CLI Note Manager

A lightweight and straightforward command-line tool for managing notes. Easily create, edit, view, list, and delete note files directly from the terminal. The script uses your preferred text editor and is simple to configure.

Features

• List Notes: Display all notes in the configured directory, along with their size and last modification date.
• Create a Note: Quickly create a new note using your preferred text editor.
• Edit an Existing Note: Open and edit an existing note file.
• View Note Contents: Display the contents of a specific note in the terminal.
• Delete a Note: Delete a note file with confirmation.
• Help Command: Display usage instructions.

Requirements

• A Windows terminal (Command Prompt or compatible).
• A text editor such as:
  • Micro (preferred if installed).
  • Notepad (default fallback editor).

Setup Instructions

Step 1: Clone the Repository

Clone this repository to your local machine:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/CLI-note-manager.git
cd CLI-note-manager

Step 2: Configure the Script

1. Set the Notes Directory:

   • By default, the script stores notes in:
     • D:\Documents\.notes if D:\ exists,
     • C:\Documents\.notes otherwise.
   • Ensure you have write permissions for the chosen directory. If it does not exist, it will be created automatically.

2. Configure the Text Editor:

   • The script uses the EDITOR variable to determine the preferred text editor.
   • It automatically checks for micro.exe. If not found, it defaults to notepad.exe.

   To use a different editor:

   • Open the script and modify the EDITOR variable near the top:

     set "EDITOR=path\to\your\preferred\editor.exe"

   • Replace path\to\your\preferred\editor.exe with the full path to your editor.

Step 3: Add the Script to Your PATH

To make the script easily accessible from any terminal window, add it to your system's PATH environment variable:

1. Copy the script to a directory already included in your PATH, or
2. Add the script's directory to your PATH by running the following command in the terminal (replacing C:\path\to\script-directory with the actual path to the directory containing the script):

   set PATH=%PATH%;C:\path\to\script-directory

   Alternatively, you can permanently add the script directory to the PATH by updating your system's environment variables through the Control Panel.

Usage

To use the script, run the note command followed by an option and an optional filename.

Usage: note [OPTION] [FILENAME]

Options:
  -l, --list      List all note files (default if no option is provided).
  -n, --new       Create a new note. If no filename is given, you will be prompted to enter one.
  -e, --edit      Edit an existing note. If no filename is given, you will be prompted to enter one.
  -d, --delete    Delete a note file. If no filename is given, you will be prompted to enter one.
  -s, --show      Display the contents of a note. If no filename is given, you will be prompted to enter one.
  -h, --help      Display help information.

The default editor is "micro".
You can change it by modifying the EDITOR variable in the script.

Examples

Here are some examples of how to use the script along with the expected outputs:

1. List Notes

   To list all the notes in your notes directory, use the -l or --list option:

   note -l
   
   List of files:
   --------------
   Last edit            Size    File
   2024-11-15 10:20 AM  500 kB  mynote1.txt
   2024-11-14 02:45 PM  1 MB    mynote2.txt
   2024-11-10 09:30 AM  200 kB  mynote3.txt
   
   Number of note files found: 3
   

   This will display all notes in the directory along with their last modified date and file size.

2. Create a New Note

   To create a new note, provide a filename (e.g., mynote.txt):

   note -n mynote.txt
   Enter the note content (type 'exit' to save and exit):
   

   The script will open the text editor for you to write the note. Once you are finished, save and close the editor. If you didn't provide a filename, it will prompt you for one.

3. Edit an Existing Note

   To edit a note, specify the filename of the note you want to edit:

   note -e mynote.txt
   

   The script will open the text editor with the contents of mynote.txt. After making changes, save and close the editor.

4. Delete a Note

   To delete a note, specify the filename of the note you want to delete:

   note -d mynote.txt
   mynote.txt, Delete (Y/N)?
   

   The script will prompt for confirmation before deleting the file. If you enter a filename and it doesn't exist, it will show an error like:

   Error: File "mynote.txt" not found.
   

5. Show the Contents of a Note

   To display the contents of a note, specify the filename:

   note -s mynote.txt
   --------------------------------------
   This is the content of my note.
   It has multiple lines of text.
   --------------------------------------
   

   If you enter a filename and it doesn't exist, it will show an error like:

   Error: File "mynote.txt" not found.
   

6. Display Help To display the help message, use the -h or --help option:

   note -h
   A very simple CLI-based note taking and note files manager application.
   
   Usage: note [OPTION] [FILENAME]
   
   Options:
     -l, --list      List all note files (default if no option is provided).
     -n, --new       Create a new note. If no filename is given, you will be prompted to enter one.
     -e, --edit      Edit an existing note. If no filename is given, you will be prompted to enter one.
     -d, --delete    Delete a note file. If no filename is given, you will be prompted to enter one.
     -s, --show      Display the contents of a note. If no filename is given, you will be prompted to enter one.
     -h, --help      Display help information.
   
   The default editor is "micro".
   You can change it by modifying the EDITOR variable in the script.
   

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.