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https://github.com/andresgongora/synth-shell

Boost your terminal, script by script
https://github.com/andresgongora/synth-shell

eye-candy hackerman maintenance productivity system-administration terminal utility

Last synced: 26 days ago
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Boost your terminal, script by script

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README 

        
![synth-shell](doc/synth-shell.jpg)



**synth-shell** improves your terminal experience and productivity by adding color, extra info, and

convenience. It is not a single tool, but a collection of scripts and aliases (feel free to install

only those you want) all written in bash. See the [overview section](#overview) for a detailed list

and options.








##                                            Quick setup



This section covers the vary basics if you want to get started as fast as possible. See the

[setup section](#setup) of this file for more details. Also, before you get started, and to get the

best possible experience **there are important considerations**:



* **power-line fonts**: install package `powerline-fonts` on Arch or `fonts-powerline` on Ubuntu.



* **terminal font**: configure your terminal emulator to use a nice font. We recommend

[hack-ttf](https://sourcefoundry.org/hack/) which you can install for most distros under that name.



* **Remember that support for Windows is not guaranteed**. But feel free to fix any bug you

encounter and contribute to this project.



* **Clone this repository recursively** since there are git submodules in it (you only have to copy

pase the commands down below as they are).



Once everything is ready, it is as easy as copy-pasting the following commands to run the included

setup script.



```

git clone --recursive https://github.com/andresgongora/synth-shell.git

cd synth-shell

./setup.sh

```



When prompted, select **install** (default) and **user** (default). Afterwards, you might need to

open a new terminal. Afterwards, you can

[customize everything to your liking](#configurationcustomization).








##                                             Overview



The following tools and scripts are included in the **synth-shell** package:



- **System status report** (aka [synth-shell-greeter](https://github.com/andresgongora/synth-shell-greeter)):

  - Shows for every new terminal session (local, SSH, ...).

  - Monitor your servers, RaspberryPis, and workstations. All system info you need at a glance (e.g. external IP address, CPU temperature, etc.).

  - Detect broken services or CPU hogs by printing extra diagnostic data, but only when needed.

  - Print your own ASCII logo every time you log in or, if none specified, your distro's logo.



- **Fancy bash prompt** (aka [synth-shell-prompt](https://github.com/andresgongora/synth-shell-prompt)):

  - Configurable colors and aesthetics.

  - Git statuses (requires pull/push, is dirty, etc.) if inside a directory that is part of a git repository.

  - Better separation between user input and command outputs.



- **better ls**: an `ls -la` on steroids alternative.



- **alias**: add colors and a nicer behaviour to basic commands.

  - `grep`.

  - `pacman`.

  - `tree`.

  - `dmesg`.

  - `free`.

  - `sudo`: autocomplete commands.

  - `history`: nicer format and no duplicate (consecutively the same) commands.



![Example with status.sh and fancy-bash-prompt.sh](doc/screenshot.png)



All features are optional, and most can also be customized to your liking. Once installed, the

scripts are called from within you `.bashrc` file and become part of the bash session. Everything is

written in bash and should work out of the box on almost any Linux system (you might need to install

some dependencies, but that is all).



### status.sh

`status.sh` provides a summarized system report at a single glance every time you open up a new

terminal. If it detects that any system parameter (e.g. CPU load, memory, etc.) is over a critical

threshold, it will provide a warning and additional information about the cause. Last but not least,

it prints a user-configurable ASCII logo to impress your crush from the library with how awesome you

are.



Feel free to customize your status report through the many available options in

`~/.config/synth-shell/status.config` (user-only install) or `/etc/synth-shell/status.config`

(system-wide install),or by replacing their content with the examples files you can find under the

same directory.



![status configuration options](doc/status_config_preview.png)



### fancy-bash-prompt.sh

Adds colors and triangular separators to your bash prompt, and if the current working directory is

part of a git repository, also git statuses and branches. For best results, consider installing (and

telling your terminal to use) the `hack-ttf` font alongside the powerline-fonts (the later is

required for the separators).



As for the git status info, `fancy-bash-prompt.sh` prints an additional, fourth separator with the

name of the current branch and one of the following icons to indicate the state of the repository

(can be changed in the config file):



|          Local-Upstream          | Local branch has no changes | Local branch is dirty |

|:--------------------------------:|:---------------------------:|:---------------------:|

|            Up to date            |                             |           !           |

|     Ahead (you have to push)     |              △              |           ▲           |

|     Behind (you have to pull)    |              ▽              |           ▼           |

| Diverged (you have to pull-push) |              ○              |           ●           |



### better-ls.sh

Makes `ls` print more text, but nicely formatted. When called, `ls` will now list all files (`-la`),

sort folders first, add colors to output, and list hidden files last after a quick separator.

However, if you chose to call `ls` with your  own parameters (e.g. `ls -l`) it will revert to the

default behavior except for color and sorting options.



### Alias



- `grep` to `grep --color=auto`.

- `pacman` to `pacman --color=auto`.

- `tree` to `tree --dirsfirst -C`.

- `dmesg` to `dmesg --color=auto --reltime --human --nopager --decode`.

- `free` to `free -mht`.

- `sudo` adds `complete -cf sudo` to auto-complete commands.

- `history` various changes.








##                                              Setup



### Automatic setup



The included [setup script](setup.sh) will guide you step by step through the

process and let you choose what features to install. During this setup, you can

choose to install synth-shell for your user only (recommended) or system-wide

(superuser privileges required). To proceed,

[open and play this link in a separate tab](https://www.youtube.com/embed/MpN91wHAr1k)

and enter the following into your terminal:

```

git clone --recursive https://github.com/andresgongora/synth-shell.git

chmod +x synth-shell/setup.sh

cd synth-shell

./setup.sh

```



Note that for `fancy-bash-prompt.sh` you might also need

[power-line fonts](https://github.com/powerline/fonts). You can instal it

as follows (the exact name of the package varies from distro to distro):



* ArchLinux: `sudo pacman -S powerline-fonts`

* Debian/Ubuntu: `sudo apt install fonts-powerline`



Finally, open up a new terminal and test that everything works. Sometimes,

despite power-line fonts being properly installed, the triangle separator

for `fancy-bash-prompt.sh` (if installed) might still not show. In this case,

make sure that your `locale` is set to UTF-8 by editing `/etc/locale.conf` file

(select your language but in UTF-8 format) and running `sudo locale-gen`.

[More info on locale](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/locale).

Alternatively, try a different font in your terminal emulator. Some fonts

do not support special characters. We get the best results with

[hack-ttf](https://sourcefoundry.org/hack/).



### Configuration/customization

You can configure your scripts by modifying the corresponding configuration

files. You can find them, along the example configuration files, in the

following folders depending on how you installed **synth-shell**:



* Current-user only: `~/.config/synth-shell/`

* System wide: `/etc/synth-shell/`



### Uninstallation

1. Edit `~/.bashrc` and remove the lines referring to synth-shell, usually

at the bottom of the file. If you want to temporarily disable the script, you can

just comment them by placing `#` in front.

```

nano ~/.bashrc

```



2. Remove the folder containing the script, usually in your home folder under

`~/.config/synth-shell/`.

```

rm -r ~/.config/synth-shell/

```








##                                            Contribute



This project is only possible thanks to the effort and passion of many, 

including developers, testers, and of course, our beloved coffee machine.

You can find a detailed list of everyone involved in the development

in [AUTHORS.md](AUTHORS.md). Thanks to all of you!



If you like this project and want to contribute, you are most welcome to do so.



### Help us improve



* [Report a bug](https://github.com/andresgongora/synth-shell/issues/new/choose): 

  if you notice that something isn't working properly, tell us. We'll try to fix it ASAP.

* Suggest an idea you would like to see in the next release: send us

  and email or open an [issue](https://github.com/andresgongora/synth-shell/issues)!

* Become a developer: fork this repo and become an active developer!

  Take a look at the [issues](https://github.com/andresgongora/synth-shell/issues)

  for suggestions of where to start. Also, take a look at our

  [coding style](/doc/coding_style.md).

* Spread the word: telling your friends is the fastest way to get this code to

  the people who might enjoy it!



### Git branches



There are two branches in this repository:



* **master**: this is the main branch, and thus contains fully functional

  scripts. When you want to use the scripts as a _user_,

  this is the branch you want to clone or download.

* **develop**: this branch contains all the new features and most recent

  contributions. It is always _stable_, in the sense that you can use it

  without major inconveniences. 

  However, it's very prone to have undetected bugs and it might be subject to major

  unannounced changes. If you want to contribute, this is the branch 

  you should pull-request to.








##                                               About



**synth-shell** started as a loose collection of (very simple) bash scripts I

used for system maintenance. In the beginning, they were simple aids to make my

life easier, but as I progressively got the hang out of bash, I also wanted them

to print some nice output to the terminal.



This repository was quite different at the beginning. The content of most

scripts were loose snippets from third parties that were somehow smashed

together. They worked, but not exactly the way I wanted. So, over time I have

rewritten most scripts from scratch, removed fluff, and teamed up with

super-friendly and engaged [contributors](AUTHORS.md). The result is what you

see today. I admit it, it's nothing fancy. But it was real fun working on the

scripts.



And the name? That's quite easy. I spent most of my coding frenzy

listening to [SynthWave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthwave) to feel like

[Hackerman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEkrWRHCDQU).








##                                             License



Copyright (c) 2014-2021, Andres Gongora - www.andresgongora.com



* This software is released under a GPLv3 license.

  Read [license-GPLv3.txt](LICENSE),

  or if not present, .

* If you need a closed-source version of this software

  for commercial purposes, please contact the [authors](AUTHORS.md).