re-search

Basic incremental history search, implemented to be used with fish shell.

It doesn't support all the terminal implementations because of some ANSI escape sequences used, and is only tested on GNU/Linux.

Install

• Compile and add the binary to your PATH.
• Copy the file re_search.fish to the directory ~/.config/fish/functions/.
• Add the binding to ~/.config/fish/functions/fish_user_key_bindings.fish:

bind \cr re_search

Duplicate history entries

Because of performance issues with large history file, the duplicate check is disabled by default. If you want to enable it, just pass the correct cflag to make:

make CFLAGS=-DCHECK_DUPLICATES

Sub-search (experimental)

This feature allows you to do a new search in the current results.

For example, you are looking for the git-clone command of couchbase repository, the following sequence shows how it could help you:

• [C-r] clone
• [C-q]
• couchbase

Enable bash-like history scrolling

By default fish does not scroll the history buffer on "up" an "C-p", but instead executes a search with the current commandline content as search string.

To enable the usual scrolling regardless of the current content of the commandline copy the file re_search_scroll.fish to the directory ~/.config/fish/functions/ and add a binding to ~/.config/fish/functions/fish_user_key_bindings.fish:

bind \cp re_search_scroll

to bind it to "Ctrl-p" or

bind \e\[A re_search_scroll

to bind it to the "Up" arrow.

Internal key bindings

• C-r, up, pg-up: backward search.
• C-s, down, pg-down: forward search.
• C-c, C-g, left, esc, home: cancel search.
• C-e, right, end: accept result.
• C-l: clear screen
• C-q: save search result and start sub-search.
• C-u: delete the current search term
• C-w: delete a word backwards
• C-p: cycle through history backwards
• C-n: cycle through history forwards
• Enter: execute result.

Customize the prompt

• Stop tracking changes on config.h

git update-index --assume-unchanged config.h

• Redefine the prompt macro in config.h, for example, a very simple prompt could look like:

#define PROMPT(buffer, direction, index, result) \
        do { fprintf(stderr, "%s", result); } while (0)

or, a more compact version of the native prompt:

#define PROMPT(buffer, saved, direction, index, result) \
        do { \
        	fprintf(stderr, "[%c%d] %s", direction[0], index, buffer); \
        	if (index > 0) {\
	        	int i = 0; \
        		i = fprintf(stderr, " > %s", result); \
        		fprintf(stderr, "\033[%dD", i); \
        	} \
        } while (0)

• Recompile

Bash support (experimental)

• Switch to Bash support with the compilation flag:

make CFLAGS=-DBASH

• If it's not already configured, it is better to make bash save commands to the history file in realtime:

shopt -s histappend
PROMPT_COMMAND="history -a;$PROMPT_COMMAND"

• Also, because ctrl-s is used for forward search, you may need to disable flow control:

stty -ixon

Add the binding:

re_search() {
	SEARCH_BUFFER="$READLINE_LINE" re-search > /tmp/.re-search
	res="$?"
	[ -s /tmp/.re-search ] || return 1
	READLINE_LINE="$(cat /tmp/.re-search)"
	READLINE_POINT=${#READLINE_LINE}
	return $res
}
bind -x '"\C-r":"if re_search; then xdotool key KP_Enter; fi"'