Environment Variables and Pipes
Alternative to CallLua
, CallLuaSilently
messages that call Lua functions,
there are Call0
, CallSilently0
, BashExec0
, BashExecSilently0
messages
that call shell commands.
However, unlike the Lua functions, these shell commands have to read the useful information and send messages via environment variables and temporary files called "pipe"s. These environment variables and files are only available when a command is being executed.
Visit the fzf integration tutorial for example.
To see the environment variables and pipes, invoke the shell by typing :!
in default
mode and run the following command:
env | grep ^XPLR
You will see something like:
XPLR=xplr
XPLR_FOCUS_INDEX=0
XPLR_MODE=action to
XPLR_PIPE_SELECTION_OUT=/run/user/1000/xplr/session/122278/pipe/selection_out
XPLR_INPUT_BUFFER=
XPLR_PIPE_GLOBAL_HELP_MENU_OUT=/run/user/1000/xplr/session/122278/pipe/global_help_menu_out
XPLR_PID=122278
XPLR_PIPE_MSG_IN=/run/user/1000/xplr/session/122278/pipe/msg_in
XPLR_PIPE_LOGS_OUT=/run/user/1000/xplr/session/122278/pipe/logs_out
XPLR_PIPE_RESULT_OUT=/run/user/1000/xplr/session/122278/pipe/result_out
XPLR_PIPE_HISTORY_OUT=/run/user/1000/xplr/session/122278/pipe/history_out
XPLR_FOCUS_PATH=/home/sayanarijit/Documents/GitHub/xplr/docs/en/book
XPLR_SESSION_PATH=/run/user/1000/xplr/session/122278
XPLR_APP_VERSION=0.14.3
XPLR_PIPE_DIRECTORY_NODES_OUT=/run/user/1000/xplr/session/122278/pipe/directory_nodes_out
The environment variables starting with XPLR_PIPE_
are the temporary files
called "pipe"s.
The other variables are single-line variables containing simple information:
- XPLR
- XPLR_APP_VERSION
- XPLR_FOCUS_INDEX
- XPLR_FOCUS_PATH
- XPLR_INPUT_BUFFER
- XPLR_INITIAL_PWD
- XPLR_MODE
- XPLR_PID
- XPLR_SESSION_PATH
- XPLR_VROOT
Environment variables
XPLR
The binary path of xplr command.
XPLR_APP_VERSION
Self-explanatory.
XPLR_FOCUS_INDEX
Contains the index of the currently focused item, as seen in column-renderer/index.
XPLR_FOCUS_PATH
Contains the full path of the currently focused node.
XPLR_INITIAL_PWD
The $PWD then xplr started.
XPLR_INPUT_BUFFER
The line currently in displaying in the xplr input buffer. For e.g. the search input while searching. See Reading Input.
XPLR_MODE
Contains the mode xplr is currently in, see modes.
XPLR_PID
Contains the process ID of the current xplr process.
XPLR_SESSION_PATH
Contains the current session path, like /tmp/runtime-"$USER"/xplr/session/"$XPLR_PID"/, you can find temporary files here, such as pipes.
XPLR_VROOT
Contains the path of current virtual root, is set.
Pipes
Input pipe
Currently there is only one input pipe.
Output pipes
XPLR_PIPE_*_OUT
are the output pipes that contain data which cannot be
exposed directly via environment variables, like multi-line strings.
These pipes can be accessed as plain text files located in $XPLR_SESSION_PATH.
Depending on the message (e.g. Call
or Call0
), each line will be separated
by newline or null character (\n
or \0
).
- XPLR_PIPE_SELECTION_OUT
- XPLR_PIPE_GLOBAL_HELP_MENU_OUT
- XPLR_PIPE_LOGS_OUT
- XPLR_PIPE_RESULT_OUT
- XPLR_PIPE_HISTORY_OUT
- XPLR_PIPE_DIRECTORY_NODES_OUT
XPLR_PIPE_MSG_IN
Append new messages to this pipe in YAML (or JSON) syntax. These messages will be read and handled by xplr after the command execution.
Depending on the message (e.g. Call
or Call0
) you need to separate each
message using newline or null character (\n
or \0
).
NOTE: Since version
v0.20.0
, it's recommended to avoid writing directly to this file, as safely escaping YAML strings is a lot of work. Usexplr -m
/xplr --pipe-msg-in
to pass messages to xplr in a safer way.Example:
"$XPLR" -m 'ChangeDirectory: %q' "${HOME:?}"
XPLR_PIPE_SELECTION_OUT
List of selected paths.
XPLR_PIPE_GLOBAL_HELP_MENU_OUT
The full help menu.
XPLR_PIPE_LOGS_OUT
List of logs.
XPLR_PIPE_RESULT_OUT
Result (selected paths if any, else the focused path)
XPLR_PIPE_HISTORY_OUT
List of last visited paths (similar to jump list in vim).
XPLR_PIPE_DIRECTORY_NODES_OUT
List of paths, filtered and sorted as displayed in the files table.
Example: Using Environment Variables and Pipes
xplr.config.modes.builtin.default.key_bindings.on_key.space = {
help = "ask name and greet",
messages = {
{
BashExec0 = [===[
echo "What's your name?"
read name
greeting="Hello $name!"
message="$greeting You are inside $PWD"
"$XPLR" -m 'LogSuccess: %q' "$message"
]===]
}
}
}
-- Now, when you press "space" in default mode, you will be prompted for your
-- name. Enter your name to receive a nice greeting and to know your location.
Another example: Simple file opener using xdg-open and $XPLR_FOCUS_PATH
xplr.config.modes.builtin.default.key_bindings.on_key.X = {
help = "open",
messages = {
{
BashExecSilently0 = [===[
xdg-open "${XPLR_FOCUS_PATH:?}"
]===],
},
},
}