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Journal CLI

Journal CLI

A simple, customizable bash script for managing daily journal entries from the command line.

Features

  • Create and edit daily journal entries
  • Customizable journal location
  • Configurable text editor
  • List all existing journal entries
  • Support for creating entries for specific dates
  • Direct editing of configuration file

System Requirements

  • macOS or Unix-like operating systems (Linux, BSD, etc.)
  • Bash shell

Installation

  1. Clone this repository or download the journal script.

  2. Make the script executable:

    chmod +x journal

  3. Move the script to a directory in your PATH for easy access:

    mv journal /usr/local/bin/journal

    Note: You can rename the script to whatever you prefer (e.g., daily-log, my-journal, etc.) to avoid naming conflicts or to better suit your needs. Just make sure to use the new name when calling the script.

Configuration

The script uses a configuration file located at ~/.journal_config. You can set the following options:

  • JOURNAL_DIR: Directory where journal entries are stored (default: ~/journal)
  • DATE_FORMAT: Format for date in filenames (default: %m-%d-%Y)
  • EDITOR: Preferred text editor (default: nvim)

You can change these settings using the script's command-line options or by directly editing the configuration file.

Usage

Basic Usage

Create or edit today's journal entry:

journal

Options

  • journal [DATE]: Open journal for a specific date (format: MM-DD-YYYY)
  • journal yesterday: Open yesterday's journal
  • journal --list: List all journal entries
  • journal --set-journal-dir [DIR]: Set custom journal directory
  • journal --set-editor [EDITOR]: Set preferred text editor
  • journal --list-config: Prints all the set configuration
  • journal --edit-config: Edit the configuration file directly
  • journal --help: Display help message
  • journal --version: Display version information

Examples

  1. Create/edit today's entry:

    journal

  2. Open entry for a specific date:

    journal 10-18-2024

  3. List all entries:

    journal --list

  4. Set custom journal directory:

    journal --set-journal-dir ~/Documents/MyJournal

  5. Change default editor to vim:

    journal --set-editor vim

  6. Edit configuration file:

    journal --edit-config

Default Editor

The default editor is set to nvim (Neovim). You can change this to your preferred terminal-based text editor using the --set-editor option or by editing the configuration file with the --edit-config option. Some popular choices include:

  • vim: A highly configurable text editor built to enable efficient text editing
  • nano: A simple, user-friendly editor ideal for beginners
  • emacs: An extensible, customizable text editor—and more
  • micro: A modern and intuitive terminal-based text editor

You can also use GUI-based editors that offer a command-line interface, such as:

  • code: Visual Studio Code (when the code command is set up)
  • subl: Sublime Text
  • atom: Atom editor

To set your preferred editor, use:

journal --set-editor <editor-command>

Replace <editor-command> with the command you use to open your preferred editor from the terminal.

Note: Ensure that your chosen editor is installed and accessible from the command line before setting it as your default journal editor.

Compatibility

This script is designed to work on macOS and other Unix-like operating systems. It has been tested on macOS and common Linux distributions. Windows users might be able to use it through WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux), but this is not officially supported.

TODO

  • Add the ability to change the journal format and questions

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

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

Author

Ben Borla

Acknowledgments

  • Inspired by the daily journaling practice
  • Thanks to the Bash scripting community for inspiration and resources