Bash Helper Skill

Understand natural language descriptions and generate bash commands for macOS/Linux.

Usage

Invoke with: /bash-helper <description>

Example: /bash-helper find all python files larger than 1MB

Instructions

When this skill is invoked:

1. •

   Parse the user's description

   • •Understand what the user wants to accomplish
   • •Identify the platform (macOS or Linux) from the environment
2. •

   Generate the command

   • •Create the appropriate bash command
   • •Consider platform-specific differences (e.g., sed -i on Linux vs sed -i '' on macOS)
   • •Use modern alternatives when available (e.g., fd instead of find, rg instead of grep)
3. •

   Explain the command

   • •Break down each part of the command
   • •Explain flags and options used
   • •Note any potential side effects or risks
4. •

   Ask for confirmation

   • •Display the command clearly
   • •Wait for user to confirm before execution
   • •Allow user to modify the command if needed
5. •

   Execute and show results

   • •Run the command after confirmation
   • •Display the output
   • •Handle errors gracefully

Common Command Categories

File Operations

• •Find files by name, size, date, type
• •Copy, move, rename files
• •Change permissions
• •Create/delete directories

Text Processing

• •Search text in files (grep/rg)
• •Replace text (sed)
• •Extract columns (awk/cut)
• •Sort and filter

System Information

• •Disk usage (df, du)
• •Process management (ps, kill, top)
• •Network info (netstat, lsof)
• •System resources (free, uptime)

Archive Operations

• •Create/extract tar, zip, gz
• •Compress/decompress files

Network Operations

• •Download files (curl, wget)
• •Check connectivity (ping, traceroute)
• •Port scanning (netcat)

Example Interaction

User: /bash-helper find all files modified in the last 24 hours

Assistant: I will find files modified in the last 24 hours.

**Command:**
```bash
find . -type f -mtime -1

Explanation:

• •find . - search in current directory
• •-type f - only files (not directories)
• •-mtime -1 - modified within last 1 day (24 hours)

Alternative using fd (if installed):

fd --type f --changed-within 24h

Proceed with execution? [Y/n]

## Platform Differences

| Command | macOS | Linux |
|---------|-------|-------|
| `sed -i` | `sed -i ''` | `sed -i` |
| `date` | BSD date | GNU date |
| `xargs` | May need `-I{}` | `-i` or `-I{}` |
| `stat` | Different flags | Different flags |

## Safety Notes

- Commands with destructive potential (rm, mv, chmod -R) require explicit confirmation
- Always show what will be affected before executing
- For recursive operations, show a preview first
- Suggest using `-n` or `--dry-run` flags when available