cheat ===== `cheat` allows you to create and view interactive cheatsheets on the command-line. It was designed to help remind \*nix system administrators of options for commands that they use frequently, but not frequently enough to remember. ![The obligatory xkcd](http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/tar.png 'The obligatory xkcd') `cheat` depends only on python. Examples ======== The next time you're forced to disarm a nuclear weapon without consulting Google, you may run: ```sh cheat tar ``` You will be presented with a cheatsheet resembling: ```text # To extract an uncompressed archive: tar -xvf /path/to/foo.tar # To extract a .gz archive: tar -xzvf /path/to/foo.tgz # To create a .gz archive: tar -czvf /path/to/foo.tgz /path/to/foo/ # To extract a .bz2 archive: tar -xjvf /path/to/foo.tgz # To create a .bz2 archive: tar -cjvf /path/to/foo.tgz /path/to/foo/ ``` To see what cheatsheets are availble, run `cheat` with no arguments. Note that, while `cheat` was designed primarily for *nix system administrators, it is agnostic as to what content it stores. If you would like to use `cheat` to store notes on your favorite cookie recipes, feel free. Installing ========== ### Installing for all users (requires root) Clone this repository and `cd` into it, then run sudo python setup.py install ### Installing in your home directory Clone this repository and `cd` into it, then run mkdir -p ~/bin cp cheat ~/bin mkdir ~/.cheat cp cheatsheets/* ~/.cheat Modifying Cheatsheets ===================== The value of `cheat` is that it allows you to create your own cheatsheets - the defaults are meant to serve only as a starting point, and can and should be modified. Cheatsheets are stored in the `~/.cheat/` directory, and are named on a per-keyphrase basis. In other words, the content for the `tar` cheatsheet lives in the `~/.cheat/tar` file. To add a cheatsheet for a `foo` command, you would create file `~/.cheat/foo`, whereby that file contained the cheatsheet content. Note that `cheat` supports "subcommands" simply by naming files appropriately. Thus, if you wanted to create a cheatsheet not only (for example) for `git` but also for `git commit`, you could do so be creating cheatsheet files of the appropriate names (`git` and `git commit`). After you've customized your cheatsheets, I urge you to track `~/.cheat/` along with your [dotfiles][]. Advanced Features ================= Setting a DEFAULT_CHEAT_DIR --------------------------- Personal cheatsheets are saved in the `~/.cheat` directory by default, but you can specify a different default by exporting a `DEFAULT_CHEAT_DIR` environment variable: ```bash export DEFAULT_CHEAT_DIR=/path/to/my/cheats ``` Setting a CHEATPATH ------------------- You can additionally instruct `cheat` to look for cheatsheets in other directories by exporting a `CHEATPATH` environment variable: ```bash export CHEATPATH=/path/to/my/cheats ``` You may, of course, append multiple directories to your `CHEATPATH`: ```bash export CHEATPATH=$CHEATPATH:/path/to/more/cheats ``` You may view which directories are on your `CHEATPATH` with `cheat -d`. Enabling Syntax Highlighting ---------------------------- `cheat` can apply syntax highlighting to your cheatsheets if so desired. To enable this feature, set a `CHEATCOLORS` environment variable: ```bash export CHEATCOLORS=true ``` Creating/Editing Cheatsheets ---------------------------- Provided that you have an `EDITOR` environment variable set, you may create new cheatsheets via: ```bash cheat -e foo ``` If the 'foo' cheatsheet already exists, it will be opened for editing. By default, `cheat` will attempt to write new cheatsheets to `~/.cheat`, and will create the `~/.cheat` directory if necessary. If it is unable to do so, the new cheatsheet will be written to the default cheatsheet directory instead, though this will likely require `sudo`. Contributing ============ If you would like to contribute cheetsheets or program functionality, please fork this repository, make your changes, and send me a pull request. Related Projects ================ - [lucaswerkmeister/cheats][1]: An implementation of this concept in pure bash that also allows not only for numerical indexing of subcomands but also supports running commands interactively. - [jahendrie/cheat][2]: A bash-only implmentation that additionally allows for cheatsheets to be created and `grep` searched from the command-line. ([jahendrie][] contributed key ideas to this project as well.) - [`cheat` RubyGem][3]: A clever gem from 2006 that clearly had similar motivations. It is unclear whether or not it is currently maintained. [dotfiles]: http://dotfiles.github.io/ [jahendrie]: https://github.com/jahendrie [1]: https://github.com/lucaswerkmeister/cheats [2]: https://github.com/jahendrie/cheat [3]: http://errtheblog.com/posts/21-cheat [4]: https://github.com/chrisallenlane/cheat/pull/77