Smart Files Plugin for Zsh

A zsh plugin that enhances command-line operations by providing visual feedback for file paths and automatically creating directories when needed. It highlights paths in different colors based on their status (existing, new, or permission-denied) and handles directory creation automatically.

Features

• Automatic directory creation when moving/copying files to non-existent directories
• Visual path highlighting while typing commands:
  • Blue: Existing files/directories with appropriate permissions
  • Yellow: New/non-existent paths (will be created automatically)
  • Red: Permission-denied paths
• Works with all commands, not just file operations
• Handles both absolute and relative paths
• Supports tilde (~) expansion
• Special handling for read-only commands (cat, less, head, tail)
• Preserves all original command functionality
• Integrates with zsh-syntax-highlighting

Installation

Manual

git clone https://github.com/vxfemboy/zsh-smart-files.git ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/smart-files

Oh My Zsh

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/vxfemboy/zsh-smart-files.git ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/smart-files

2. Add smart-files to your plugin list in ~/.zshrc:

plugins=(... smart-files)

3. Restart your shell or source your ~/.zshrc:

source ~/.zshrc

Usage

The plugin works automatically with any command and will create directories as needed. Here are some examples of how it works:

# File Operations with Automatic Directory Creation
mv file.txt new/directory/     # Creates new/directory/ if it doesn't exist
cp config.yml ~/.config/app/   # Creates ~/.config/app/ if needed
mv project.txt ~/projects/work/active/  # Creates full directory structure

# Standard File Operations
cp config.yml ~/.config/       # ~/.config/ in blue if it exists
rm -rf /etc/something/        # Path in red if you don't have permissions

# Development
vim new_script.py            # Yellow for new files
gcc source.c -o output      # Highlights both source and output appropriately
python ~/.local/script.py   # Blue for existing files

# Read-only Operations
cat /etc/passwd            # Blue if readable, red if not
less /var/log/syslog      # Red if permission denied
head ~/.bashrc            # Blue for existing readable files

Highlight Colors

• Blue: The path exists and you have appropriate permissions
• Yellow: The path doesn't exist (will be created automatically for file operations)
• Red: The path exists but you don't have proper permissions

Command Types

The plugin behaves differently based on the type of command:

• File modification commands (mv, cp, mkdir, etc.):

  • Shows yellow for new paths (directories will be created automatically)
  • Shows red for insufficient permissions
  • Shows blue for existing paths with proper permissions
  • Automatically creates directory structure when needed

• Read-only commands (cat, less, head, tail):

  • Only shows blue or red (no yellow highlighting)
  • Red indicates insufficient read permissions
  • Blue indicates the file exists and is readable

Directory Creation

The plugin will automatically create directories in these scenarios:

• When using mv or cp with a non-existent target directory
• When the target path includes multiple levels of non-existent directories
• Only creates directories when using file operation commands (mv, cp)
• Creates full directory structure (similar to mkdir -p)