Snail

Make your shell alive... 🐌

Installation

Just download the source, then compile the build :)

git clone https://github.com/cryhot/snail.git $HOME/snail
make -C $HOME/snail

The code of SOURCEME.sh must be executed directly in the current shell (use . or source) in order to access the functionalities.

If you want permanent changes, just add this line to your .bashrc (admitting you used the directory ~/snail) :

source $HOME/snail/SOURCEME.sh

⚠️ If you share your computer with other users, don't forget to remove write perms from the sourced file.

Some fonctionalities need special ptrace permissions. If /proc/sys/kernel/yama/ptrace_scope contains something other than 0, make sure that the file /etc/sysctl.d/10-ptrace.conf contains the line :

kernel.yama.ptrace_scope = 0

Usage

Description

• mill [-p PERIOD|-i] [-q|-b|-B] [-M] [-T TIMEOUT] [-F FILE] [-G] [-C CONDITION] COMMAND...
  run a command in loop; no subshell is created (see more)

• scale VAR [MIN] [MAX]
  spawn a scale the user can move to set a numeric value to a variable
  runs in the background (see more)

• ++ VAR [MIN] [MAX]
  increment a variable by one
  if bounds are specified, switch to modular arithmetic (see more)

• -- VAR [MIN] [MAX]
  decrement a variable by one
  if bounds are specified, switch to modular arithmetic (see more)

• track [-t|-T TIMEOUT] [-o|-a] [-g|-w] FILE...
  pause the script until the file is modified (see more)

• how [-p INDEX|-P|[COMMAND]...]
  show a command exit status (see more)

• mmake [OPTION]... [TARGET]...
  basically mill make (see more)

Examples

mill date
# Ok. The date refresh.

mill ls -ld /dev/sd*
# Mhh. I can see every single usb drive connected RIGHT NOW.

scale A
mill 'echo $A'
# Cool ! An interactive popup ! And I can still type commands !

B=0
mill 'echo $B; ++ B; [ $B -lt 10 ] || B=0'
# I love cyclic variables.

mill '++ C 9; echo $C'
# Exactly the same thing (9 included).

mill -p 1 python3 myscript.py
# Wonderfull ! The script I'm working on is executed in real time !

scale A 0 10
mill -p 1 'python3 myscript.py $A'
# Even better !

mill -F '*.java' 'javac *.java'
# Compile everything on time !

mill -F '*.java' 'snail; javac *.java'
# ...with a little helper

mill -F '*.java' 'javac *.java |& head -16; how -p0'
# more practical case

mill -b -T 300 '
echo "SERVER STARTED - $(date)" | tee -a server.log
./my_server |& tee -a server.log
echo "SERVER CRASHED - $(date)" | tee -a server.log
'
# keep the server running, even in case of crash
# (but with a cooldown of 5 minutes between two restarts)
# sometime, we want the command not to use a buffer...
# (and yes, the command is multiline)

mmake
# a lightweight syntax for a powerfull tool

Dependencies

List of commands required to use all the features (some are more important, some are less) :

• gcc
• getopt
• gdb
• make
• zenity

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French people love snails