Open dialogs from shell scripts

Using the dialog command you can launch ASCII-art dialogs from your shell scripts.

Check out man dialog Show archive.org snapshot for a list of supported dialog types. Aside from simple text boxes or choice dialogs, it supports more advanced interactions like file pickers or progress bars.

Example: Yes/no choice

dialog --yesno "Erase the world?" 0 0

Example: Menu with multiple options

dialog --menu "What's your favorite color?" 0 0 0 R Red G Green Y Yellow B Blue

Example: Date picker

dialog --calendar "Select a date" 0 0