RustShell

A cross-platform shell utility written in Rust that provides unified commands with natural language names that work across different operating systems (Windows, Linux, macOS).

Purpose

Many developers work across multiple operating systems and may not be familiar with commands on all platforms. RustShell solves this by providing a consistent, intuitive command interface that automatically translates to the appropriate native commands for your current OS.

Key benefits:

• Natural Language Processing: Use AI to translate plain English to shell commands
• Use consistent, intuitive commands regardless of OS
• Learn one set of commands that work everywhere
• Natural language command names that are easy to remember
• Helpful for developers transitioning between Windows, Linux, and macOS
• Interactive shell mode with tab completion and command history
• Support for aliases and command pipelines
• Safety checks for destructive operations

Available Commands

Natural Command	Traditional Equivalent	Description	Usage
make_dir [-p] <dir>	mkdir	Create a directory	make_dir test or make_dir -p path/to/dir
create_file <file1> [file2...]	touch	Create one or more files	create_file file1.txt file2.txt
copy <src> <dst>	cp	Copy a file	copy source.txt dest.txt
move <src> <dst>	mv	Move a file or directory	move oldfile.txt newfile.txt
delete_file <file1> [file2...]	rm	Delete one or more files	delete_file file1.txt file2.txt
delete_dir [-r] <dir>	rmdir/rm -r	Delete a directory	delete_dir test or delete_dir -r test
change_dir <dir>	cd	Change directory	change_dir path/to/dir
list [dir]	ls/dir	List directory contents	list or list path/to/dir
where_am_i	pwd	Print current working directory	where_am_i
run <cmd> [args...]	exec	Run a system command	run echo Hello World
show <file>	cat	Display file contents	show myfile.txt
find <pattern> [dir]	find/grep	Find files by name	find .txt or find .txt /path/to/dir
compress <src> <dst>	zip/tar	Create a zip archive	compress myfiles output.zip
alias [name command]	alias	Create or list aliases	alias ll list -la
unalias <name>	unalias	Remove an alias	unalias ll
pipe 'cmd1' 'cmd2'	`	`	Connect commands with pipes
help	help	Show command help	help

Note: The traditional shell commands (mkdir, ls, etc.) also work with this tool.

OS-Specific Behaviors

While most commands use Rust's native cross-platform libraries, some commands have OS-specific implementations:

• list: Uses native formatting for each OS (Windows dir vs Unix ls -la)
• run: Runs commands through the appropriate shell (cmd on Windows, default shell on Unix)
• find: Uses PowerShell's Get-ChildItem on Windows and find on Unix
• compress: Uses PowerShell's Compress-Archive on Windows and zip on Unix

Installation

Global Installation (Recommended)

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd rustshell

2. Install globally:

   cargo install --path .

3. Set up your API key (see Configuration section below)

4. Use from anywhere:

   rustshell "npm run dev on port 3001"
   rustshell "create a directory called test"
   rustshell "list all files"

Local Development

1. Clone this repository
2. Build the project: cargo build --release
3. Run with: cargo run -- "your command"

Configuration

RustShell supports natural language processing using OpenAI's API. To enable this feature:

Option 1: .env File (Recommended)

1. Set up global configuration:

   mkdir -p ~/.rustshell
   cp .env.example ~/.rustshell/.env

2. Add your API key: Edit ~/.rustshell/.env:

   # RustShell Environment Variables
   OPENAI_API_KEY=your-actual-openai-api-key-here

Option 2: Environment Variable

Set the environment variable globally:

export OPENAI_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"
# Add to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc to make it permanent

Option 3: Config File

1. Copy the configuration template:

   mkdir -p ~/.rustshell
   cp config/rustshell.toml ~/.rustshell/config.toml

2. Edit the config file:

   [llm]
   provider = "openai"
   model = "gpt-3.5-turbo"
   api_key_env = "OPENAI_API_KEY"  # Environment variable name

.env File Priority

RustShell looks for .env files in this order:

1. Current directory (./.env)
2. RustShell config directory (~/.rustshell/.env)
3. Home directory (~/.env)

Natural Language Examples

Once configured, you can use natural language commands:

rustshell "create a directory called my_project"
rustshell "show me what files are in this folder"  
rustshell "copy all text files to the backup folder"
rustshell "remove the temporary files"

Usage

Command Mode

Run the shell with commands directly:

rustshell make_dir test
rustshell create_file file.txt document.md
rustshell list
rustshell where_am_i
rustshell run echo Hello World
rustshell show config.txt
rustshell find .log
rustshell compress documents archive.zip

Interactive Mode

Run the shell in interactive mode for a more traditional shell experience:

rustshell

or

rustshell interactive

Features in interactive mode:

• Tab completion for commands and file paths
• Command history (stored in .rustshell_history)
• Aliases (stored in .rustshell_aliases)
• Keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+C to exit, Ctrl+A to move to start of line, etc.)

Alias Management

Create and use aliases to save typing common commands:

# Create an alias
rustshell alias ll list -la

# Use the alias
rustshell ll

# List all aliases
rustshell alias

# Remove an alias
rustshell unalias ll

Command Piping

Connect commands together in pipelines:

rustshell pipe 'list' 'grep txt'

This will list all files and then filter for ones containing "txt".

Future Enhancements

• More advanced commands
• Support for redirections (>, >>, <)
• Custom scripting capabilities
• Plugin support