A while ago I made a tiny function in my ~/.zshrc to download a video from the link in my clipboard. I use this nearly every day to share videos with people without forcing them to watch it on whatever site I found it. What’s a script/alias that you use a lot?
# Download clipboard to tmp with yt-dlp
tmpv() {
cd /tmp/ && yt-dlp "$(wl-paste)"
}
Since 720p downloading isn’t really available on yt-dlp anymore, I made an alias for it
alias yt720p="yt-dlp -S vcodec:h264,fps,res:720,acodec:m4a"
i use
alias kimg='kitty +kitten icat'
to display images in my terminal pretty simple but nice
Well, my full
functions.sh
won’t fit in a comment, so here’s 2 of my more unique functions that makes life a little easier when contributing to busy OSS projects:# Git fork sync functions # Assumes standard convention: origin = your fork, upstream = original repo ## Sync fork with upstream before starting work gss() { # Safety checks if ! git rev-parse --git-dir >/dev/null 2>&1; then echo "❌ Not in a git repository" return 1 fi # Check if we're in a git operation state local git_dir=$(git rev-parse --git-dir) if [[ -f "$git_dir/rebase-merge/interactive" ]] || [[ -d "$git_dir/rebase-apply" ]] || [[ -f "$git_dir/MERGE_HEAD" ]]; then echo "❌ Git operation in progress. Complete or abort current rebase/merge first:" echo " git rebase --continue (after resolving conflicts)" echo " git rebase --abort (to cancel rebase)" echo " git merge --abort (to cancel merge)" return 1 fi # Check for uncommitted changes if ! git diff-index --quiet HEAD -- 2>/dev/null; then echo "❌ You have uncommitted changes. Commit or stash them first:" git status --porcelain echo "" echo "💡 Quick fix: git add . && git commit -m 'WIP' or git stash" return 1 fi # Check for required remotes if ! git remote get-url upstream >/dev/null 2>&1; then echo "❌ No 'upstream' remote found. Add it first:" echo " git remote add upstream <upstream-repo-url>" return 1 fi if ! git remote get-url origin >/dev/null 2>&1; then echo "❌ No 'origin' remote found. Add it first:" echo " git remote add origin <your-fork-url>" return 1 fi local current_branch=$(git branch --show-current) # Ensure we have a main branch locally if ! git show-ref --verify --quiet refs/heads/main; then echo "❌ No local 'main' branch found. Create it first:" echo " git checkout -b main upstream/main" return 1 fi echo "🔄 Syncing fork with upstream..." echo " Current branch: $current_branch" # Fetch with error handling if ! git fetch upstream; then echo "❌ Failed to fetch from upstream. Check network connection and remote URL." return 1 fi echo "📌 Updating local main..." if ! git checkout main; then echo "❌ Failed to checkout main branch" return 1 fi if ! git reset --hard upstream/main; then echo "❌ Failed to reset main to upstream/main" return 1 fi echo "⬆️ Pushing updated main to fork..." if ! git push origin main; then echo "❌ Failed to push main to origin. Check push permissions." return 1 fi echo "🔀 Rebasing feature branch on updated main..." if ! git checkout "$current_branch"; then echo "❌ Failed to checkout $current_branch" return 1 fi if ! git rebase main; then echo "❌ Rebase failed due to conflicts. Resolve them and continue:" echo " 1. Edit conflicted files" echo " 2. git add <resolved-files>" echo " 3. git rebase --continue" echo " Or: git rebase --abort to cancel" return 1 fi echo "✅ Ready to work on branch: $current_branch" } ## Sync fork and push feature branch gsp() { # Safety checks if ! git rev-parse --git-dir >/dev/null 2>&1; then echo "❌ Not in a git repository" return 1 fi local git_dir=$(git rev-parse --git-dir) if [[ -f "$git_dir/rebase-merge/interactive" ]] || [[ -d "$git_dir/rebase-apply" ]] || [[ -f "$git_dir/MERGE_HEAD" ]]; then echo "❌ Git operation in progress. Complete or abort first." return 1 fi if ! git diff-index --quiet HEAD -- 2>/dev/null; then echo "❌ You have uncommitted changes. Commit or stash them first:" git status --porcelain return 1 fi if ! git remote get-url upstream >/dev/null 2>&1; then echo "❌ No 'upstream' remote found" return 1 fi if ! git remote get-url origin >/dev/null 2>&1; then echo "❌ No 'origin' remote found" return 1 fi local current_branch=$(git branch --show-current) # Prevent pushing from main if [[ "$current_branch" == "main" ]]; then echo "❌ Cannot push from main branch. Switch to your feature branch first:" echo " git checkout <your-feature-branch>" return 1 fi # Show what we're about to do echo "⚠️ About to sync and push branch: $current_branch" echo " This will:" echo " • Fetch latest changes from upstream" echo " • Rebase your branch on updated main" echo " • Force-push to your fork (updates PR)" echo "" read -p "Continue? [y/N]: " -n 1 -r echo if [[ ! $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then echo "❌ Operation cancelled" return 0 fi echo "🔄 Final sync with upstream..." if ! git fetch upstream; then echo "❌ Failed to fetch from upstream" return 1 fi echo "📌 Updating local main..." if ! git checkout main; then echo "❌ Failed to checkout main" return 1 fi if ! git reset --hard upstream/main; then echo "❌ Failed to reset main" return 1 fi if ! git push origin main; then echo "❌ Failed to push main to origin" return 1 fi echo "🔀 Rebasing feature branch..." if ! git checkout "$current_branch"; then echo "❌ Failed to checkout $current_branch" return 1 fi if ! git rebase main; then echo "❌ Rebase failed. Resolve conflicts and try again:" echo " git add <resolved-files> && git rebase --continue" echo " Then run 'gsp' again" return 1 fi echo "🚀 Pushing feature branch to fork..." if ! git push origin "$current_branch" --force-with-lease; then echo "❌ Failed to push to origin. The branch may have been updated." echo " Run 'git pull origin $current_branch' and try again" return 1 fi echo "✅ Feature branch $current_branch successfully pushed to fork" }
I wrote this suite of scripts a few years ago and still use them to:
- Boot into Ventoy and select a Debian Live environment
- Optional: connect a storage device (local partition, USB drive, etc) for persistent storage
- Modify
cfg/cfg.sh
if it’s the first time using the tool - Run
setup.sh
to configure the environment into a familiar/productive state
The tools are flexible on hardware (more directed toward x64 systems at this time), and I (almost) never have to worry about OS upgrades. Just boot into a newer live OS image once it’s ready. They are still a work-in-progress and still have a few customizations that I should abstract for more general use, but it’s FOSS in case anyone has merge requests, issues, suggestions, etc.
I alias traditional stuff to better, usually drop-in versions of that thing on computers that have the better thing. I often forget which systems have the better thing, so this helps me get the better experience if I was able to install it at some point. For example I alias cat to bat, or top to htop, or dig to drill, etc.
alias fuck='sudo $(history -p \!\!)'
Why not use thefuck which also corrects typos?
Nice
sudo !!
I wrote a script called
please
. You inputplease
followed by any other command (e.g.please git clone
,please wget blahblah
) and a robotic voice will say “affirmative,” then the command will run, and when it completes, the robotic voice reads out the exit code (e.g. “completed successfully” or “failed with status 1” etc.)This is useful for when you have a command that takes a long time and you want to be alerted when it’s finished. And it’s a gentleman.
You can also use something like notifyd to generate a pop up for visual feedback :) I can’t remember the exact command right now though. Differs per distro or desktop environment, obviously.
notify-send 'command finished!'
works pretty well
I once experimented with something similar, except it was supported to trigger my smart speaker and drop into another part of the house to tell me.
Honestly, I really need to replace my proprietary smart speaker system with something self-hosted; it’s just I only recently have had the time to start cinsidering.
please
share the script?
It’s full of random shit I put in as a joke, but here it is. You can use
please -s
to get lightly roasted when your command fails.spoiler
#!/bin/bash # announces success or failure of task if ! command -v "spd-say" > /dev/null then echo "spd-say must be installed." exit -1 fi VOLUME=0 SERIOUS=1 FINISH_ONLY=0 if [ $# -ge 2 ] then if [ $1 == "-i" ] then # parse volume from command line VOLUME=$2 shift 2 fi fi spd-say -C # force stop speech synthesizer killall -q speech-dispatcher # androgynous voice # __sayfn="spd-say -i -80 -t female3" # deep voice __sayfn="spd-say -i $VOLUME -r -10 -p -100 -t male3" function _sayfn { $__sayfn "$@" 2>/dev/null if [ $? -ne 0 ] then $__sayfn "$@" fi } if [ $# -eq 0 ] || [ "$1" == "--help" ] then _sayfn "Directive required." echo "Usage: please [-i volume] [-s|--serious] [-f|--finish] <command...>" echo " please [-i volume] --say text" echo " -i: volume in range -100 to +100" echo " --serious, -s: no silliness. Serious only. (Just kidding.)" echo " --finish, -f: do not announce start" exit -2 fi # threading issue sleep 0.001 if [ $# -ge 2 ] then if [ $1 == "--say" ] then # _sayfn the given line shift 1 _sayfn "$@" exit 0 fi if [ $1 == "--serious" ] || [ $1 == "-s" ] then shift 1 SERIOUS=0 fi if [ $1 == "--finish" ] || [ $1 == "-f" ] then shift 1 FINISH_ONLY=1 fi fi i=$(shuf -n1 -e "." "!") # inflection on voice if [ "$FINISH_ONLY" -eq 0 ] then if [ "$SERIOUS" -eq 0 ] then # startup lines (randomized for character) _sayfn -r -5 -x ".<break time=\"60ms\"/>$(shuf -n1 -e \ 'Proceeding As Directed...' \ 'By your command...' \ 'By your command...' \ 'By the power ov greyskaall!' \ 'By your command,line...' \ 'As you wish...' \ 'Stand by.' \ 'Engaged...' \ 'Initializing...' \ 'Activating' \ 'At once!' \ "Post Haste$i" \ 'it shall be done immediately' \ 'Very well.' \ 'It shall be so.' \ "righty-o$i" \ "Affirmative$i" \ "Acknowledged$i" \ "Confirmed$i" \ )" else _sayfn -r -5 -x ".<break time=\"60ms\"/>Engaged..." fi if [ $? -ne 0 ] then _sayfn "Speech engine failure." echo "Failed to run speech engine. Cancelling task." exit -3 fi fi if ! command -v "$1" > /dev/null then # _sayfn a little faster because this exits fast. _sayfn -r +10 "Unable to comply? invalid command." >&2 echo "$1: command not found." exit -4 fi eval " $@" result=$? i=$(shuf -n1 -e "," "!" "?") # inflection on voice transition=$(shuf -n1 -e "; error" ", with error" "; status") taskname=$(shuf -n1 -e "task" "task" "command" "objective" "mission" "procedure" "routine") errtext=$(shuf -n1 -e "Task_failed" "Task_failed" "Task_resulted_in_failure" "Procedure_terminated_in_an_error" "An_error_has_occurred" "Auxilliary_system_failure" "system_failure") consolation=$(shuf -n1 -e "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "Attention required." "Attention is required!" "Perhaps It was inevitable." "It may or may not be cause for alarm." "Perhaps Machines too, are fallible." "Apologies" "Hopefully nobody else was watching" "shazbot" "maybe next time." "Nobody could have predicted this outcome." "I'm very sorry." "how unfortunate." "remember: don't panic" "oh dear" "Nothing could have been done to prevent this" "Remember: No disasters are fully preventable" "perhaps the only winning move is not to play" "Remember: Failure is our teacher, not our undertaker." "Remember: If at first you don't succeed... try again." "Remember: If at first you don't succeed... try... try again." "But your friends still love you." "Remember: the machine is not your enemy." "Command?" "Awaiting further instructions." "Remember: Logic is the beginning of wisdom... not the end of it." "Remember: When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." "Keep at it. Victory is within reach." "Remember: The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same." "Now, while this could have gone better, it could also have gone much worse." "Remember: we do this not because it is easy, but because we thought it was going to be easy." "Don't give up." "It has now been... -- zero... -- days, since the last serious failure." "Remember: instead of documenting the problem, you can fix it." "Remember: Artificial intelligence is no match for artificial stupidity." "Standing by," "Remember: with every failure, we get closer to success." "We live in a society." "sometimes failure is not an option; it's a necessity." "Keep at it." "Remember: mistakes are just the first step on the road to failure... <break time=\"250ms\"/> I mean success." "Don't leave. The drones need you... <break time=\"350ms\"/> They look up to you." "Try again, for great justice." "fantastic" "brilliant" "did you really think that would work?") if [ $SERIOUS -eq 0 ] then # perhaps some silliness. if [ $result -eq 0 ] then _sayfn --wait "$(shuf -n1 -e \ "$taskname complete. All systems nominal" \ "$taskname completed successfully." \ "$taskname resulted in success." \ "$taskname yielded a successful result." \ "$taskname concluded successfully." \ "$taskname completed as instructed." \ "Jobs done." \ )" & else if [ $result -eq 1 ] then _sayfn -x --wait "$(shuf -n1 -e \ "Alert$i Primary system failure. Attention is required." \ "Alert$i System failure$i Attention required! $consolation" \ "Alert$i $taskname resulted in failure! <break time=\"150ms\"/> $consolation" \ "Alert$i $taskname was not completed as intended; $consolation" \ "Alert$i An error has occurred! <break time=\"220ms\"/> $consolation" \ )" & else _sayfn --wait -x "Alert$i $errtext$transition code $result! <break time=\"350ms\"/> $consolation" & fi fi else # no silliness here. if [ $result -eq 0 ] then _sayfn --wait "Command complete." else if [ $result -eq 1 ] then _sayfn -x --wait "Alert. Command failed; error code $result!" fi fi fi exit $result
This tmux wrapper is remarkably convenient:
Usage:
# Usage: t [session-name] # # With no arguments: # Lists existing tmux sessions, or prints "[No sessions]" if none exist. # # With a session name: # Attempts to attach to the named tmux session. # If the session does not exist, creates a new session with that name. # # Examples: # t # Lists all tmux sessions # t dev # Attaches to "dev" session or creates it if it doesn't exist function t { if [[ -z $1 ]]; then tmux ls 2> /dev/null || echo "[No sessions]" else tmux attach -t $@ 2> /dev/null if [[ $? -ne 0 ]]; then tmux new -s $@ fi fi }
jmpd(jump directory): fuzzy finds and opens directory with fzf
# fish shell function jmpd set _selection $(fzf --walker=dir); if test -n "$_selection" cd "$_selection"; end end
I have a collection of about 8 machines around the house (a lot of Raspberry Pi) that I ssh around to from various points.
I have setup scripts named: ssp1 ssp2 ssba ss2p etc. to ssh into the various machines, and of course shared public ssh keys among them to skip the password prompt. So, yes, once you are “in” one machine in my network, if you know this, you are “in” all of them, but… it’s bloody convenient.
I used to have scripts like that, but eventually switched to ssh aliases. You can set up an alias for each machine in
~/.ssh/config
with lines like this:Host p1 HostName 192.168.1.123 Port 22 User pi
Then access with
ssh p1
. Slightly more typing, but avoids adding more commands to your $PATH. Also has the benefit of letting you use the same alias with other ssh-related commands like sftp.
g-push
git push origin `git branch --show`
I use Clevis to auto-unlock my encrypted root partition with my TPM; this means when my boot partition is updated (E.G a kernel update), I have to update the PCR register values in my TPM. I do it with my little script
/usr/bin/update_pcr
:#!/bin/bash clevis luks regen -d /dev/nvme1n1p3 -s 1 tpm2
I run it with sudo and this handles it for me. The only issue is I can’t regenerate the binding immediately after the update; I have to reboot, manually enter my password to decrypt the drive, and then do it.
Now, if I were really fancy and could get it to correctly update the TPM binding immediately after the update, I would have something like an apt package shim with a hook that does it seamlessly. Honestly, I’m surprised that distributions haven’t developed robust support for this; the technology is clearly available (I’m using it), but no one seems to have made a user-friendly way for the common user to have TPM encryption in the installer.
Is clevis using an attestation server or is it all on a single machine? I’m interested in getting this set up but the noted lack of batteries included for this in the common distros makes it a somewhat tall order.
In my case, no; it’s all a single machine - it is in the initramfs and uses the system’s TPM to (relatively) securely store the keys.
It can be set up with an attestation server, but you certainly don’t have to do it. The Arch wiki has a really good article on getting it set up.
How difficult is it for an adversary to get in the middle of the TPM releasing the keys to LUKS? That’s why I would want attestation of some sort, but that makes it more complicated and thinking about how that would work in practice makes my head spin…
Vulnerabilities certainly do exist, but I’m pretty sure the attacker has to be well-equipped
I’d call it a protection against data getting cracked in a petty theft, but if your attack vector is much more than that, there are other measures you should probably take. I think Clevis also works with Yubikeys and similar, meaning the system won’t decrypt without it plugged in.
Heck, I think I know someone who just keeps their boot partition with the keys on it on a flash drive and hide it on their person.
Not exactly a single script, but I use scm breeze for git stuff. Has a ton of QoL features for working with git
On MacOS, to open the current directory in Finder:
alias f='open -a Finder .'
Hey OP, consider using $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR instead of /tmp. It’s now the more proper place for these kinds of things to avoid permission issues, although I’m sure you’re on a single user system like most people. I have clipboard actions set to download with yt-dlp :)
My favorite aliases are:
alias dff='findmnt -D -t nosquashfs,notmpfs,nodevtmpfs,nofuse.portal,nocifs,nofuse.kio-fuse'
alias lt='ls -t | less'