shtick

shell-agnostic-shell-configuration-generation

(noun) : something cl[ever]
(see also) : pedantic

what is this?

this is a tool I use to manage groups of shell configurations (aliases, env vars, functions). It started out written in C for a presentation on unix shells to a group of TAs. I asked an LLM to help me port it to python because I got sick of remembering about memory and waking up in cold sweats over a presentation to a bunch of 20 y/o's, and chap and I got carried away. That's the disclaimer - AI helped. But this tool is for me and I use it actively, if you think it could help you too, continue on.

It's useful if you use multiple shells regularly and would like a single source of truth for your shell ..config (...within reason).

• Define aliases, env vars, and shell functions in one place (~/.config/shtick/config.toml)
• Manage persistent aliases, env vars, shell functions
• Define toggleable groups of aliases, e.g. dev, personal
• Create, rename, and remove groups
• Backup and restore configurations
• Configurable behavior through settings

Shell Integration

Shtick generates shell-specific files in ~/.config/shtick/. To make them available in new shell sessions, add this to your shell config:

# ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
source ~/.config/shtick/load_active.bash

# ~/.config/fish/config.fish or whatever shell you use
source ~/.config/shtick/load_active.fish

Supported Shells

bash, zsh, fish, ksh, mksh, yash, dash, csh, tcsh, xonsh, elvish, nushell, powershell, rc, es, oil

• Run shtick shells to see the complete list.

Installation

If you decide you want to use this yourself, do all the usual cloning, then from your local clone run make install and the shtick package will be installed in your environment.

Commands reference

Core

# Add persistent items (always active)
shtick alias <key>=<value>           # Add persistent alias
shtick env <key>=<value>             # Add persistent env var
shtick function <key>=<value>        # Add persistent function

# Add to specific groups
shtick add <type> <group> <key>=<value>    # Add to specific group
shtick remove <type> <group> <key>         # Remove from group

# Group activation
shtick activate <group>              # Activate group
shtick deactivate <group>           # Deactivate group

# Information
shtick status                       # Show status
shtick list [-l]                    # List items (use -l for detailed view)
shtick shells [-l]                  # List supported shells

Group management

# Create, rename, and remove groups
shtick group create <name> [-d <description>]    # Create new group
shtick group rename <old> <new>                  # Rename group
shtick group remove <name> [-f]                  # Remove group (-f to skip confirmation)

Backup & restore

# Backup management
shtick backup create [-n <name>]     # Create backup (optional custom name)
shtick backup list                   # List available backups
shtick backup restore <name>         # Restore from backup

Settings management

# Configure shtick behavior
shtick settings init                 # Create default settings file
shtick settings show                 # Show current settings
shtick settings set <key> <value>    # Change a setting

# Available settings:
# generation.shells = []             # List of shells to generate for (empty = auto-detect)
# generation.parallel = false        # Enable parallel generation
# behavior.auto_source_prompt = true # Prompt to source after changes
# behavior.check_conflicts = true    # Warn about conflicts
# behavior.backup_on_save = false    # Auto-backup before saving

Other commands

shtick generate [--terse]           # Regenerate shell files
shtick source [--shell <shell>]     # Output source command for eval

Usage Examples

Basic Workflow

# Add some aliases
shtick alias ll='ls -la'
shtick alias gs='git status'
shtick alias gd='git diff'

Add environment variables

shtick env EDITOR='vim'
shtick env PAGER='less'

Add functions

shtick function mkcd='mkdir -p "$1" && cd "$1"'
shtick function backup='cp "$1" "$1.backup.$(date +%Y%m%d)"'

Load changes in current shell

eval "$(shtick source)"

Working with Groups

Create a work group

shtick group create work -d "Work-related configurations"

Add items to the work group

shtick add alias work deploy='./scripts/deploy.sh'
shtick add env work NODE_ENV='development'
shtick add function work vpn='sudo openvpn /etc/vpn/work.conf'

Create a personal group

shtick group create personal

Add items to personal group

shtick add alias personal myip='curl ifconfig.me'
shtick add function personal note='echo "$(date): $*" >> $HOME/notes.txt'

Activate work group

shtick activate work

Switch to personal

shtick deactivate work
shtick activate personal

Or have both active

shtick activate work
shtick activate personal
Backup and Restore  

# Create a backup before major changes
shtick backup create -n "before_refactor"

Make your changes...

shtick group remove old_stuff -f

Oops, need to restore

shtick backup restore before_refactor

Settings Customization

Initialize settings file

shtick settings init

Disable auto-source prompt

shtick settings set behavior.auto_source_prompt false

Generate for specific shells only

shtick settings set generation.shells '["bash", "zsh"]'

Enable auto-backup

shtick settings set behavior.backup_on_save true

Sample Configuration

Shtick looks for ~/.config/shtick/config.toml. Here's a sample. See also sample

# Persistent items - always active in every shell session
[persistent.aliases]
pls = "sudo !!"
bk = "- || cd -"
wttr = "curl wttr.in"
refresh = "source ${HOME}/.zshrc"
goclass = "cd ${HOME}/Documents/Class/"
goproj = "cd ${HOME}/Documents/Project/"
goorg = "cd ${HOME}/Documents/GithubOrgs/"
gad = "git add"
gall = "git add --all"
gputt = "git push origin trunk"
gcamm = "git commit --all --message"
glogg = "git log --oneline --graph --decorate --all"

[persistent.env_vars] 
PAGER = "less"
EDITOR = "micro"
BROWSER = "firefox"

[persistent.functions]
backup = "cp \"$1\" \"$1.backup.$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)\""

# Development group
[dev.aliases]
mk = "make"
mkr = "make run"
mki = "make install"
gfort = "gfortran"
ni = "npm install"
serve = "python manage.py runserver"
pyserve = "python3 -m http.server 8000"
brewup = "brew update && brew upgrade && brew cleanup"

[dev.env_vars]
DEBUG = "1"
NODE_ENV = "development"

[dev.functions]
newproject = "mkdir -p \"$HOME/projects/$1\" && cd \"$HOME/projects/$1\" && git init"

# Personal group
[personal.aliases]
myip = "curl ifconfig.me"

[personal.env_vars]
PERSONAL_NOTES = "$HOME/Documents/notes"

[personal.functions]
note = "echo \"$(date): $*\" >> $HOME/notes.txt"
todo = "echo \"[ ] $*\" >> $HOME/todo.txt"

# Work group (activate during work hours)
[work.aliases]
deploy = "./scripts/deploy.sh"
staging = "ssh staging.company.com"
prod = "ssh prod.company.com"

[work.env_vars]
AWS_PROFILE = "work"
KUBECONFIG = "$HOME/.kube/work-config"

[work.functions]
vpn = "sudo openvpn /etc/vpn/work.conf"
standup = "open https://meet.company.com/daily-standup"

Tips n. Trinkets

"Instant" sourcing alias: Add this for convenience:

shtick alias ss='eval "$(shtick source)"'
# Now you can just run 'ss' after any shtick command

Check for conflicts: Shtick warns you about duplicate items across groups:

$ shtick add alias dev ll='ls -la'
Warning: Item 'll' exists in groups: ['persistent']

Fuzzy removal: Remove items with partial matching:

shtick remove alias persistent brew  # Matches 'brewup' and offers selection

Quick status check: See what's active at a glance:

Persistent (always active): 15 items
Available Groups:
  dev: 8 items (ACTIVE)
  personal: 5 items (inactive)
  work: 12 items (ACTIVE)

Backup before removing groups:

shtick backup create -n "safe_point" && shtick group remove old_configs -f