So, I just found out about a programme called SynthShell which kind of does the work for you and gives you a nice looking shell, the thing is that this also creates some config files and other stuff in my system, instead of just one .bashrc file to edit. What would be the best way to learn to have a nice looking bash where I can just have a backup of it that I can use throughout systems?

  • chtk@feddit.nl
    201·
    11 months ago

    You’ll want to look into a category of programs called dotfiles managers. There’s a bunch of them. Most of them are based on some kind of version control system, usually git.

    I personally use yadm

    • 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘬@lemmy.ml
      10·
      11 months ago

      I personally use yadm

      I just use some code and Git.

      if [ ! -z "$PS1" ]; then
    repo="${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/dotfiles/"
    br='origin/main'

    title="\e[1m\e[31m\n ░▒▓\e[7m    %s    \e[27m▓▒░\e[0m\n\n%s\n\n"
    status="$(git --git-dir="$repo" --work-tree="$HOME" status -s)"
    diff=$(git --git-dir="$repo" --work-tree="$HOME" diff --stat --cached $br)

    [ -n "$status" ] && printf "$title" "Uncommited changes!" "$status"
    [ -n "$diff" ] && printf "$title" "Not yet pushed commits!" "$diff"

    unset title status diff br
    alias dotfiles="/usr/bin/git --git-dir=$repo --work-tree=$HOME"
fi

      The code runs when it’s an interactive shell with a PS1 prompt and just checks if any of the tracked files have changed or if there are commits that are not pushed. By configuration I ignore all untracked files. If something has changed or wasn’t pushed it always prints an annoying message.

      Whenever I want to do something I use dotfiles ..... instead of git ....., everything else works the same.

    • ghost_laptop@lemmy.mlOP
      2·
      11 months ago

      I think I maybe phrased it horribly, my question was more like, what do I need to learn in order to modify myself the .bashrc by myself instead of using a programme. Does it make sense?

      • OpenStars@discuss.onlineEnglish
        9·
        11 months ago

        Bash syntax - I recommend Unix Power Tools by O’Reilly, but it is more advanced so maybe start with a basic version. People look at me funny whenever I say this, but I started myself with something like Unix for Dummies. Why not!?

        Keep in mind that this is no trivial task: bash is basically a programming language unto itself - it even has conditionals, loops, variables, etc. Yet SO worth it if you use Unix and want to know more what it is doing.

        You also should have a basic familiarity with Unix foundationals as well, to know why something such as this is very dangerous:

        export PATH=“~/bin/:$PATH”

        So, the easy way would be to just take the nice file, copy it wherever you want, and leave it at that. The hard way of actually understanding it may require a deeper dive into Unix. Unix Power Tools, with the picture of a drill on the cover, or maybe someone will recommend a better option but that’s what comes to my mind.

        Have fun!:-)