ff-find 1.0.5
Easily search and process files by names.
License: MIT
Keywords: search,find,filesystem,files,directories

ff
==

Easily search and process files.

If you need to search files by their contents, *or* search for their
contents, please look at `ack <https://github.com/petdance/ack2>`__ or
`pss <https://github.com/eliben/pss>`__. These are better suited for
this kind of task.

Current stable version
----------------------

1.0.5

Why ``ff`` and not ``find``?
----------------------------

Just because I find that most of my searches was:

::

    find . -iname '*name*'

And it's easier to me to enter:

::

    ff name

Also, my ``find`` have sometimes problems with non ascii names:

::

    % find /tmp -name '*GÖS*'
    % 

And with ``ff``:

::

    % ff '*GÖS*' /tmp
    /tmp/eee_GÖS_från_förstår_pas
    /tmp/eee_GÖS_från_pas_förstår_qq
    /tmp/pas_GÖS_från_förstår
    %

it just works! :)

Basic usage
-----------

::

    ff passwd

Search for all files and directories in current directory and below,
which is match to pattern: ``*passwd*``.

::

    ff -B passwd

Search for all files and directories in current directory and below,
which is match to pattern: ``*passwd``.

::

    ff -E passwd

Search for all files and directories in current directory and below,
which is match to pattern: ``passwd*``.

::

    ff -EB passwd

Advanced usage
--------------

::

    ff -p pa -s /tmp --shell-exec -x '[ -f "{path}" ] && mkdir -p /tmp{dirname}; cp -r "{path}" "/tmp{path}"'

Find all files and directories in /tmp that match expression: ``*pa*``,
and copy them (with original directories hierarchy!) to /tmp.

So powerful!

Magic pattern
-------------

It's form of pattern known good for Perl or AWK lovers :)

If patterns is in general form:

::

    mode/pattern/modifier

(decribed more in full usage below), then it is parsed and used in a
little other manner.

Instead of arguments ``--regexp`` or ``--fuzzy``, you can pass it in
``mode`` part of pattern. Next there is delimiter, which usually is
``/`` (backslash), but there can be more characters, described in Usage
section.

After that is a pattern, next delimiter again, and then modifiers
(again, modifiers are described in Usage section).

Some examples:

Search for all files and directories in current directory and below,
which is match to pattern: ``passwd``.

::

    ff f/pwd/

Search for all files and directories in current directory and below,
which name contains letters 'p', 'w', 'd', with any other characters
between them.

::

    ff g/^(chk)?passwd/

Search for all files and directories in current directory and below,
which name starts from 'chkpasswd' or 'passwd'.

Configuration file
------------------

``ff`` recognizes 2 configuration files: user-wide and project-wide.
Both can specify the same things and have identical syntax (ini files).
User-wide one is located in ``$HOME/.ff.rc``, and project-wide is
located in current directory (ie. projects root). Example file is
located at (github)[https://github.com/mysz/ff/blob/master/ff.rc].

Plugins
-------

Plugins are the way to easily extend capabilities of ``ff``. Currently
there is only support for plugins allowing to extend tests made on files
list. In future, there is plan to add support for plugins allowing to
make some actions on found files (currently is *built-in plugin*:
``--shell``), for example modifying, copying or anything else).

``ff`` search for plugins in user's home directory, but there is
posibility to tell him about the other.. By default, ``ff`` search for
plugins in:

-  ``~/.ff/plugins``

And using switch ``--plugins-path`` you can tell ``ff`` about other
plugins location.

You can also pass argument to plugins. For example, in ``size`` plugin
(bundled with ``ff``), You must to tell the plugin what size of file You
expect:

::

    `ff pas --test size:=5k`

Above example will find every file with *pas* part in its name, and its
size is *exactly* 5
`kibibytes <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_prefix#IEC_standard_prefixes>`__.
More about ``size`` plugin in `projects
wiki <https://github.com/mysz/ff/wiki/>`__.

Writing plugins
---------------

Plugins are written in `Python <http://python.org>`__, and are simple
Python modules with at least ``plugin_action`` callable specified.
Plugins are imported, and ``plugin_action`` must return ``True`` or
``False`` to tell ``ff`` that given found object meets expectations, and
should be returned.

``ff`` recognize and use only 3 objects in plugin:

-  ``plugin_action`` - (REQUIRED) [callable] must return ``True`` od
   ``False``. Must recognize 3 arguments:

   -  ``name`` - name of plugin
   -  ``argument`` - argument passed by user
   -  ``path`` - absolute path to tested object

-  ``PLUGIN_DESCR`` - (OPTIONAL) [string or callable] short descr of
   plugin, printed when ``ff`` is called with switch
   ``--help-test-plugins``
-  ``PLUGIN_HELP`` - (OPTIONAL) [string or callable] full help for
   plugin, printed when ``ff`` is called with switch
   ``--help-test-plugins TEST_NAME``

Plugin file also must have special name, and be placed in directory
recognized by ``ff`` (see: [plugins][plugins]). Name of file is built
with three parts, connected with underscore: \* ``ffplugin`` - fixed
prefix \* ``test`` - type of plugin (currently only ``test`` plugins are
recignized) \* ``NAME`` - name of plugin

And as Python module, must and with ``.py`` extension :)

Plugin must validate input data (``argument``), and raise
``FFPluginError`` exception with approbiate message on any error. Plugin
shouldn't raise any other exceptions. There is one caveat with this:
``FFPluginError`` exception is declared *inside* ``ff``! When given
plugin is imported, it is *monkeypatched* and ``FFPluginError``
exception is injected into it.

There is an example plugin, which allow us to search for files in
specified size. Is in `project
repository <https://github.com/mysz/ff/tree/master/ff_plugins>`__ in
directory plugins. You can use it as a base for your own plugins :)

Installation
------------

``ff`` should work on any platform where `Python <http://python.org>`__
is available, it means Linux, Windows, MacOS X etc. There is no
dependencies, plain Python power :)

To install, you can use ``pip``:

::

    pip install ff

Voila!

Usage
-----

::

    usage: ff [-h] [--print0] [--ignorecase] [--source source] [--pattern PATTERN]
              [--regexp] [--fuzzy] [--depth DEPTH] [--path-search]
              [--regex-multiline] [--regex-dotall] [--begin] [--end]
              [--invert-match] [--mode MODE] [--exec COMMAND] [--prefix]
              [--prefix-dirs PREFIX_DIRS] [--prefix-files PREFIX_FILES]
              [--no-display] [--no-colorize] [--verbose-exec] [--interactive-exec]
              [--shell-exec] [--vcs] [--exclude-path EXCLUDED_PATH] [--test TESTS]
              [--plugins-path PLUGINS_PATH] [--version]
              [--help-test-plugins [TEST_NAME[,TEST2_NAME]]]
              [--show-plugins-paths]
              [pattern] [source [source ...]]

    Easily search and process files.

    positional arguments:
      pattern               pattern to search
      source                optional source (if missing, use current directory)

    optional arguments:
      -h, --help            show this help message and exit
      --print0, -0          split results by binary zero instead of new line
                            (useful to work with xargs)
      --ignorecase, -i, --ignore-case
                            ignore case when match pattern to paths
      --source source, -s source
                            optional, see: source above
      --pattern PATTERN, -p PATTERN
                            optional, see: pattern above
      --regexp, -g          treat pattern as regular expression (uses Python
                            regexp engine)
      --fuzzy, -f           pattern defines only set and order of characters used
                            in filename
      --depth DEPTH, -D DEPTH
                            how deep we should search (default: -1, means
                            infinite)
      --path-search, -q     search in full path, instead of bare name of item
      --regex-multiline, -l
                            modify meta characters: "^" and "$" behaviour when
                            pattern is regular expression. See:
                            http://docs.python.org/2/library/re.html#re.MULTILINE
      --regex-dotall, -d    modify meta character: "." behaviour when pattern is
                            regular expression. See:
                            http://docs.python.org/2/library/re.html#re.DOTALL
      --begin, -B           match pattern to begin of item name (ignored in regexp
                            mode)
      --end, -E             match pattern to end of item name (ignored in regexp
                            mode)
      --invert-match, -v, -r
                            find objects that do *not* match pattern
      --mode MODE, -m MODE  allow to choose to search for "files" only, "dirs", or
                            "all"
      --exec COMMAND, -x COMMAND
                            execute some command on every found item. In command,
                            placeholders: {path}, {dirname}, {basename} are
                            replaced with correct value
      --prefix              add prefix "dr: " (directory) or "fl: " (file) to
                            every found item
      --prefix-dirs PREFIX_DIRS
                            prefix for matched directories
      --prefix-files PREFIX_FILES
                            prefix for matched files
      --no-display          don't display element (useful with --exec argument)
      --no-colorize         Colorize output
      --verbose-exec        show command before execute it
      --interactive-exec    ask before execute command on every item
      --shell-exec          execute command from --exec argument in shell (with
                            shell expansion etc)
      --vcs                 do not skip VCS directories (.git, .svn etc)
      --exclude-path EXCLUDED_PATH, -c EXCLUDED_PATH
                            skip given paths from scanning
      --test TESTS, -t TESTS
                            additional tests, available by plugins (see
                            annotations below or --help-test-plugins)
      --plugins-path PLUGINS_PATH
                            additional path where to search plugins (see
                            annotations below)
      --version             show program's version number and exit
      --help-test-plugins [TEST_NAME[,TEST2_NAME]]
                            display help for installed test plugins
      --show-plugins-paths  Show recognized plugins paths and exit

    Pattern, provided as positional argument (not with --pattern) can be provided
    in special form (called: magic pattern). It allows to more "nerdish"
    (or "perlish" :) ) way to control `ff` behavior.

    The general pattern for magic pattern is:

        mode/pattern/modifier

    where:
        mode - is one of 'p' (--pattern), 'g' - (--regexp) or 'f' (--fuzzy)
        / - is delimiter:
            * one of: '/', '!', '@', '#', '%', '|', and then start and end
                delimiter must be the same
            * one of: '{', '[', '(', '<', and the end delimiter must be the
                closing one (ex. '}' if start is '{')
        pattern - any pattern, processed in a way specified with 'mode'
        modifier - one of: 'i' (--ignore-case), 'm' (--regex-multiline),
            's' (--regex-dotall), 'v' (not used currently), 'r' (--invert-match)

    There is also ability to extend capabilities of `ff` by plugins. Plugins are
    run with switch --test and then plugin name with optional plugin argument:

        --test plugin_name:plugin_arg

    There can be used more then one plugin at once.

    Authors:
        Marcin Sztolcman <marcin@urzenia.net> // http://urzenia.net

    HomePage:
        http://mysz.github.io/ff/

Authors
-------

Marcin Sztolcman marcin@urzenia.net

Contact
-------

If you like or dislike this software, please do not hesitate to tell me
about this me via email (marcin@urzenia.net).

If you find bug or have an idea to enhance this tool, please use
GitHub's `issues <https://github.com/mysz/ff/issues>`__.

License
-------

The MIT License (MIT)

Copyright (c) 2013 Marcin Sztolcman

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
copy of this software and associated documentation files (the
"Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including
without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish,
distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to
permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to
the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included
in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY
CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT,
TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE
SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

ChangeLog
---------

v1.0.5
~~~~~~

-  use README.rst for Pypi

v1.0.4
~~~~~~

-  fixes for Pypi

v1.0.3
~~~~~~

-  fixes for Pypi

v1.0.2
~~~~~~

-  fixes for Pypi

v1.0.1
~~~~~~

-  fixes for Pypi

v1.0.0
~~~~~~

-  backward incompatible: magic pattern doesn't recognize 'q' flag for
   'path-search' mode, flag --path-search must be passed explicitly
-  new option: --depth - limit searching to this depth
-  new option: --colorize
-  new: parse and recognize configuration files
-  new: added ability to install via pip
-  changed versioning format: use `SemVer <http://semver.org/>`__
-  code cleanups and many refactorizations/rewrites
-  paths are now normalized before comparisons of excluded paths
-  parse regexps with UNICODE flag
-  '?' and '+' are now valid delimiters in magic pattern
-  ignore case of --mode option
-  documentation improvements
-  more tests
-  improved fuzzy search
-  better validation of arguments
-  improved error messages
-  improved help
-  better interoperability: do not hardcode new line characters or path
   delimiters
-  do not allow for duplicating modifiers
-  FIX: do not crash on unknown characters, just replace them
-  FIX: do not crash on printing unknown characters
-  added simple Makefile
-  improved config for pylint
-  added config for `versionner <http://mysz.github.io/versionner>`__

v0.5
~~~~

-  ability to run plugins for tests (with first plugin: size)
-  many improvements to proper handling UTF-8
-  many improvements for work in Python3
-  improved PEP8 compatibility
-  refactored code
-  added --version switch
-  removed expanding shell variables when execute external command if no
   --shell-exec is given

v.0.4
~~~~~

-  added changelog
-  added fuzzy-search mode
-  added 'magic pattern' mode
-  -r argument is now an alias to -v
-  better handling unicode characters in paths
-  handling CTRL-C
-  added modifier: --path-search

v0.3
~~~~

-  use argparse instead of getopt to parse options
-  allow to exclude path from search
-  improved help and documentation

v0.2
~~~~

-  added option 'shell-exec' - allow to exec programs with shell
   expansion
-  exec: add shell variables expansion
-  by default, skip VCS directories
-  added option 'print0' - delimit entries with binary 0, as for xargs
-  added options 'interactive-exec' - ask before every exec
-  much more powerfull exec engine
-  added option 'no-display' - do not display results (useful with
   --exec)
-  added option 'verbose-exec' - show executed command
-  added option 'invert-match' - like in grep
-  improved help and documentation
-  cleanups in code

v0.1
~~~~

-  initial version