initial commit

1 files changed, 237 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/blog/2022-07-31-bash-it.org b/blog/2022-07-31-bash-it.org
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6ec4eeb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/blog/2022-07-31-bash-it.org
@@ -0,0 +1,237 @@
++++
+date = 2022-07-31
+title = "Upgrade Bash with Bash-It & Ble.sh"
+description = "In this post, I walk through the Bash-It and Ble.sh projects, their features, and how they help users power-up their bash shell."
++++
+
+## Bash
+
+For those who are not familiar, 
+[Bash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bash_(Unix_shell)) is a Unix shell that is 
+used as the default login shell for most Linux distributions. This shell and 
+command processor should be familiar if you've used Linux (or older version of 
+macOS) before.
+
+However, bash is not the only option.
+There are numerous other shells that exist.
+Here are some popular examples:
+
+- [zsh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z_shell)
+- [fish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_(Unix_shell))
+- [oksh](https://github.com/ibara/oksh)
+- [mksh](https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Mksh)
+- [dash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debian_Almquist_shell)
+
+While each shell has its differences, bash is POSIX compliant and the default 
+for many Linux users. Because of this, I am going to explore a program called 
+`bash-it` below that helps bash users increase the utility of their shell 
+without installing a completely new shell.
+
+### Installation
+
+First, if bash is not already installed on your system, you can [download bash 
+from GNU](https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/) or use your package manager to 
+install it.
+
+For example, this is how you can install bash on Fedora Linux:
+
+```sh
+sudo dnf install bash
+```
+
+If you are not using bash as your default shell, use the `chsh` command to 
+change your shell:
+
+```sh
+chsh
+```
+
+You should see a prompt like the one below. If the brackets (`[]`) contain 
+`bash` already, you're done, and you can simply continue by hitting the Enter 
+key.
+
+If the brackets contain another shell path (e.g. `/usr/bin/zsh`), enter the path 
+to the bash program on your system (it's most likely located at 
+`/usr/bin/bash`).
+
+```sh
+Changing shell for <user>.
+New shell [/usr/bin/bash]:
+```
+
+You must log out or restart the machine in order for the login shell to be 
+refreshed. You can do it now or wait until you're finished customizing the 
+shell.
+
+```sh
+sudo reboot now
+```
+
+## Bash-it
+
+As noted on the [Bash-it](https://github.com/Bash-it/bash-it) repository:
+
+> Bash-it is a collection of community Bash commands and scripts for Bash 3.2+. 
+> (And a shameless ripoff of oh-my-zsh 😃)
+
+Bash-it makes it easy to install plugins, set up aliases for common commands, 
+and easily change the visual theme of your shell.
+
+### Installation
+
+To install the framework, simply copy the repository files and use the 
+`install.sh` script provided. If you want, you can (and should!) inspect the 
+contents of the installation script before you run it.
+
+```sh
+git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/Bash-it/bash-it.git ~/.bash_it
+~/.bash_it/install.sh
+```
+
+If you didn't restart your session after making bash the default, and are 
+currently working within another shell, be sure to enter a bash session before 
+using `bash-it`:
+
+```sh
+bash
+```
+
+### Aliases
+
+Bash-it contains a number of aliases for common commands to help improve 
+efficiency in the terminal. To list all available options, use the following 
+command:
+
+```sh
+bash-it show aliases
+```
+
+This will provide you a list that looks like the following text block.
+Within this screen, you will be able to see all available options and which 
+ones are currently enabled.
+
+```txt
+Alias                Enabled?   Description
+ag                   [ ]        the silver searcher (ag) aliases
+ansible              [ ]        ansible abbreviations
+apt                  [ ]        Apt and dpkg aliases for Ubuntu and Debian distros.
+atom                 [ ]        Atom.io editor abbreviations
+bash-it              [ ]        Aliases for the bash-it command (these aliases are automatically included with the "general" aliases)
+bolt                 [ ]        puppet bolt aliases
+bundler              [ ]        ruby bundler
+clipboard            [ ]        xclip shortcuts
+composer             [ ]        common composer abbreviations
+curl                 [x]        Curl aliases for convenience.
+...
+```
+
+To enable an alias, do:
+
+```sh
+bash-it enable alias  <alias name> [alias name]... -or- $ bash-it enable alias all
+```
+
+To disable an alias, do:
+
+```sh
+bash-it disable alias <alias name> [alias name]... -or- $ bash-it disable alias all
+```
+
+### Plugins
+
+Similar to aliases, plugins are available with bash-it. You can find a complete 
+list of plugins in the same way as aliases. Simply execute the following:
+
+```sh
+bash-it show plugins
+```
+
+You will see the following output showing enabled and disabled plugins:
+
+```txt
+Plugin               Enabled?   Description
+alias-completion     [ ]
+autojump             [ ]        Autojump configuration, see https://github.com/wting/autojump for more details
+aws                  [ ]        AWS helper functions
+base                 [x]        miscellaneous tools
+basher               [ ]        initializes basher, the shell package manager
+battery              [x]        display info about your battery charge level
+blesh                [ ]        load ble.sh, the Bash line editor!
+boot2docker          [ ]        Helpers to get Docker setup correctly for boot2docker
+browser              [ ]        render commandline output in your browser
+```
+
+To enable a plugin, do:
+
+```sh
+bash-it enable plugin  <plugin name> [plugin name]... -or- $ bash-it enable plugin all
+```
+
+To disable a plugin, do:
+
+```sh
+bash-it disable plugin <plugin name> [plugin name]... -or- $ bash-it disable plugin all
+```
+
+### Themes
+
+There are quite a few pre-defined 
+[themes](https://bash-it.readthedocs.io/en/latest/themes-list/#list-of-themes) 
+available with bash-it.
+
+To list all themes:
+
+```sh
+ls ~/.bash_it/themes/
+```
+
+To use a new theme, you'll need to edit `.bashrc` and alter the `BASH_IT_THEME` 
+variable to your desired theme. For example, I am using the `zork` theme.
+
+```sh
+nano ~/.bashrc
+```
+
+```sh
+export BASH_IT_THEME='zork'
+```
+
+Once you save your changes, you just need to exit your terminal and create a new 
+one in order to see your changes to the `.bashrc` file. You can also `source` 
+the file to see changes, but I recommend starting a completely new shell 
+instead.
+
+## ble.sh
+
+One big feature I was missing in Bash that both `zsh` and `fish` have is an 
+autosuggestion feature. To explain: as you type, an autosuggestion feature in 
+the shell will offer suggestions in a lighter font color beyond the characters 
+already typed. Once you see the command you want, you can click the right arrow 
+and have the shell auto-complete that line for you.
+
+Luckily, the [Bash Line Editor](https://github.com/akinomyoga/ble.sh) (ble.sh) 
+exists! This program provides a wonderful autosuggestions feature perfectly, 
+among other features that I haven't tested yet.
+
+In order to install ble.sh, execute the following:
+
+```sh
+git clone --recursive https://github.com/akinomyoga/ble.sh.git
+make -C ble.sh install PREFIX=~/.local
+echo 'source ~/.local/share/blesh/ble.sh' >> ~/.bashrc
+```
+
+Again, exit the terminal and open a new one in order to see the newly-configured 
+shell.
+
+## Restart the Session
+
+Finally, as mentioned above, you'll need to restart the session to ensure that 
+your user is using bash by default.
+
+You will also need to exit and re-open a shell (e.g., terminal or terminal tab) 
+any time you make changes to the `.bashrc` file.
+
+```sh
+sudo reboot now
+```