Why snip?

Most snippet managers only handle shell commands. snip handles code — deploy scripts, API calls, Docker commands, JS utilities — across any language, with safety rails, a real TUI, and unix pipeline integration.

| Feature | snip | pet | navi | tldr | dotfiles | |---------|------|-----|------|------|--------| | Run snippets directly | ✅ Any language | ✅ Shell only | ✅ Shell only | ❌ | ✅ Shell only | | Multi-language (JS, Python, Ruby…) | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | Unix pipeline integration | ✅ snip pipe | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | Interactive TUI | ✅ Split-pane | ❌ | ✅ Basic | ❌ | ❌ | | Dangerous command detection | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | fzf integration | ✅ Native | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | Manual | | SQLite backend | ✅ Optional | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | Gist sync | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | Manual | | Zero config | ✅ | ✅ | Needs cheats | ✅ | Heavy |

Quick Start

# Install
npm install -g snip-manager

# Save a snippet
echo 'docker compose up -d --build' | snip add dc-up --lang sh --tags docker

# Find it
snip search docker

# Run it
snip exec dc-up

# Launch TUI
snip ui

Installation

Prerequisites: Node.js ≥ 18

# npm
npm install -g snip-manager

# yarn
yarn global add snip-manager

# pnpm
pnpm add -g snip-manager

# verify
snip --version
snip doctor          # validates storage, editor, fzf, shell, gist

Commands

Core

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | snip add <name> | Save a snippet from stdin or $EDITOR | | snip list | List all snippets (--json, --tag, --lang, --sort, --limit) | | snip search <query> | Fuzzy search (--json, --limit) | | snip show <name> | Display snippet (--json, --raw, --edit) | | snip run <name> | Preview + confirm + execute (with template prompts) | | snip exec <name> | Execute immediately, no modal (--dry-run, --force) | | snip pipe <name> | Pipeline mode — stdin→template→stdout (--json, --dry-run) | | snip edit <name> | Open in $EDITOR | | snip rm <name> | Delete (alias: delete) | | snip update <name> | Update metadata (--tags, --lang) |

Utilities

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | snip cp <src> <dest> | Duplicate a snippet | | snip mv <old> <new> | Rename a snippet | | snip cat <name> | Print raw content to stdout | | snip recent [n] | Show last n used snippets (default: 5) | | snip stats | Library statistics | | snip grab <url> | Import from URL or github:user/repo/path | | snip fzf | fzf search with live preview |

Integration

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | snip alias [shell] | Generate shell aliases (eval "$(snip alias)") | | snip widget [shell] | Ctrl+G hotkey widget for zsh/bash/fish | | snip completion [shell] | Tab-completion script | | snip sync push [query] | Push to GitHub Gist | | snip sync pull <id> | Pull from GitHub Gist | | snip doctor | Health check | | snip config <action> | Get / set configuration | | snip ui | Interactive TUI |

Features

Interactive TUI

snip ui

Split-pane interface with fuzzy search. Keyboard shortcuts:

| Key | Action | |-----|--------| | j / k | Navigate | | / | Live search | | Enter | Preview | | r | Run | | e | Edit | | a | Add new | | d | Delete (type name to confirm, z to undo within 5s) | | s | Cycle sort mode | | q | Quit |

Zero-Friction Execution

snip exec deploy-api            # run immediately
snip exec deploy-api --dry-run  # print only
snip exec deploy-api --force    # skip safety warning

Parameterized Snippets

Use {{variable}} or {{variable:default}} syntax:

echo 'docker run --rm -it {{image:ubuntu:24.04}} {{cmd:bash}}' \
  | snip add docker-dev --lang sh --tags docker

snip run docker-dev
#   image [ubuntu:24.04]: node:20
#   cmd [bash]: ↵

Variables are auto-detected at runtime — no extra flags needed.

Safety

Dangerous commands (rm -rf, sudo, system-level ops) are detected automatically. snip run shows a preview and requires explicit confirmation. snip exec warns but lets you --force past.

Shell Aliases

eval "$(snip alias)"        # every snippet becomes a command
deploy-api                  # → snip exec deploy-api

Ctrl+G Widget

# add to ~/.zshrc
eval "$(snip widget zsh)"
# press Ctrl+G anywhere → search → paste snippet inline

Gist Sync

snip sync push               # push all
snip sync push docker        # push matching
snip sync pull <gist-id>     # pull

fzf Integration

snip fzf                     # search + preview
snip fzf | pbcopy            # pipe to clipboard

Pipeline Mode

# Run a snippet, pipe output forward
snip pipe deploy-api | tee /tmp/deploy.log

# Pipe JSON as template values — no interactive prompts
echo '{"host":"prod.api.com","branch":"main"}' | snip pipe deploy --json

# Stdin passthrough to the snippet's process
curl -s https://api.example.com/data | snip pipe parse-json

# Dry-run: see resolved content without executing
echo '{"image":"node:20"}' | snip pipe docker-dev --json --dry-run

Also pipe-friendly: snip cat, snip show --raw, snip list --json, snip search --json.

Grab from URL

snip grab https://example.com/script.sh --tags ops
snip grab github:user/repo/scripts/backup.sh

Language auto-detected from extension and shebang.

Configuration

snip config set editor "code --wait"
snip config set useSqlite true       # for 100+ snippets
snip config list

| Option | Default | Description | |--------|---------|-------------| | editor | $EDITOR / vi | Snippet editor | | useSqlite | false | SQLite instead of JSON | | snippetDir | ~/.snip | Data directory |

SQLite uses better-sqlite3 (native) or falls back to sql.js (WASM).

Architecture

snip
├── bin/snip              # Entry point
├── lib/
│   ├── cli.js            # Command definitions (Commander.js)
│   ├── storage.js        # JSON + SQLite abstraction
│   ├── search.js         # Fuse.js fuzzy search
│   ├── exec.js           # Multi-language runner
│   ├── template.js       # {{var:default}} engine
│   ├── safety.js         # Dangerous command detection
│   ├── config.js         # Config loader
│   └── commands/         # One file per command
├── completions/          # Shell completions
├── __tests__/            # Jest test suite
├── scripts/              # Seed / smoke scripts
└── docs/                 # Website + demo

Design decisions:

• Commander.js for CLI parsing — battle-tested, zero-config subcommands.
• Fuse.js for fuzzy search — searches name, tags, and content simultaneously.
• Dual storage — JSON for instant start, SQLite for scale. Same API, swap with one config.
• No daemon — every invocation is stateless. Fast cold starts.
• Blessed for TUI — raw terminal control, no React/Ink overhead.

Development

git clone https://github.com/Bharath-code/snip.git
cd snip
npm install

# Run locally
node bin/snip --help

# Seed example snippets
node bin/snip seed

# Run tests
npm test

# Lint
npm run lint

Testing

Tests use Jest and cover storage, search, template engine, exec, safety, and CLI integration.

npm test                   # run all tests
npx jest --verbose         # verbose output
npx jest __tests__/exec.test.js  # single file

Project Structure for Contributors

| Directory | Purpose | |-----------|---------| | lib/commands/ | Add a new command = add one file here + register in cli.js | | lib/storage.js | Storage abstraction — both backends | | __tests__/ | Mirror of lib/ — one test file per module | | completions/ | Shell completion scripts |

Troubleshooting

Ensure npm's global bin is in your PATH:

export PATH="$(npm prefix -g)/bin:$PATH"

snip config set editor "vim"     # or code, nvim, nano, subl

Use nvm to avoid sudo:

nvm install --lts
npm install -g snip-manager

Roadmap

• [x] snip pipe — stdin pipeline integration
• [ ] Snippet groups / namespaces (docker/cleanup, k8s/deploy)
• [ ] Snippet versioning & history
• [ ] snip share — single-snippet gist sharing
• [ ] snip diff a b — diff two snippets
• [ ] AI snippet generation
• [ ] Team shared snippets

See CHANGELOG.md for release history.

FAQ

A CLI tool for saving and running code snippets from the terminal. Think of it as a personal, searchable library for commands and code blocks you run repeatedly.

Dotfiles store configuration. snip stores executable snippets — commands and code blocks you run. snip provides instant search, multi-language execution, and safety rails.

Yes. Use --lang to specify any language. snip resolves the interpreter (node, python3, ruby, etc.) automatically.

Snippets are stored locally in ~/.snip/. Nothing leaves your machine unless you explicitly snip sync push to GitHub Gist.

Contributing

Contributions welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for setup and guidelines.

# Good first issues
# https://github.com/Bharath-code/snip/labels/good%20first%20issue

Community

• Issues — Bug reports & feature requests
• Discussions — Questions & ideas
• Security Policy — Vulnerability reporting

License

MIT © Bharath