🚀 Project Name : gilchrist

📌 Overview

gilchrist is your essential multi-command utility suite that brings the power of Unix/Linux command-line tools directly to Windows environments. While Windows users struggle with limited native text processing and file management capabilities, gilchrist provides familiar wc, find, and rm commands with full feature parity to their Unix counterparts.

Whether you're counting lines in log files, searching through directory hierarchies, or safely removing files and directories, gilchrist delivers consistent Unix-like behavior optimized for Windows workflows. No more wrestling with PowerShell's verbose syntax or missing your favorite Linux tools - get the familiar command experience you know and love.

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📚 Requirements & Dependencies

• Windows 7.0 or later
• No additional dependencies required
• Single portable executable
• Golang ( if you want to build from source )

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⚡ Installation

If you have Git installed :

1. Git clone this repo

git clone https://github.com/gigachad80/Gilchrist
cd Gilchrist

2. Now build Go executable :

go build -o gilchrist.exe

3. Run Powershell ISE as administrator and Go to the direcctory where you have cloned the repo then run this command :

.\install-gilchrist.ps1

If you haven't Git installed .

1. Go to releases section and download the exe file as per your architecture.

2. Now , Run Powershell ISE as administrator and Go to the direcctory where you have cloned the repo then run this command .

.\install-gilchrist.ps1

🔧 Features & Command Suite

Core Commands

• ✅ wc - Word, line, character, and byte counting (GNU wc compatible)
• ✅ find - File and directory search with powerful filtering
• ✅ rm - Safe file and directory removal with confirmation options

Universal Features

• ✅ Windows native - Works in Command Prompt and PowerShell
• ✅ Unix compatibility - Familiar syntax and behavior
• ✅ Stdin support - Seamless pipe integration
• ✅ Error handling - Robust error reporting and recovery
• ✅ Help system - Built-in help for all commands

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📖 Command Reference

🔢 WC Command - Word Count Utility

Count lines, words, characters, and bytes in files or stdin input.

Syntax

gilchrist wc [OPTIONS] [FILE...]

Options

Option	Description
-l	Print newline counts
-w	Print word counts
-c	Print byte counts
-m	Print character counts
-L	Print maximum line length (character count)
-h	Display help

Default Behavior

When no options are specified, wc shows lines, words, and bytes (equivalent to -l -w -c).

Examples

# Count lines, words, and bytes (default)
gilchrist wc file.txt
     150     842    5234 file.txt

# Count only lines
gilchrist wc -l *.txt
     150 file1.txt
     200 file2.txt
     350 total

# Count characters (Unicode-aware)
gilchrist wc -m unicode.txt
    1250 unicode.txt

# Find longest line
gilchrist wc -L code.js
      89 code.js

# Process from stdin
type largefile.txt | gilchrist wc -l
    5000

# Multiple files with totals
gilchrist wc -lwc *.log
     100    500   2500 app.log
     250   1200   6000 error.log
     350   1700   8500 total

# Combined flags
gilchrist wc -lwcmL report.txt
     42    156    892    856     78 report.txt

🔍 FIND Command - File Search Utility

Search for files and directories with powerful filtering and action capabilities.

Syntax

gilchrist find [PATH...] [EXPRESSION...]

Options

Option	Description
-name <pattern>	File name pattern (glob, case-sensitive)
-iname <pattern>	File name pattern (glob, case-insensitive)
-type <f|d>	File type: 'f' for files, 'd' for directories
-delete	Delete found files/directories (USE WITH CAUTION!)
-maxdepth <n>	Maximum directory descent level
-mindepth <n>	Minimum directory descent level
-h	Display help

Pattern Matching

• * - Matches any sequence of characters
• ? - Matches any single character
• [abc] - Matches any character in brackets
• Case sensitivity controlled by -name vs -iname

Examples

# Find all .txt files in current directory and subdirectories
gilchrist find . -name "*.txt"
./documents/readme.txt
./logs/debug.txt
./temp/backup.txt

# Find directories case-insensitively
gilchrist find C:\Users -iname "*temp*" -type d
C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Temp
C:\Users\Admin\Documents\Templates

# Limit search depth
gilchrist find . -maxdepth 2 -name "*.log"
./app.log
./logs/error.log

# Find and delete (DANGEROUS - use with care!)
gilchrist find ./temp -name "*.tmp" -delete
gilchrist find: deleted ./temp/cache.tmp
gilchrist find: deleted ./temp/session.tmp

# Find files not in immediate directory
gilchrist find . -mindepth 2 -name "*.js"
./src/components/app.js
./src/utils/helper.js

# Complex search: JavaScript files in src, max 3 levels deep
gilchrist find ./src -maxdepth 3 -iname "*.js" -type f
./src/index.js
./src/components/Header.js
./src/utils/api.js

# Find empty directories (no pattern matches everything)
gilchrist find . -type d -maxdepth 1
./
./empty_folder
./src

🗑️ RM Command - File Removal Utility

Remove files and directories with safety features and confirmation options.

Syntax

gilchrist rm [OPTIONS] FILE...

Options

Option	Description
-r, -R	Remove directories recursively
-f	Force removal, ignore nonexistent files
-i	Interactive mode - prompt before removal
-v	Verbose mode - explain what's being done
-h	Display help

Safety Features

• Directory protection: Won't remove directories without -r
• Interactive confirmation: -i flag prompts for each removal
• Non-destructive by default: Fails safely on errors
• Force override: -f suppresses most errors and prompts

Examples

# Remove a single file
gilchrist rm oldfile.txt
# (silently removes if successful)

# Remove with confirmation
gilchrist rm -i important.txt
gilchrist rm: remove 'important.txt'? y
removed 'important.txt'

# Remove directory recursively
gilchrist rm -r old_project/
# (removes entire directory tree)

# Verbose removal
gilchrist rm -v *.tmp
removed 'cache.tmp'
removed 'session.tmp'
removed 'backup.tmp'

# Force removal (ignore errors)
gilchrist rm -f nonexistent.txt
# (no error message, continues)

# Interactive recursive removal
gilchrist rm -ri temp_folder/
gilchrist rm: remove directory 'temp_folder/'? y
# (removes after confirmation)

# Combined flags - force recursive verbose
gilchrist rm -rfv old_logs/
removed 'old_logs/app.log'
removed 'old_logs/error.log'
removed 'old_logs/'

# Remove multiple files interactively
gilchrist rm -i *.backup
gilchrist rm: remove 'file1.backup'? y
gilchrist rm: remove 'file2.backup'? n
not removing 'file2.backup'
removed 'file1.backup'

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🔥 Real-World Use Cases

Log Analysis Workflow

# Count total log entries
gilchrist wc -l *.log
    1500 app.log
    2300 error.log
    3800 total

# Find all log files in subdirectories
gilchrist find . -name "*.log" -type f
./logs/app.log
./logs/error.log
./archive/old.log

# Clean up old temporary logs
gilchrist find ./temp -name "*.log" -delete
gilchrist find: deleted ./temp/debug.log
gilchrist find: deleted ./temp/trace.log

# Remove log files older than certain pattern
gilchrist rm -v ./archive/*.log
removed './archive/2023-01.log'
removed './archive/2023-02.log'

Development Workflow

# Count lines of code in project
gilchrist wc -l *.go *.js *.py
     450 main.go
     320 utils.go
     680 app.js
     200 helper.py
    1650 total

# Find all source files
gilchrist find . -name "*.go" -o -name "*.js"
./main.go
./utils.go
./frontend/app.js

# Clean build artifacts
gilchrist find . -name "*.exe" -o -name "*.tmp" -delete

# Remove node_modules safely
gilchrist rm -rf node_modules/

System Maintenance

# Find large directories
gilchrist find C:\Users -type d -maxdepth 2
C:\Users\AppData
C:\Users\Documents
C:\Users\Downloads

# Count files in Downloads
gilchrist find C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Downloads -type f | gilchrist wc -l
     156

# Clean temporary files
gilchrist find %TEMP% -name "*.tmp" -delete
gilchrist rm -f %TEMP%\*.log

# Find configuration files
gilchrist find . -iname "*.config" -o -iname "*.ini"
./app.config
./settings.ini

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🏆 gilchrist vs Windows Native Commands

🤡 Windows Native vs 🗿 gilchrist: The Epic Battle

Task	Windows Native 🤡	gilchrist 🗿	Winner
Count Lines	Get-Content file.txt | Measure-Object -Line	gilchrist wc -l file.txt	🗿 Familiar Unix syntax
Count Words	(Get-Content file.txt | Out-String | Measure-Object -Word).Words	gilchrist wc -w file.txt	🗿 Single command
Find Files	Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.txt"	gilchrist find . -name "*.txt"	🗿 Shorter, clearer
Remove Directory	Remove-Item -Recurse -Force folder\	gilchrist rm -rf folder/	🗿 Unix familiarity
Interactive Delete	Remove-Item -Confirm folder\	gilchrist rm -i folder	🗿 Simpler flag
Case-insensitive Search	Get-ChildItem -Recurse | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "*PATTERN*"}	gilchrist find . -iname "*pattern*"	🗿 Built-in flag

📊 Complex Operations Comparison

Operation	Windows PowerShell 🤡	gilchrist 🗿	Complexity
Count + Find Pattern Files	Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.log" | ForEach-Object { Get-Content $_ | Measure-Object -Line }	gilchrist find . -name "*.log" | xargs gilchrist wc -l	PS: Pipeline hell vs WG: Simple pipe
Find + Delete with Confirmation	Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.tmp" | Remove-Item -Confirm	gilchrist find . -name "*.tmp" -delete	PS: Two commands vs WG: One action
Recursive Verbose Removal	Remove-Item -Recurse -Verbose -Force folder\	gilchrist rm -rfv folder/	PS: Long flags vs WG: Compact flags
Multi-level Directory Search	Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Depth 2 -Directory | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "*cache*"}	gilchrist find . -maxdepth 2 -type d -iname "*cache*"	PS: Complex pipeline vs WG: Clear flags

🔥 Real-World Scenarios

Scenario 1: Project Statistics

Task: Count lines of code in all JavaScript files

PowerShell 🤡	gilchrist 🗿
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.js" |<br>ForEach-Object {<br> $lines = (Get-Content $_.FullName | Measure-Object -Line).Lines<br> Write-Output "$($_.Name): $lines lines"<br>}	bash<br>gilchrist find . -name "*.js" -exec gilchrist wc -l {} +<br># or simply:<br>gilchrist wc -l $(gilchrist find . -name "*.js")<br>
Complex looping logic	Simple command composition

Scenario 2: Cleanup Old Files

Task: Find and interactively delete .tmp files in subdirectories

PowerShell 🤡	gilchrist 🗿
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.tmp" |<br>ForEach-Object {<br> $response = Read-Host "Delete $($_.Name)? (y/n)"<br> if ($response -eq 'y') {<br> Remove-Item $_.FullName<br> Write-Host "Deleted $($_.Name)"<br> }<br>}	bash<br>gilchrist find . -name "*.tmp" -delete<br># or for manual confirmation:<br>gilchrist rm -i $(gilchrist find . -name "*.tmp")<br>
Custom interactive loop	Built-in interactive mode

Scenario 3: Analysis Pipeline

Task: Find log files, count total lines, show file with most lines

PowerShell 🤡	gilchrist 🗿
$logs = Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.log"<br>$totalLines = 0<br>$maxLines = 0<br>$maxFile = ""<br>foreach ($log in $logs) {<br> $lines = (Get-Content $log | Measure-Object -Line).Lines<br> $totalLines += $lines<br> if ($lines -gt $maxLines) {<br> $maxLines = $lines<br> $maxFile = $log.Name<br> }<br>}<br>Write-Host "Total: $totalLines lines"<br>Write-Host "Largest: $maxFile ($maxLines lines)"	bash<br>gilchrist find . -name "*.log" | xargs gilchrist wc -l<br># Output shows individual counts AND total<br># Largest file is easily visible in output<br>
20+ lines of scripting	1 line with automatic totals

🚀 Performance & Usability Comparison

Aspect	Windows Native 🤡	gilchrist 🗿
Startup Time	~2-3 seconds (PowerShell load)	~10ms (native binary)
Memory Usage	~50-100MB (PowerShell session)	~2-5MB (Go runtime)
Learning Curve	PowerShell object model + cmdlet syntax	Familiar Unix command syntax
Cross-Platform Knowledge	Windows-specific	Transferable to Linux/macOS
Pipeline Efficiency	Object-heavy processing	Text-based streaming
Error Handling	Complex try-catch blocks	Built-in Unix-style error codes

💀 Windows Pain Points vs gilchrist Solutions

Windows Problems 🤡	gilchrist Solutions 🗿
Verbose cmdlets: Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter	Concise: find . -name
Object pipeline complexity	Simple text-based pipes
No interactive delete by default	Built-in -i flag
Complex filtering with Where-Object	Direct pattern matching
Inconsistent parameter naming	Standard Unix flag conventions
Heavy memory usage for simple tasks	Lightweight native binaries
Platform-specific knowledge	Universal Unix command knowledge
Complex error handling required	Automatic error reporting

🏆 Why gilchrist Wins

✅ Familiarity

• Windows: Learn PowerShell's unique object model and verbose syntax
• gilchrist: Use the same commands you know from Linux/macOS/Unix

✅ Efficiency

• Windows: Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.txt" | ForEach-Object { (Get-Content $_ | Measure-Object -Line).Lines }
• gilchrist: find . -name "*.txt" | xargs wc -l

✅ Performance

• Native Go binaries vs PowerShell's .NET overhead
• Text streaming vs object processing
• Instant startup vs PowerShell initialization

✅ Consistency

• Standard Unix behavior across all commands
• Consistent flag naming (-r, -i, -v)
• Predictable exit codes and error handling

🎯 Bottom Line

Windows Native 🤡: "Let me write a 15-line PowerShell script with object manipulation, error handling, and hope it doesn't consume all my RAM..."

gilchrist 🗿: "Three commands, five flags, job done. Next!"

gilchrist gives you the Unix command-line power you're used to, while Windows native tools make you feel like you're learning a new programming language just to count files 📁

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🛠️ Advanced Usage Patterns

Command Chaining

# Find large log files and count their lines
gilchrist find . -name "*.log" -type f | xargs gilchrist wc -l

# Count total source code files
gilchrist find . -name "*.go" -o -name "*.js" | gilchrist wc -l

# Clean and verify cleanup
gilchrist find . -name "*.tmp" -delete && echo "Cleanup complete"

Batch Operations

# Process multiple directories
for /d %i in (*) do gilchrist wc -l "%i\*.txt"

# Conditional removal
gilchrist find . -name "*.backup" -type f -exec gilchrist rm -i {} +

# Statistics gathering
gilchrist find . -type f | gilchrist wc -l > file_count.txt

Integration with Windows Commands

# Combine with DIR
dir /b *.txt | xargs gilchrist wc -l

# Process command output
tasklist | gilchrist find - -name "*chrome*"

# Log analysis
type server.log | gilchrist wc -l

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🧪 Sample Data & Testing

Test Files Setup

Create test environment:

mkdir test_env
cd test_env
echo Line 1 > file1.txt
echo Line 2 >> file1.txt
echo Single line > file2.txt
mkdir subdir
echo Nested content > subdir\nested.txt

Verification Commands

# Test wc functionality
gilchrist wc -l *.txt
     2 file1.txt
     1 file2.txt
     3 total

# Test find functionality  
gilchrist find . -name "*.txt"
.\file1.txt
.\file2.txt
.\subdir\nested.txt

# Test rm functionality (be careful!)
gilchrist rm -v file2.txt
removed 'file2.txt'

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📋 Tips and Best Practices

General Usage

1. Always test with -v (verbose) when using rm command
2. Use -i (interactive) for important file removals
3. Combine commands with pipes for powerful workflows
4. Use -h flag to get command-specific help
5. Test find patterns before adding -delete

Performance Tips

1. Use -maxdepth to limit find searches in large directories
2. Process large files with wc instead of loading into memory
3. Batch operations are more efficient than individual commands
4. Use specific patterns rather than wildcards when possible

Safety Practices

1. Never use rm -rf without verification
2. Test find commands without -delete first
3. Use -f flag sparingly - it suppresses important warnings
4. Keep backups before bulk operations
5. Use -mindepth 1 to avoid operating on current directory

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🙃 Why I Created This

As a developer who switches between Windows and Linux environments, I was tired of the cognitive overhead of remembering PowerShell's verbose cmdlet syntax for simple file operations. When I need to count lines in a file, I want to type wc -l file.txt, not Get-Content file.txt | Measure-Object -Line.

gilchrist brings the familiar Unix command experience to Windows without requiring WSL, Git Bash, or other emulation layers. It's a single executable that provides the essential file utilities with the exact syntax and behavior you expect from Unix systems.

Instead of learning PowerShell's object-oriented approach for basic file operations, you can use the same muscle memory and command patterns that work across Linux, macOS, and now Windows.

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⌚ Development Stats

Approx 30 min

Features Implemented:

• ✅ Complete argument parsing with flag package
• ✅ Error handling and exit codes
• ✅ Stdin/stdout pipe support
• ✅ Unicode-aware character counting
• ✅ Glob to regex pattern conversion
• ✅ Safe recursive directory operations
• ✅ Interactive confirmation prompts
• ✅ Comprehensive help system

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📞 Contact

📧 Email: [email protected]

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🤔 Why This Name?

Initially, I thought of naming it Goutils, but it felt a bit boring — I wanted something with a cooler vibe. That’s when the name Adam Gilchrist popped into my mind. So, I decided to rename Goutils into gilchrist — and that's how the I came up with this .

📄 License

Licensed under GNU Affero General Public License

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Need help? Run gilchrist help or gilchrist <command> -h for quick reference!

🕒 Last Updated: June 19, 2025