Lab lets you experiment with code instantly—just type lab js (or any extension) and your editor opens, ready to go. No more overhead of creating files and folders. Your experiments are automatically organized with smart names (e.g., 250112a.js) in a lab folder, and they clean themselves up after 7 days to keep things tidy.

curl -L https://github.com/lugenx/lab/releases/latest/download/lab-darwin-amd64 -o /tmp/lab && chmod +x /tmp/lab && sudo mv /tmp/lab /usr/local/bin/lab

curl -L https://github.com/lugenx/lab/releases/latest/download/lab-darwin-arm64 -o /tmp/lab && chmod +x /tmp/lab && sudo mv /tmp/lab /usr/local/bin/lab

curl -L https://github.com/lugenx/lab/releases/latest/download/lab-linux-amd64 -o /tmp/lab && chmod +x /tmp/lab && sudo mv /tmp/lab /usr/local/bin/lab

curl -L -o lab-windows-amd64.exe https://github.com/lugenx/lab/releases/latest/download/lab-windows-amd64.exe

Move-Item .\lab-windows-amd64.exe "C:\Windows\System32\lab.exe"

Open a new file:

lab js      # opens a new JavaScript file
lab py      # opens a new Python file
lab any     # opens a new file with any extension

List your files:

lab

Lab Files: ~/lab/

[1]  250112c.js     6d    # will be deleted in 6 days
[2]  250112b.py     12h   # will be deleted in 12 hours
[3]  250112a.go     45m   # will be deleted in 45 minutes

Open or manage files:

lab 0                  # open config file
lab 1                  # open most recent file
lab 2                  # open second file
lab -d 2, --delete 2   # delete file #2

Other commands:

lab -v, --version      # show version
lab -h, --help         # show help

• Instant Start: lab <extension> opens a fresh file.
• Quick Access: lab <number> reopens recent files.
• Auto-Cleanup: Files expire automatically after 7 days (configurable).
• Smart Time Display: Shows remaining time in days/hours/minutes with color indicators
• Simple Listing: Just run lab to see your files, newest first

Lab creates a config file at ~/lab/.lab:

editor=nvim          # your preferred editor
lifedays=7          # how long to keep files
prefix=lab          # file prefix

You can also set LABPATH environment variable to change the lab directory location from the default ~/lab.

Focus on experimenting and trying out ideas without distractions—Lab simplifies the process so you can start coding immediately.