zsh-dwim - A "Do What I Mean" Key

zsh-dwim attempts to predict what you will want to do next. It provides a key binding (control-u) that will replace the current (or previous) command line with the command you will want to run next.

Some examples

• apt-cache show zsh becomes sudo apt-get install zsh
• tar ft RandomFile.tar.bz2 becomes tar fx RandomFile.tar.bz2
• sudo service apache stop becomes sudo service apache start
• mkdir new_directory becomes cd new_directory
• find . -size +5M becomes find . -size +5M -exec echo {} \; becomes find . -size +5M -exec {} \;
• If ssh user@hostwithnewip fails it becomes ssh-keygen -R hostwithnewip
• If mkdir more/than/one/path fails it becomes mkdir -p more/than/one/path
• If cd /some/path failes it becomes mkdir /some/path

There are some short screencasts on my blog demonstrating zsh-dwim:

• Demonstration of a few of zsh-dwim's oldest features
• Demonstration of zsh-dwim's remote filename completion

Installation

Since I am using Prezto to manage my zsh configuration this repository is set up to work with it. zsh-dwim is a simple enough script, though, so it should be easily loaded into any zsh configuration.

Installing under Prezto

cd .zprezto
git submodule add https://github.com/oknowton/zsh-dwim.git modules/dwim

Add dwim to your .zpreztorc file:

# Set the Prezto modules to load (browse modules).
# The order matters.
zstyle ':prezto:load' pmodule \
  'environment' \
  'terminal' \
  'editor' \
  'history' \
  'directory' \
  'spectrum' \
  'utility' \
  'completion' \
  'prompt' \
  'dwim'

Installing under oh-my-zsh

You should be able to install the zsh-dwim script under oh-my-zsh with the following command:

wget https://raw.github.com/oknowton/zsh-dwim/master/init.zsh -O $HOME/.oh-my-zsh/custom/zsh-dwim.zsh

It should start working the next time you open a new shell.

Installing using Antigen

If you use Antigen, I am told that adding the following line to your .zshrc will work:

antigen-bundle oknowton/zsh-dwim

Using zsh-dwim anywhere else

Anyone running zsh should only need to source the init.zsh file (run source init.zsh). If you want to permentantly "install" zsh-dwim just add the proper source command to your .zshrc.

Usage

Type a command and hit control-u and zsh-dwim will attempt to transform your command. Typing control-u at an empty command prompt will recall the previous command from your history and then attempt to transform it.

Creating your own transformations

You can add your own transformations by calling the _dwim_add_transform function. This function takes up to three parameters, the third being optional.

_dwim_add_transform <pattern to match> <code to run> [exit status of previous command]

Here's a simple example:

## tar ft -> tar fx (a.k.a. list -> extract)
_dwim_add_transform '^tar (ft|tf)' \
  '_dwim_sed "s/^tar (ft|tf)/tar fx/"'

The _dwim_sed function is a little helped function that applies a sed regex to the current command.

License

The MIT License (MIT)

Copyright (c) 2013 Pat Regan

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.