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FunkyShellSearch (fss) ♫♪♪♫♪♪

FunkyShellSearch (fss) is designed to make your command-line search experience more user-friendly. It integrates powerful find and grep utilities like fd, ag and pdfgrep with the intuitive fzf fuzzy finder. The goal is to optimize the workflow by offering improved file preview capabilities and faciliating direct actions to specific file types, all configurable through a configuration file.

As an ongoing project, FunkyShellSearch will continue to evolve with additional scripts, features, and documentation, further enriching the file searching and handling capabilities within the shell environment.

Stay tuned for updates!

Table of Contents

• Key Features
• Dependencies
  • Basic Search Tools
  • Additional Utilities and Tools
• Installation
  • Manual Installation
  • Using the Setup Script
• Configuration
• Usage
  • Tools
  • Library Integration
• Tools Overview
• Acknowledgments
• License

Key Features

• Versatile Libraries: At the heart of fss are robust libraries that offer easy integration into shell scripts. They enable to construct customized shell search commands.
• Ready-to-Use Scripts: A suite of sample tools is offered which consists of tailor-made scripts for specific file types such as music, videos, images and PDFs, providing solutions out of the box.
• Advanced File Discovery: Beyond the basic search functionality the scripts offer enriched features such as file previews and the ability to directly open files with appropriate applications.
• Configurable Search Operations: Each script dynamically adapts to various file types by loading specific settings from a dedicated configuration file. This approach faciliates customization of preview options, file-opening commands and other search preferences and requirements.

Dependencies

The functionalities of fss scripts depend on several external tools. Below is the list of dependencies, based on the standard configuration:

Basic Search Tools

• ag (The Silver Searcher): A fast code-searching tool, designed primarily for searching large bodies of source code. It is used in tools like gword.

• fd: A simple, fast, and user-friendly alternative to find.

  Important Note: On certain Linux distributions, such as Debian, the fd command might be named fdfind or simlar, due to naming conflicts. In such cases, creating a symbolic link for fd or modifying the command name in the fss.conf file is necessary, as simple aliasing will not suffice.

• find: The classic file search command from the findutils used for some utility tasks and as complement to fd.

• fzf: A command-line fuzzy finder for efficient file searching.

• grep: A versatile pattern matching and search utility for filtering text.

• pdfgrep: Used in gpdf for searching within PDF files.

Additional Utilities and Tools

• chafa: For image previews in the fzf interface for images.
• feh: A fast image viewer for opening selected image files.
• mediainfo: Provides detailed information on video files.
• mpv: A media player for audio playbacks.
• neovim: An extended version on Vim, the venerable text editor.
• pdftotext: Converts PDF pages to text for previews in PDF searches.
• zathura: A lightweight, customizable PDF viewer for opening PDF files.

Note: Some of these dependencies are based on the default configuration of the scripts and might change if you modify the fss.conf configuration file. Adjust the dependencies accordingly based on your custom configuration.

Installation

Manual Installation

1. Clone the Repository

Clone the fss repository from GitHub. You can do this using either HTTPS or SSH. Choose the method that suits your setup:

• Using HTTPS:

  git clone https://github.com/5n00py/fss.git
  

• Using SSH:

  git clone git@github.com:5n00py/fss.git
  

2. Make the Scripts Executable

Ensure the scripts in the tools directory are executable.

chmod +x /path/to/fss/tools/*

Don't forget to replace /path/to/fss with the actual path.

3. Add the Scripts to Your PATH

Set the FSS_ROOT_DIR environment variable to the path of the cloned fss repository. This allows the scripts to correctle source configurations and libraries.

export FSS_ROOT_DIR="$HOME/path/to/fss"

Include the fss tools directory in your PATH for convenient access to the scripts:

export PATH="$FSS_ROOT_DIR/tools:$PATH"

Note: Don't forget to replace /path/to/fss with the actual path to the fss project.

To make these changes permanent, append the above export commands to your shell's configuration file (such as ~/.bashrc for Bash or ~/.zshrc for Zsh).

Apply the changes by reloading your shell configuration:

source ~/.bashrc    # For Bash
source ~/.zshrc     # For Zsh

Using the Setup Script

For a quicker setup on Debian-based systems, you can use an automated setup script to install all necessary dependencies, making the scripts executable, copying the default configuration file and updating the shell configuration automatically.

Warning:

• The setup script will create a symbolic link for fd if it's installed as fdfind due to naming conflicts in some Debian-based distributions.
• The script will automatically modify your .bashrc and .zshrc files, if they exist, to update the PATH and set environment variables.

1. Clone the repository as described in the "Manual Installation" above.

2. Navigate to the setup directory, make the script executable and run it:

cd fss/setup && chmod +x setup_deb.sh && ./setup_deb.sh

3. Reload your shell configuration:

source ~/.bashrc    # For Bash
source ~/.zshrc     # For Zsh

Configuration

The fss project comes equipped with a default configuration file, fss.conf, which is sources automatically by the project's scripts. This default configuration sets up the essential parameters for the tool's operation.

To personalize the configs according to your needs follow these steps:

1. Copy the default configuration file into your own .config/fss directory. This allows you to modify settings without affecting the original configuration:

   mkdir -p ~/.config/fss
   cp /path/to/fss/config/fss.conf ~/.config/fss/fss.conf
   

   Note: Replace /path/to/fss with the actual path to the fss project.

2. To edit the custom configuration open the copied fss.conf file in your preferred text editor:

   nvim ~/.config/fss/fss.conf
   

3. Within the fss.conf file you have now the freedom to specify settings which fit your workflow.

Fss will prioritize the configuration file located at ~/.config/fss/fss.conf if it is present.

Usage

Tools

Each script can be run directly from the command line. For instance, to search for music files containing the word "funk", you would run:

fmusic "funk"

Important Notes:

• The search operation begins from your current working directory. Currently, the tools do not support specifying a different path as an argument. To search in a different location, you should first navigate (cd) to the desired directory.
• By default, the search patterns are treated as regular expressions, providing powerful and flexible search capabilities.

Distinction Between Find, Grep and Fuzzy Searches:

The tools are intuitively categorized based on their primary search functionality.

• Find Search Tools (f prefix): Tools like fimage, fmusic, etc. are primarely used for locating files based on attributes such as file name, file type, or other file properties. They don't require a pattern to initiate a search and are ideal for broad file discovery tasks within the current directory.
• Grep Search Tools (g prefix): Tools beginning with g such as gpdf, ghist, etc., are designed for content-based searches within files. They leverate pattern matching (regular expressions) to find specific content, making them powerful for detailed searches.
• Fallback Mechanism: The grep search tools are versatile. If no search pattern is provided, they automatically revert to a "find" search mode if suitable. For example gpdf will default to listing all PDF files in the current directory if no specific patter is given.
• Fuzzy Finder: The command-line fuzzy finder fzf provides an interactive and responsive search experience. For file based searches it actively filters and updates the list of file names based on your input.

Library Integration

The libraries can be easily integrated into custom shell scripts. Utilize the FSS_ROOT_DIR variable for sourcing libraries and constructing custom commands. The functions provided in these libraries allow you to add various options, patterns and paths. Additionally they eneble the execution of tailored search commands.

For example, to create a case-insensitive search for the pattern "example" in .txt and .md files using the fd command, you would use:

source $FSS_ROOT_DIR/lib/fd_builder.sh 
fd_add_type "f"
fd_add_extensions "txt" "md"
fd_add_ignore_case
fd_set_pattern "example"
fd_set_path "/path/to/search"
fd_execute

This flexibility can also be beneficial for interactive shell sessions, allowing you to experiment with different search methodologies and refine your approach on the fly.

To integrate the fss.conf file use the config parser. This parser is designed to read the fss.conf file and import configuration settings for the provided section.

For example, to load configurations for images:

source $FSS_ROOT_DIR/lib/config_parser.sh
parse_config "IMAGE"

Once parsed, the configuration settings from the consen section become available as environment variables. This allows for easy access and use in custom scripts.

Tools Overview

Each script in fss/tools offers an efficient approach to searching, previewing, and taking action on various file types. Below, the scripts are described in more detail as for the default configuration:

fimage

• Search: Uses fd to locate image files, supporting search pattern refinement.
• Preview: Features chafa for image previews in the fzf interface.
• Action on Selection: Opens the selected image in feh.

fmusic

• Search: Uses fd to recursively find music files from the current directory, optionally filterable by pattern.
• Preview: Integrates mpv in fzf for audio previews of the search results.
• Action on Selection: Plays the selected music file using mpv.

fvideo

• Search: Uses fd to search for video files from the current directory, optionally filterable by pattern.
• Preview: Integrates mediainfo in fzf for detailed information on video files.
• Action on Selection: Opens and plays the chosen video file using mpv.

ghist

• Search: Uses grep to search for specified patterns of commands in the shell history file (default is ~/.zshrc).
• Action on Selection: Copies the selected command from the history to the clipboard using xclip. You can then paste and execute it directly in the terminal.
• Fallback: If no pattern is provided all history entries are piped into fzf.

gkill

• Search: Uses grep search for specified patterns in running processes provided by ps.
• Action on Selection: Offers the ability to kill the selected process with the kill command kill -9 [PID].
• Fallback: If no pattern is provided all processes are listed.

gpdf

• Search: Uses pdfgrep to search for a specified pattern in PDF files within the current directory and its subdirectories.
• Preview: Offers a text preview within fzf using pdftotext.
• Action on Selection: Opens the selected PDF file at the specific page where the pattern was found, using zathura (or the first page if no pattern provided).
• Fallback: If no pattern is provided it performs a find search for all PDF files.

gword

• Search: Utilizes ag (The Silver Searcher) to perform a grep-style search across all files under the current directory for a given pattern. Primarily focussing on code searches.
• Preview: Incorporates dynamic preview functionality in fzf, with bat for syntax-highlighted file previews.
• Action on Selection: Opens the selected file at the identified line number in nvim for immediate editing or review.

Each script's behavior can be customized via the fss.conf configuration file, allowing modifications to file extensions, preview commands, and default actions.

Acknowledgments

This suite of search utilities, now a part of this dedicated project, has its roots in my personal journey with dotfiles. Over the years, what started as simple aliases and functions in my shell configurations, driven by my own needs and inspired by various dotfiles from the community, has evolved into a more structured approach. This evolution was marked by the introduction of a centralized configuration file, leading to the creation of this project. These tools have become an integral part of my daily workflow, addressing specific search tasks efficiently.

The core design, architecture, and implementation of the tools and libraries is product of my initiative with personal experimentation and implementation as of my commitment to efficient workflow automation.

While the foundation and primary development of this project are my own, it has been shaped and influenced by a multitude of external factors:

• Community Inspiration: The various dotfiles and scripts available in the public domain provided a wealth of ideas and practices. The contributions of various developers are a constant source of inspiration and learning.
• Documentation Reflection: See the documentations of the utilized tools.
• AI Assistance: Mainly used for documentation, commenting and occasional troubleshooting, particularly useful in ensuring clarity and coherence.
• ShellCheck: A great analysis tool to find bugs in the shell scripts and improve the implementation.
• SmartCommit: The commit messages are semi-automated with the SmartCommit tool to make the development process more efficient and consistent.

In conclusion, I extend my deepest gratitude to all the developers behind the search tools that have been integral to this project.

License

The FunkyShellSearch is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0, see LICENSE.

As this project depends on various external projects, each with its own licensing terms, it is important to be aware of and comply with these respective licenses. Please review the licenses of these projects to ensure compliance with their terms when using fss.