
# list as needed with `mcedit`, and run `wc` on the output.
find /bin -type f | grep '...............' | EDITOR=mcedit vipe | xargs wc

Output (after deleting some lines while in mcedit):

   378   2505  67608 /bin/ntfs-3g.secaudit
   334   2250 105136 /bin/lowntfs-3g
    67    952  27152 /bin/nc.traditional
   126    877  47544 /bin/systemd-machine-id-setup
   905   6584 247440 total

1. iselect provides an up-down list in which the user can tag multiple entries:

    # show some available executables ending in '*sh*' to run through `whatis`
    find /bin /sbin /usr/bin -maxdepth 1 -type f -executable -name '*sh'   | \
    iselect -t "select some executables to run 'whatis' on..." -a -m | \
    xargs -d '\n' -r whatis 
   

Output (after tagging a few on my system):

    dash (1)             - command interpreter (shell)
    ssh (1)              - OpenSSH SSH client (remote login program)
    mosh (1)             - mobile shell with roaming and intelligent local echo
    yash (1)             - a POSIX-compliant command line shell

2. vipe allows interactively editing (with one's favorite text editor) what goes through a pipe. Example:

    # take a list of executables with long names from `/bin`, edit that
    # list as needed with `mcedit`, and run `wc` on the output.
    find /bin -type f | grep '...............' | EDITOR=mcedit vipe | xargs wc
   

Output (after deleting some lines while in mcedit):

       378   2505  67608 /bin/ntfs-3g.secaudit
       334   2250 105136 /bin/lowntfs-3g
       67    952  27152 /bin/nc.traditional
       126    877  47544 /bin/systemd-machine-id-setup
       905   6584 247440 total

Note on push & pull: iselect starts with a list in which nothing is selected. vipe starts with a list in which every item shown will be sent through the pipe, unless the user deletes it.

In Debian-based distros, both utils can be installed with apt-get install moreutils iselect.