rlwrap v 0.29 November 10 2007 * WHAT IT IS: rlwrap is a 'readline wrapper', a small utility that uses the GNU readline library to allow the editing of keyboard input for any command. I couldn't find anything like it when I needed it, so I wrote this one back in 1999. By now, there are a number of good readline wrappers around, like rlfe, distributed as part of the GNU readline library, and cle (http://kaolin.unice.fr/Cle/). rlwrap should be especially useful when you need user-defined completion (by way of completion word lists) and persistent history. Moreover, it should be portable across a fairly wide range of Unix systems (it works under cygwin as well) * HOW TO USE IT: If $ <command> <args> yields garbage like ^H and ^[[D whenever you try to edit input, or if you just want decent input history and completion, try: $ rlwrap [-options] <command> <args> You then can edit <command>'s input and recall the input history using the arrow keys. Input history is remembered accross invocations, separately for different <command>s. Typing !<prefix><TAB> will recall the last input line starting with <prefix>, CTRL-R will search the input history. With the -r and -f options you can specify the list of words which rlwrap will use as possible completions, taking them from a file (-f option) or from <command>'s standard in/output. rlwrap monitors <command>'s terminal settings, so that it can do the right thing when command asks for single keypresses or for a password. Commands that already use readline will always ask for (and get) single keypresses, which makes rlwrapping them rather pointless. However, if one uses the -a option, rlwrap will use its own line editing and history. Unforunately, in this case, rlwrap cannot detect whether <command> asks for a password. This can be remedied by giving the password prompt (excluding trailing space and possibly the first few letters) as an argument to the -a option. * EXAMPLES: Run netcat with command-line editing: rlwrap nc localhost 80 Run lprolog and use library1 and library2 to build a completion word list: rlwrap -f library1 -f library2 lprolog Run smbclient (which already uses readline), add all input and output to completion list, complete local filenames, avoid showing (and storing) passwords: rlwrap -cr -aPassword: smbclient '\\PEANUT\C' * INSTALLATION: Usually just # ./configure; make install See the INSTALL file for more information. * PARENTHESIS MATCHING This is not very clearly documented in readline's info or manpages, it should be on by default. It can be controlled by putting "set blink-matching-paren (off|on)" in your .inputrc * AUTHOR Hans Lub, hlub@knoware.nl * HOMEPAGE http://utopia.knoware.nl/~hlub/uck/rlwrap
