diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'blog/bash-it')
| -rw-r--r-- | blog/bash-it/index.org | 233 |
1 files changed, 233 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/blog/bash-it/index.org b/blog/bash-it/index.org new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7c1316f --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/bash-it/index.org @@ -0,0 +1,233 @@ +#+title: Upgrade Bash with Bash-It & Ble.sh +#+date: 2022-07-31 +#+description: Learn how to increase the power of bash with Bash-It and Ble.sh. +#+filetags: :sysadmin: + +* Bash +For those who are not familiar, +[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bash_(Unix_shell)][Bash]] 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: + +- [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z_shell][zsh]] +- [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_(Unix_shell)][fish]] +- [[https://github.com/ibara/oksh][oksh]] +- [[https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Mksh][mksh]] +- [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debian_Almquist_shell][dash]] + +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 +[[https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/][download bash from GNU]] or use +your package manager to install it. + +For example, this is how you can install bash on Fedora Linux: + +#+begin_src sh +sudo dnf install bash +#+end_src + +If you are not using bash as your default shell, use the =chsh= command +to change your shell: + +#+begin_src sh +chsh +#+end_src + +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=). + +#+begin_src sh +Changing shell for <user>. +New shell [/usr/bin/bash]: +#+end_src + +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. + +#+begin_src sh +sudo reboot now +#+end_src + +* Bash-it +As noted on the [[https://github.com/Bash-it/bash-it][Bash-it]] +repository: + +#+begin_quote +Bash-it is a collection of community Bash commands and scripts for Bash +3.2+. (And a shameless ripoff of oh-my-zsh 😃) + +#+end_quote + +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. + +#+begin_src sh +git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/Bash-it/bash-it.git ~/.bash_it +~/.bash_it/install.sh +#+end_src + +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=: + +#+begin_src sh +bash +#+end_src + +** 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: + +#+begin_src sh +bash-it show aliases +#+end_src + +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. + +#+begin_src 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. +... +#+end_src + +To enable an alias, do: + +#+begin_src sh +bash-it enable alias <alias name> [alias name]... -or- $ bash-it enable alias all +#+end_src + +To disable an alias, do: + +#+begin_src sh +bash-it disable alias <alias name> [alias name]... -or- $ bash-it disable alias all +#+end_src + +** 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: + +#+begin_src sh +bash-it show plugins +#+end_src + +You will see the following output showing enabled and disabled plugins: + +#+begin_src 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 +#+end_src + +To enable a plugin, do: + +#+begin_src sh +bash-it enable plugin <plugin name> [plugin name]... -or- $ bash-it enable plugin all +#+end_src + +To disable a plugin, do: + +#+begin_src sh +bash-it disable plugin <plugin name> [plugin name]... -or- $ bash-it disable plugin all +#+end_src + +** Themes +There are quite a few pre-defined +[[https://bash-it.readthedocs.io/en/latest/themes-list/#list-of-themes][themes]] +available with bash-it. + +To list all themes: + +#+begin_src sh +ls ~/.bash_it/themes/ +#+end_src + +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. + +#+begin_src sh +nano ~/.bashrc +#+end_src + +#+begin_src sh +export BASH_IT_THEME='zork' +#+end_src + +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 [[https://github.com/akinomyoga/ble.sh][Bash Line Editor]] +(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: + +#+begin_src 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 +#+end_src + +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. + +#+begin_src sh +sudo reboot now +#+end_src |