nich

nich is which for people who work on linked CLIs.

which tells you the shim on PATH. nich follows linked Node and Bun package bins to the file you actually edit.

Install

npm install -g @pyronaur/nich

Usage

nich <command> [command ...]
nich -a <command> [command ...]

Why

When a CLI comes from a linked package, which usually stops at the global bin symlink:

$ which my-cli
/usr/local/bin/my-cli

That path is often just the install shim. nich keeps going:

$ nich my-cli
/path/to/my-cli/dist/bin/my-cli.js

For ordinary commands, nich stays out of the way:

$ which ls
/bin/ls
$ nich ls
/bin/ls

$ which npm
/usr/local/bin/npm
$ nich npm
/usr/local/bin/npm

Rules

• Normal executables stay unchanged.
• Package-manager-owned bins such as npm, node, and bun stay unchanged.
• Linked package bins that resolve outside the install prefix unwrap to the real package entry file.
• -a prints one resolved path per PATH match.
• nich only resolves PATH executables. It does not inspect aliases, functions, or shell builtins.

Use Cases

• Find the real entry file behind npm link, bun link, or similar linked installs.
• Confirm whether a command comes from a local linked repo or from the package manager install.
• Keep which-style behavior for normal binaries without manually chasing symlinks.