From a952854c122c0e728f7bb5577fabda6b6a0c6a79 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Marc Cornellà Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2019 00:04:40 +0100 Subject: gnu-utils: add README, simplify plugin --- plugins/gnu-utils/README.md | 38 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 38 insertions(+) create mode 100644 plugins/gnu-utils/README.md (limited to 'plugins/gnu-utils/README.md') diff --git a/plugins/gnu-utils/README.md b/plugins/gnu-utils/README.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..f5fa81e2f --- /dev/null +++ b/plugins/gnu-utils/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,38 @@ +# gnu-utils plugin + +This plugin binds GNU coreutils to their default names, so that you don't have +to call them using their prefixed name, which starts with `g`. This is useful +in systems which don't have GNU coreutils installed by default, mainly macOS +or FreeBSD, which use BSD coreutils. + +To use it, add `gnu-utils` to the plugins array in your zshrc file: +```zsh +plugins=(... gnu-utils) +``` + +The plugin works by changing the path that the command hash points to, so +instead of `ls` pointing to `/bin/ls`, it points to wherever `gls` is +installed. + +Since `hash -rf` or `rehash` refreshes the command hashes, it also wraps +`hash` and `rehash` so that the coreutils binding is always done again +after calling these two commands. + +Look at the source code of the plugin to see which GNU coreutils are tried +to rebind. Open an issue if there are some missing. + +## Other methods + +The plugin also documents two other ways to do this: + +1. Using a function wrapper, such that, for example, there exists a function +named `ls` which calls `gls` instead. Since functions have a higher preference +than commands, this ends up calling the GNU coreutil. It has also a higher +preference over shell builtins (`gecho` is called instead of the builtin `echo`). + +2. Using an alias. This has an even higher preference than functions, but they +could be overridden because of a user setting. + +## Author + +- [Sorin Ionescu](https://github.com/sorin-ionescu). -- cgit v1.2.3-70-g09d2