After coming across Modernizr’s compress bash script, I’ve been adding my own li’l bash scripts here and there in my projects. They help automate any repetitive task, or provide a shortcut for a bash command I don’t want to remember.

Development

Make a sweet bash script, like helloworld.sh:

#!/bin/bash
echo 'Hello world!'

Make the script executable by changing the permissions:

$ chmod 755 helloworld.sh

Run the script from the command line

$ ./helloworld.sh
# > Hello World

Examples

metafizzy.co / newpost.sh and dropshado.ws / newpost.sh: creates a new post from a template

#!/bin/bash

# creates a new post
# format as _posts/YYYY/YYYY-MM-DD-filename.ext
# usage:
#   $ ./newpost.sh my-new-post-filename

COPY_FILE=_posts/template.mdown
# create file
POST_FILE=_posts/$(date "+%Y/%Y-%m-%d")-$1.mdown

echo new post: $POST_FILE
cp $COPY_FILE $POST_FILE
# open it
mate $POST_FILE

demo / deploy.sh and desandro / deploy.sh: rsyncs project to remote server

#!/bin/bash
rsync -avz --exclude '.git' --exclude '*.sh' ./ $BERNA:~/www/demo

neo-vision / build.sh: moves release files into sub directory, compresses JS, zips it all up

#!/bin/bash

BUILD_DIR='neo-vision'
ZIP='neo-vision.zip'
REMOVABLES=("build.sh" "prettify.js" "lang-css.js" "README.mdown" $ZIP)

rm -rf $BUILD_DIR/
mkdir $BUILD_DIR
cp *.* $BUILD_DIR

# minifies prettify js
cat prettify.js lang-css.js | uglifyjs -nc > $BUILD_DIR/prettify.min.js

for REMOVE in "${REMOVABLES[@]}"
do
    rm $BUILD_DIR/$REMOVE
done

zip -r -u $ZIP $BUILD_DIR

Picking up on a running theme on the dropshado.ws, I gots to have my command line prompts looking fresh. Locally, I’m now using bash-it, with its killer theming engine by John Schulz to make it happen.

Just recently I realized that I can style my prompt on my remote server when I SSH. Here’s what I added to ~/.bash_profile.

PS1="\[\e[0;32m\]\u@\h \[\e[0;34m\]\w \[\e[0;30m\]# \[\e[39m\]"

Which looks like

username@server ~/path/to/dir # writing sweet commands

whois is a command-line utility.

whois icanhascheezburger.com

To go back to the previous directory in Terminal:

cd -

Via The Designer’s Guide to the OSX Command Prompt by John W. Long.

I’ve finally clued in to setting and using simple strings within Terminal. Set a string:

name='David DeSandro'

No spaces around the =. Quotes are required if your string has spaces. Reference it with $

echo $name
# will output `David DeSandro`

For example, when creating a new post, I have to reference the same long filename several times.

dropfile='_posts/2011/2011-04-12-terminal-strings.mdown'
mate $dropfile
git add $dropfile
tumblr $dropfile

Along with being the file to store your Terminal aliases, ~/.profile also allows you to color the Terminal prompt. This article has the particulars: BASH Shell change the color of my shell prompt under Linux or UNIX

First take a look at the current prompt with echo $PS1. It should return with \h:\W \u\$. The articles above detail what those variables represent, and it translates to host:directory username$. Color syntax starts with [\e[0;31m\] and ends with \[\e[m\]. The color code itself is 0:31, where 31 is the color (in this case red) and 0 being the equivalent of font-weight (bold is 1).

I am currently rocking:

export PS1="\[\e[0;31m\]\h:\[\e[m\]\[\e[0;34m\]\W\[\e[m\] \[\e[0;30m\]\u\[\e[m\]\[\e[0;33m\]\$\[\e[m\] "

Which is the same host:directory username$ but now red:blue darkgray and a beige $.

UPDATE 16 Nov 2010 Revised opening and closing tags to \[\e[0;31m\] and \[\e[m\]. Previous version didn’t close tags properly and messed up line breaks. Removed link to erroneous article.