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https://github.com/jodavaho/bashlog

A stupid-simple bash logging utility
https://github.com/jodavaho/bashlog

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A stupid-simple bash logging utility

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# Bashlog



A simple, directory-driven logging utility for CLI for quick notes, long journals, or bullet-style todo lists.



Works in bash with vim. But you can easily extend the idea to ther environments



# Setup



1. Get the repo: 



`git clone [email protected]:jodavaho/bashlog.git ~/.config/bashlog`



2. Add some magic to your `~/.bashrc`:



```

source ~/.config/bashlog/bashlog.sh

```



From anywhere on your machine, just type `log`, to be taken to a date-stamped file that contains whatever you need to record. 



# Easy intro



Need to keep track of something you just thought of? 



Just type `log` and you'll have a terminal with all of today's notes that were stored in the specified directory.



What did you write yesterday? `log yesterday`. Easy peasy.  Same for tomorrow, a month from now (`log 1 month`), last week `log last week` etc etc. Bashlog uses `date` and sometimes `dateutils`, so it gets a lot of flexibility. 



# Todo lists



While logging, just use the handy bullet-style todo items:



```

- [ ] An unfinished todo item (github markdown compatible!)

- [x] A successfully finished item

- [-] A failed, but finished item

- [>] A delayed item

- [v] A dropped item, no longer required

```



To spice it up a bit, I added the color-highlights in `vim_log`, and they are added by default when you type `log`.



(otherwise, Just add to your .bashrc: `export LOG_EDITOR='vim -S vim_log'`)



Or, just add it to .vimrc forever if you really like it.



```

cat vim_log >> ~/.vimrc

```



See image:



![bulletColor](doc/BulletColor.PNG)



## Getting todo items on CLI



To see the todo items in your directory, use `lstodo`.



I usually do this:



`lstodo -nl | vim -` to get a jump-list for VIM. 



My daily morning ritual to prioritize is to scroll through list, using `gF` to jump to the todo item, mark it, and `b#` jump back. Vimrc settings to help with this are `set autowrite`



## Weekly



However, for most todos, I set weekly goals. For this, I use `week`.

This creates files like `2019-week-X` where `X` is the current week. Ticking off weekly goals leading up to the weekend is *quite* rewarding.



You can view last week with `week -1` or next week with `week +1`, or arbitrarily `week +/-X` to jump around. 



# Log tips



the `log` command uses `date` and `dateutils` to form the filename. SO you can do nifty things like:



- `log tomorrow`

- `log yesterday`

- `log last monday`

- `log 1 month`



etc



## Journaling



I like to write my daily thoughts (e.g., journal), using `log` and re-read yesterday / the before by using `log yesterday` and `log last wed` for example. 



I've been using this system for almost a decade. As of the time of this commit ...



```

:~/journal$ ls -l | wc -l

1461

:~/journal$ cat * | wc

  33948  298680 1642722

```



Reading journal entries from when my wife and I started dating is a real treat.

My health has been easy to track. I have a greppable archive of my hourly

thoughts in plain text. I've given real thought to applying some analytics to

this dataset, including sentiment analysis. Though I go on and off with the

habit of journalling, lowering the barrier of adding an entry has significantly

helped. 



## Different log directories.



Sometimes I change projects. e.g., when moving between python environments, catkin workspaces, etc. In the `setup.sh` or `activate.sh`, I like to add:



```

export LOG_DIRECTORY /notes

```



This means that for each project, you will definitely have a consistent set of notes and todos, which will not overlap. 



## Base workspace



For things like journalling, I also `alias home='export LOG_DIRECTORY=~/journal'`



## Git integration



I don't recommend this for all logs, but to remove all possible workflow barriers, I have a convenience vim command so that I can keep my logs in github easily. 



`command Lw w | !git add % &&  git commit % -m "Checkin %" && git push`



If you set up a github repo to store your logs. Then the workflow becomes:



- from the command line: `log`

- record your notes

- `:Lw` to push this new entry to github

- `:wq` to exit, and you're back. 



This has the advantage of not requiring any directory changes, looing away from your screen, etc. 



# Configuring



By default, we use environment variables, which can be over-ridden as you see fit, by exporting the variable in `.bashrc` before `source bashlog.sh`



- `LOG_DIRECTORY`, Default: `~`

- `LOG_EDTIOR`, Default: `vim`; For best effect, the `bashlog.sh` will actually set `LOG_EDITOR` to `vim -S /vim_log`, where `` is, where you put this repo



You can always adjust these environment variables on the fly as you change working contexts or project workspaces, to keep a consistent pointer to the log directory. 



# Help



These scripts were yanked from my ever-growing dotfiles repo. If I messed something up, file an issue and let's chat. Also good for suggestions.