runex

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Turn runes into commands.

runex is a cross-shell abbreviation engine that expands short tokens into full commands in real-time.

Features

• Cross-shell support (bash / zsh / pwsh / cmd)
• Real-time expansion (customizable trigger)
• Single config file
• Conditional rules (OS / shell / command existence)
• Fast and lightweight (Rust core)

Concept

runex treats short inputs as runes, and expands them into full casts.

gcm␣ → git commit -m
ls␣  → lsd

Installation

cargo install runex

Generated shell scripts and your config.toml are part of your local shell environment. Only load and sync files you trust.

If runex is not found after install, make sure Cargo's bin directory is on your PATH:

• Unix-like shells: ~/.cargo/bin
• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.cargo\bin

Setup

PowerShell

$PROFILE:

Invoke-Expression ((& runex export pwsh) -join "`n")

bash

~/.bashrc:

eval "$(runex export bash)"

zsh

~/.zshrc:

eval "$(runex export zsh)"

Nushell (Experimental)

Nushell integration is currently experimental and not considered stable yet.

config.nu:

mkdir ~/.config/nu
runex export nu | save -f ~/.config/nu/runex.nu
open ~/.config/nu/config.nu

Then add this line to config.nu:

source ~/.config/nu/runex.nu

cmd (Clink)

%LOCALAPPDATA%\clink\runex.lua:

runex export clink > %LOCALAPPDATA%\clink\runex.lua

Config

~/.config/runex/config.toml

No keybindings are active until you configure them.

version = 1

[keybind]
trigger = "space"

[[abbr]]
key = "ls"
expand = "lsd"

[[abbr]]
key = "gcm"
expand = "git commit -m"

expand is inserted as shell-native text. runex does not reinterpret or re-escape it for you.

Supported key values:

• space
• tab
• alt-space

trigger sets the default expand key for all shells. Shell-specific keys like bash, zsh, pwsh, and nu override that default.

Example override:

[keybind]
trigger = "space"
bash = "alt-space"
zsh = "tab"

If you want multiple shells or environments to share one physical config file, set RUNEX_CONFIG to that path before loading runex.

Avoiding Expansion

If you use trigger = "space", there are a few practical ways to avoid expansion when needed.

• In many terminal setups, Shift+Space inserts a plain space without triggering runex. This is convenient, but terminal- and shell-dependent.
• In bash, prefixing the token with \ avoids a match, so \ls stays literal. command ls also works.
• In PowerShell, \ls is just a different token, not a built-in escape. For built-in aliases such as ls, prefer the full command name such as Get-ChildItem.

Commands

runex expand --token ls   # expand a single token
runex list                # list all runes
runex doctor              # check config and environment
runex export <shell>      # generate shell integration script

Example

Input:  gcm␣
Output: git commit -m ␣

Why not alias?

Feature	alias	runex
Cross-shell	No	Yes
Real-time expand	No	Yes
Conditional rules	No	Yes

Philosophy

• One config, all shells
• Minimal typing, maximal power
• Runes over repetition

Future

• Fuzzy suggestions
• Interactive picker
• Editor integrations

Name

• run (execute)
• ex (expand / execute)
• rune (compressed command)

License

MIT