bs - Ben's BS Manager

A basic hierarchical bash script manager that lets me manage command easily.

Requirements

• bash (or compatible shell)
• jq - JSON processor for data manipulation

Tab Completion

To enable tab completion:

For Bash, add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile:

eval "$(bs completion)"

For Zsh, add to ~/.zshrc:

autoload -U +X compinit && compinit
autoload -U +X bashcompinit && bashcompinit
eval "$(bs completion)"

Usage

Hierarchical Database System

bs uses a hierarchical system that searches for .bs.json files:

/home/ben/projects/myapp/     ← Current directory (.bs.json)
/home/ben/projects/           ← Parent directory (.bs.json)
/home/ben/                    ← Home directory (.bs.json)

Commands in closer directories override those in parent directories.

Local Mode

Use --local to work only with the current directory's .bs.json:

# Add project-specific command
bs --local add test "npm test" -n "Run project tests"

# List only local commands
bs --local ls

# Remove from local database only
bs --local rm test

Directory-Specific Commands

Commands can be configured to always run in a specific directory:

# Always run in a specific directory
bs add deploy "git push && ./deploy.sh" --dir ~/projects/myapp -n "Deploy application"

# Always run in the directory where you added the command
bs add build "npm run build" --cd -n "Build in project directory"

# When you run these commands, bs will automatically change to the specified directory:
bs deploy  # Runs in ~/projects/myapp regardless of current location
bs build   # Runs in the directory where you originally added the command

The directory information is displayed when listing commands:

deploy: git push && ./deploy.sh [Deploy application] (runs in /home/user/projects/myapp)
build: npm run build [Build in project directory] (runs in /home/user/projects/myapp)

More Examples

# Development workflow
bs add server "python -m http.server 8000" -n "Start dev server" --cd
bs add logs "tail -f /var/log/app.log" -n "Watch application logs"
bs add backup "rsync -av ~/projects/ ~/backups/" -n "Backup projects"

# Directory-specific commands
bs add list-home "ls -la" --dir ~ -n "List files in home directory"
bs add build "npm run build" --cd -n "Build project in current directory"
bs add deploy "git push && ssh server deploy.sh" --dir ~/projects/myapp -n "Deploy from project root"

# Git shortcuts
bs add gc "git commit -am" -n "Quick commit with message"
bs add gp "git push origin" -n "Push to origin branch"
bs add gs "git status --short" -n "Concise git status"

# System administration
bs add ports "lsof -i -P -n | grep LISTEN" -n "Show listening ports"
bs add disk "df -h | grep -E '^/dev/'" -n "Show disk usage"
bs add proc "ps aux | grep" -n "Find processes (usage: bs proc name)"

Command Reference

Command Reference

Command	Description	Example
add <name> <command...>	Store a new command	bs add hello "echo 'Hello World!'"
add <name> <command...> -n "notes"	Store command with notes	bs add deploy "git push" -n "Deploy to prod"
add <name> <command...> --dir <path>	Store command that runs in specific dir	bs add build "make" --dir ~/project
add <name> <command...> --cd	Store command that runs in current dir	bs add test "npm test" --cd
rm <name...>	Remove one or more commands	bs rm deploy build test
ls [prefix]	List commands (optionally filter by prefix)	bs ls git
<name> [args...]	Execute stored command with optional args	bs deploy --force
--local	Use local .bs.json only	bs --local add test "npm test"
completion	Output bash completion script	eval "$(bs completion)"
help	Show help message	bs help

File Structure

bs/
├── bs.sh                 # Main executable script
├── lib/
│   ├── colors.sh        # Color definitions and helper functions
│   ├── config.sh        # Configuration and database management
│   ├── commands.sh      # Core command operations (add/remove/list/run)
│   ├── completion.sh    # Tab completion functionality
│   └── help.sh          # Usage information
└── README.md            # This file

Database Format

Commands are stored in JSON format:

{
  "deploy": {
    "command": "git push origin main && ssh server 'cd /app && git pull'",
    "notes": "Deploy to production server"
  },
  "build": {
    "command": "npm run build",
    "notes": "Build project for production",
    "directory": "/home/user/projects/myapp"
  },
  "test": {
    "command": "npm test",
    "notes": "Run test suite",
    "directory": "/home/user/projects/myapp"
  }
}

Why not aliases?

1. Too much work to add them to the right files.

2. Too hard to organize and keep track of.

3. I think calling these commands bs is highly accurate.

Why not just?

1. You should probably just use just

2. I think the simplicity of this makes it work for my use cases better. Its not a whole config language and thats the point.

Author

Created by Ben Swerdlow (@theswerd) because I hate long READMEs and have too much free time.