quipu

Yet another terminal keyboard entry scripting tool – good for recording terminal demos with tools like asciinema.

Features

• Script keyboard sequences for terminal demos
• Control typing speed and add natural jitter
• Support for special keys and modifier combinations (Ctrl, Alt, Shift)
• Works with terminal recording tools like asciinema

Installation

cargo install --path .

Or build from source:

git clone https://github.com/waddie/quipu.git
cd quipu
cargo build --release

Usage

Create a script file (.qp extension) with your keyboard sequences:

@ speed:0.1
@ jitter:0.03

# This is a comment
$ echo "Hello from quipu!"<ret>

@ wait:1.0

$ ls -la<ret>

@ wait:0.5

$ # Type commands with special keys
$ vim example.txt<ret>
$ iHello World!<esc>:wq<ret>

Run the script:

quipu script.qp

By default, quipu uses your current shell ($SHELL). To use a different shell:

quipu --shell /bin/bash script.qp

Or use the shell directive in your script:

@ shell:/bin/bash
$ echo "Running in: $SHELL"<ret>

Record with asciinema:

asciinema rec demo.cast -c "quipu script.qp"

Script Format

Directives (@ lines)

• @ speed:N - Set time between keystrokes in seconds (default: 0.1)
• @ jitter:N - Set random variation as fraction of speed (default: 0.0)
• @ wait:N - Pause for N seconds before continuing
• @ shell:PATH - Set shell to use (defaults to $SHELL, must come before any typing commands)

Comments (# lines)

Lines starting with # are ignored.

Typing ($ lines)

Lines starting with $ are typed into the terminal:

$ echo "regular text"

Special Keys

Use angle brackets for special keys:

Basic keys:

• <esc> - Escape
• <ret>, <return>, <enter> - Return/Enter
• <space> - Space
• <tab> - Tab
• <backspace>, <bs> - Backspace

Function keys:

• <F1> through <F12>

Arrow keys:

• <up>, <down>, <left>, <right>

Navigation:

• <home>, <end>
• <pageup>, <pagedown>
• <insert>, <delete>

Modifier Keys

Use modifier prefixes with a dash:

• <C-x> or <Ctrl-x> - Ctrl+X
• <A-x> or <Alt-x> - Alt+X
• <S-x> or <Shift-x> - Shift+X
• <C-S-x> - Ctrl+Shift+X

Examples:

$ <C-c>           # Send Ctrl-C
$ <C-d>           # Send Ctrl-D (EOF)
$ <A-f>           # Alt-F (forward word in bash)
$ <C-X><C-S>      # Ctrl-X Ctrl-S (save in emacs)

Escaping

Use backslash to escape angle brackets:

$ echo "Literal \<angle\> brackets"

License

GNU AGPL v3 - See LICENSE.md