Ecosyste.ms: Awesome
An open API service indexing awesome lists of open source software.
https://github.com/niedzielski/cb
📋 Universal command-line clipboard with automatic copy and paste detection. Eg, `cb|sort|cb`. The missing link between GUIs and CLIs!
https://github.com/niedzielski/cb
cli clipboard gui
Last synced: 18 days ago
JSON representation
📋 Universal command-line clipboard with automatic copy and paste detection. Eg, `cb|sort|cb`. The missing link between GUIs and CLIs!
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/niedzielski/cb
- Owner: niedzielski
- License: unlicense
- Created: 2015-04-22T19:55:13.000Z (over 9 years ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2023-06-04T16:09:20.000Z (over 1 year ago)
- Last Synced: 2024-04-16T12:47:13.563Z (8 months ago)
- Topics: cli, clipboard, gui
- Language: Shell
- Homepage:
- Size: 57.6 KB
- Stars: 118
- Watchers: 4
- Forks: 6
- Open Issues: 1
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: readme.md
- License: license.text
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# 📋 cb
Universal command-line clipboard with automatic copy and paste detection. Eg,
`cb|sort|cb`.
## Purpose
**cb** is a clipboard for working between graphical and command-line interfaces
(GUIs and CLIs). The clipboard is a surprisingly convenient integration between
the two and doesn't use temporary files. cb automatically performs a copy or a
paste based on the context.
### Why you don't need cb
If any of the following are true, you do **not** need cb:
- You use GUIs exclusively.
- You use CLIs exclusively.
- You can use the system equivalent copy-and-paste CLIs directly. Eg,
[XSel](https://github.com/kfish/xsel) or `pbcopy` / `pbpaste`.
- You prefer using temporary files when working across GUIs and CLIs.
All cb provides is a consistent interface across operating systems. Any
clipboard CLI will do. What's important is how you use the tool.
## Usage
Supply standard input to **copy**:
```console
$ echo abc|cb
```
Supply no input to **paste**:
```console
$ cb
abc
```
Both copy and paste can appear in the same command:
```console
$ curl "$(cb)"|cb
```
Contents on the clipboard can be used bidirectionally with other GUIs like
graphical text editors or web browsers using the usual shortcut (control-c/v or
command-c/v).
## Installation
```bash
# Download the script to ~/bin/cb.
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/niedzielski/clipboard/main/cb -o ~/bin/cb &&
# Make the script executable.
chmod +x ~/bin/cb
```
cb also supports sourcing in Almquist-like shells like `. cb` or `source ./cb`.
The heart of cb is tiny so edit it however you like and discard the rest!
### Dependencies
cb requires the following dependencies to be installed:
- Linux: xclip on X (eg, `sudo apt install xclip`) and wl-clipboard on Wayland
(`sudo apt install wl-clipboard`).
- macOS: none (`pbcopy` / `pbpaste` are installed by default).
- Windows: CygUtils (install `putclip` / `getclip` via Cygwin GUI).
If in doubt, it's simplest to just try executing cb.
### Troubleshooting
Is `~/bin` in the `PATH` environment variable?
`grep --only-matching ~/bin <<< "$PATH"` should report a match. If not, add it
like `PATH="$PATH":~/bin`.
## Examples
All of these examples appear trivial because copy-and-paste is ubiquitous. The
intent is to demonstrate the understated usefulness of the system clipboard for
CLI-GUI integration. You can work seamlessly across GUIs and CLIs with it.
- Sort clipboard lines: `cb|sort|cb`. Expand for
detail…
```console
$ # Simulate copying some lines of text from another program with control or command-C.
$ printf 'c\nb\na'|cb
$ cb
c
b
a
$ # Sort the clipboard's contents by line.
$ cb|sort|cb
$ # Simulate pasting the text back to another program with control or command-V.
$ cb
a
b
c
```
- Count the number of bytes, characters, and lines on the clipboard:
`cb|wc --bytes --chars --lines`. Expand for
detail…
```console
$ # Simulate copying text from another program with control or command-C.
$ echo abc|cb
$ cb|wc --bytes --chars --lines
1 4 4
```
- Replace single quotes with double quotes on the clipboard:
`cb|sed s%\'%\"%g|cb`. Expand for detail…
```console
$ # Simulate copying text from another program with control or command-C.
$ cb <<<\'abc\'
$ cb|sed s%\'%\"%g|cb
$ # Simulate pasting the text back to another program with control or command-V.
$ cb
"abc"
```
- Diff the clipboard with a file: `diff <(cb) right-hand-side.text`. Works with
diff GUIs too: `meld <(cb) right-hand-side.text`.
Expand for detail…
```console
$ # Simulate copying some lines of text from another program with control or command-C.
$ cb << 'eof'
a
b
eof
$ # Simulate a previously saved reference.
$ cat << 'eof' > right-hand-side.text
a
b
c
eof
$ # Diff the contents of the clipboard with the reference.
$ diff <(cb) right-hand-side.text
2a3
> c
$ # View the same diff in Meld, a graphical diffing program.
$ meld <(cb) right-hand-side.text
```
- Download a file from the URL on the clipboard: `wget "$(cb)"`.
- Download a video from the YouTube URL on the clipboard: `youtube-dl "$(cb)"`.
Expand for detail…
```console
$ # Simulate copying a URL from a browser address bar with control or command-C.
$ echo 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92c8vW-AzAc'|cb
$ # Download the address from the clipboard URL.
$ youtube-dl "$(cb)"
[youtube] 92c8vW-AzAc: Downloading webpage
WARNING: Requested formats are incompatible for merge and will be merged into mkv.
[download] Destination: Fritz roars-92c8vW-AzAc.f137.mp4
[download] 100% of 5.07MiB in 01:37
[download] Destination: Fritz roars-92c8vW-AzAc.f251.webm
[download] 100% of 175.94KiB in 00:02
[ffmpeg] Merging formats into "Fritz roars-92c8vW-AzAc.mkv"
Deleting original file Fritz roars-92c8vW-AzAc.f137.mp4 (pass -k to keep)
Deleting original file Fritz roars-92c8vW-AzAc.f251.webm (pass -k to keep)
$ ls Fritz\ roars-92c8vW-AzAc.mkv
'Fritz roars-92c8vW-AzAc.mkv'
```
- Copy the version of Chromium to the clipboard: `chromium --version|cb`.
Expand for detail…
```console
$ # Copy the version of Chromium installed into the clipboard.
$ chromium --version|cb
$ # Simulate pasting the version into another program with control or command-V.
$ cb
Chromium 97.0.4692.99 built on Debian bookworm/sid, running on Debian bookworm/sid
```
- Copy 10k numbered lines to the clipboard:
`for ((i=0; i < 10000; i++)); do echo $i; done|cb`.
Expand for detail…
```console
$ # Copy numbered lines from 0 to 10000 to the clipboard.
$ for ((i=0; i < 10000; i++)); do echo $i; done|cb
$ # Simulate pasting the text into another program with control or command-V.
$ cb|head
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
```
- Replace newlines on the clipboard with commas:
`cb|node --input-type=module --eval 'import fs from "fs/promises"; const text = await fs.readFile("/dev/stdin", "utf-8"); console.log(text.split("\n").join())'|cb`.
Expand for detail…
```console
$ # Simulate copying text delimited by newlines from another program with control or command-C.
$ echo -ne 'a\nb\nc'|cb
$ cb|node --input-type=module --eval 'import fs from "fs/promises"; const text = await fs.readFile("/dev/stdin", "utf-8"); console.log(text.split("\n").join())'|cb
$ # Simulate pasting the CSV back to another program with control or command-V.
$ cb
a,b,c
```
- Pretty print JSON:
`cb|node -pe 'JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(require("fs").readFileSync(0, "utf-8")), null, 2)'|cb`.
Expand for detail…
```console
$ # Simulate copying a blob of JSON from another program with control or command-C.
$ cb <<<'{"a":1,"b":2,"c":3}'
$ cb|node -pe 'JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(require("fs").readFileSync(0, "utf-8")), null, 2)'|cb
$ # Simulate pasting the JSON back to another program with control or command-V.
$ cb
{
"a": 1,
"b": 2,
"c": 3
}
```
- Test if the random patch you found online and copied to your clipboard applies
to your code: `git apply --check <(cb)`.
- Dump the HEAD revision of a file to the clipboard:
`git show HEAD:readme.md|cb`.
- Reverse clipboard line order: `cb|tac|cb`.
- Copy an image to the clipboard: `cb < banana.png`.
- Wrap clipboard text at 72 characters:
`cb|fold --spaces --width=72|sed 's% \+$%%'|cb`.
- Find songs, shuffle them, and copy them to the clipboard:
`find -iname \*.flac -printf %f\\n|shuf|cb`.
- Copy the absolute path of a filename:
`realpath --canonicalize-missing --no-symlinks "$(cb)"|cb`.
- Voice the clipboard: `cb|espeak`.
- Truncate the clipboard: `cb|tail|cb`.
- Save the clipboard to a transient file:
`t="$(mktemp)" && cb >| "$t" && echo "$t"`.
- Edit the clipboard contents in a temporary buffer `cb|vim -`.
- Compare Gzip and Brotli compressions of the clipboard:
`cb|gzip --best|wc --bytes && cb|brotli --best|wc --bytes`.
- Copy the most recent photo taken on an Android device to the clipboard:
`adb exec-out 'cat "$(ls -c1 /sdcard/DCIM/Camera/IMG*.jpg|tail -n1)"'|cb`.
- Clear the clipboard: `cb < /dev/null`.
## License (Public Domain)
All code in this repository is public domain and may be used without limitation.