findcmd

A powerful command-line tool to quickly search and retrieve commands from your shell history. Never scroll through your history again!

Quick Start

# Install
git clone https://github.com/abhijitkrm/findcmd.git ~/find-cmd && cd ~/find-cmd && ./install.sh

# Use
findcmd docker              # Find docker commands
findcmd -i git              # Interactive mode

Features

Fast Search: Quickly find commands by keywords
Multi-term Search: Search for commands containing multiple keywords
Interactive Mode: Select and copy commands to clipboard
Smart Filtering: Automatically removes duplicate commands
Case-Insensitive: Default case-insensitive search (with case-sensitive option)
Color Output: Easy-to-read colored output
Cross-Platform: Works on Linux and macOS
Multi-Shell Support: Compatible with Bash and Zsh

Installation

Prerequisites

Operating System: Linux or macOS
Shell: Bash or Zsh
Tools: Standard Unix tools (grep, sed)

Quick Install

Clone or download this repository:

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/abhijitkrm/findcmd.git find-cmd
# OR download and extract the ZIP file

Run the installation script (IMPORTANT: use ./ prefix):
```
cd find-cmd
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh
```
Note: Always use ./install.sh, NOT sh install.sh or bash install.sh

Reload your shell configuration (or open a new terminal):

# For Bash
source ~/.bashrc

# For Zsh
source ~/.zshrc

Verify installation:
```
findcmd --version
```
If you see "findcmd version 1.0.1", you're all set!

Manual Install

If you prefer to install manually:

Copy the script to a directory in your PATH:

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
cp findcmd ~/.local/bin/
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/findcmd

Add ~/.local/bin to your PATH (if not already):

For Bash - Add to ~/.bashrc:
```
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
```
For Zsh - Add to ~/.zshrc:
```
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
```
Reload your shell configuration:
```
source ~/.bashrc  # or source ~/.zshrc
```

Verify Installation

After installation, verify that findcmd is working:

findcmd --version
findcmd --help

Usage

Basic Syntax

findcmd [OPTIONS] <search_term> [additional_terms...]

Basic Search

Search for commands containing a specific keyword:

findcmd docker

This will display all commands from your history that contain "docker".

Advanced Options

Option	Description	Example
`-c, --case-sensitive`	Enable case-sensitive search	`findcmd -c Redis`
`-n, --max <number>`	Limit number of results	`findcmd -n 10 git`
`-d, --duplicates`	Show duplicate commands	`findcmd -d npm install`
`-i, --interactive`	Interactive mode (select and copy)	`findcmd -i docker`
`-h, --help`	Show help message	`findcmd --help`
`-v, --version`	Show version	`findcmd --version`

Interactive Mode

Interactive mode allows you to select a command and copy it to your clipboard:

findcmd -i docker

Output:

Found 15 command(s) matching: docker

[1] docker ps -a
[2] docker build -t myapp .
[3] docker-compose up -d
...

Enter number to copy to clipboard (or press Enter to cancel): 2
✓ Copied to clipboard: docker build -t myapp .

Examples

Example 1: Simple Search

Find all Git commands:

findcmd git

Example 2: Multi-term Search

Find commands with both "docker" AND "compose":

findcmd docker compose

Example 3: Case-Sensitive Search

Search for exact case matches:

findcmd -c Dockerfile

Example 4: Limit Results

Show only the 5 most recent npm commands:

findcmd -n 5 npm

Example 5: Interactive Selection

Browse and copy a command:

findcmd -i kubectl

Example 6: Show Duplicates

Include duplicate commands in results:

findcmd -d cd

Example 7: Complex Search

Find recent Redis commands, limit to 10:

findcmd -n 10 redis-cli

Common Use Cases

Find Database Commands

findcmd postgres
findcmd mysql
findcmd mongodb

Find Docker Commands

findcmd docker
findcmd docker-compose
findcmd docker build

Find Git Commands

findcmd git commit
findcmd git push
findcmd git rebase

Find SSH/Server Commands

findcmd ssh
findcmd scp
findcmd rsync

Find Package Manager Commands

findcmd npm install
findcmd pip install
findcmd brew install

Configuration

History File Location

findcmd automatically detects your shell's history file:

Bash: ~/.bash_history
Zsh: ~/.zsh_history or ~/.histfile

Increasing History Size

To get more results, increase your shell's history size:

For Bash - Add to ~/.bashrc:

export HISTSIZE=10000
export HISTFILESIZE=20000

For Zsh - Add to ~/.zshrc:

export HISTSIZE=10000
export SAVEHIST=10000

Clipboard Support

For interactive mode clipboard functionality:

macOS: Uses pbcopy (built-in)
Linux: Requires xclip or xsel

Install clipboard tools on Linux:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install xclip

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install xclip

# Arch
sudo pacman -S xclip

Uninstallation

To remove findcmd from your system:

cd find-cmd
./uninstall.sh

The uninstall script will:

Remove the findcmd binary
Optionally remove PATH configuration from shell config files
Create backups of modified files

Troubleshooting

Issue: Command not found after installation

Solution 1: Reload your shell configuration

source ~/.bashrc  # or source ~/.zshrc

Solution 2: Open a new terminal window

Solution 3: Manually verify installation

# Check if findcmd exists
ls -lh ~/.local/bin/findcmd

# Check if .local/bin is in PATH
echo $PATH | grep ".local/bin"

Solution 4: Manually add to PATH

If ~/.local/bin is not in your PATH, add it manually:

For Zsh users:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

For Bash users:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Then verify:

findcmd --version

Issue: Installer says "Unknown shell" or PATH not configured

This happens when the installer cannot auto-detect your shell. This is not a problem - just follow the manual PATH setup above.

Why it happens:

Running installer with sh install.sh instead of ./install.sh
Using a non-standard shell
Shell environment variables not properly set

Solution: Follow Solution 4 above to manually add to PATH.

Issue: No results found

Possible causes:

Command doesn't exist in history
History file is empty or not found
Search term is too specific

Solutions:

Check your history file: cat ~/.bash_history or cat ~/.zsh_history
Try a broader search term
Make sure commands are being saved to history

Issue: History file not found

Solution: Verify your shell's history configuration

# Check HISTFILE variable
echo $HISTFILE

# For Bash, ensure this is set
echo $HISTFILE
# Should output: /home/username/.bash_history

# For Zsh, ensure history is enabled
setopt HIST_SAVE_NO_DUPS
setopt HIST_IGNORE_ALL_DUPS

Issue: Interactive mode clipboard not working

On Linux: Install clipboard utility

sudo apt-get install xclip
# or
sudo apt-get install xsel

On macOS: Should work out of the box with pbcopy

Issue: Permission denied

Solution: Ensure the script is executable

chmod +x ~/.local/bin/findcmd

FAQ

Q: Does this modify my command history?

A: No, findcmd only reads your history file. It never modifies or deletes anything.

Q: Can I search for commands with special characters?

A: Yes, but some special characters may need escaping. Try using quotes:

findcmd "docker run -p 8080:80"

Q: How many results are shown by default?

A: By default, findcmd shows up to 50 results. Use -n to change this:

findcmd -n 100 git

Q: Are searches case-sensitive?

A: By default, searches are case-insensitive. Use -c for case-sensitive search:

findcmd -c Redis

Q: Can I use regular expressions?

A: Currently, findcmd uses simple substring matching. Regular expression support may be added in future versions.

Q: Does it work with Fish shell?

A: Currently, findcmd supports Bash and Zsh. Fish shell support may be added in the future.

Q: How do I search for multiple terms?

A: Just add multiple terms separated by spaces:

findcmd docker nginx proxy

This finds commands containing all three terms.

Q: Can I create an alias for common searches?

A: Yes! Add aliases to your shell configuration:

alias fgit="findcmd -i git"
alias fdocker="findcmd -i docker"
alias fnpm="findcmd -i npm"

Advanced Tips

Create Useful Aliases

Add these to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

# Interactive search aliases
alias fcd="findcmd -i cd"
alias fgit="findcmd -i git"
alias fdocker="findcmd -i docker"
alias fssh="findcmd -i ssh"

# Quick searches
alias fcmd="findcmd -i"  # Generic interactive search
alias flast="findcmd -n 20"  # Last 20 matching commands

Combine with Other Tools

Use findcmd output with other commands:

# Count matching commands
findcmd docker | wc -l

# Save results to a file
findcmd git > my-git-commands.txt

Integration with fzf

For even more powerful searching, combine with fzf:

findcmd git | fzf

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:

Report bugs
Suggest new features
Submit pull requests
Improve documentation

License

MIT License - feel free to use and modify as needed.

Author

Created to make command-line history searching easier and more efficient.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
EXAMPLES.md		EXAMPLES.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
QUICKSTART.md		QUICKSTART.md
README.md		README.md
findcmd		findcmd
install.sh		install.sh
uninstall.sh		uninstall.sh

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