where-is

Overview

where-is is a utility script designed to specifically locate configuration files for a given application. Unlike the whereis command, which locates the binary, source, and manual page files for a command, where-is focuses on searching common directories where configuration files are typically stored.

Inspired by what-to-code

Comparison with whereis

• whereis:

  • Locates the binary, source, and manual page files for a command.
  • Searches predefined system directories.

• where-is:

  • Specifically searches for configuration files related to an application.
  • Searches user-defined directories known to contain configuration files.

Installation

To install where-is:

chmod +x where-is
sudo mv where-is /usr/local/bin/

or just run the provided installer.sh script:

chmod +x installer.sh
./installer.sh

The installer script will copy the where-is script to /usr/local/bin and make it executable.

Usage

To use where-is, simply provide the name of the application whose configuration files you are looking for. For example:

where-is <application_name>

Options

• -h, --help: Display this help message and exit.
• -v, --version: Display the script version and exit.
• -d, --directories: List the directories being searched and exit.

Example

where-is config.py sddm

Output:

Searching for configuration files related to 'config.py'...
/etc/skel/.config/qtile/config.py
/home/patermars/.config/qtile/config.py
/home/patermars/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_64/steam-runtime-sniper/sniper_platform_0.20240423.85483/files/lib/python3.9/logging/config.py
/home/patermars/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_64/steam-runtime-sniper/sniper_platform_0.20240423.85483/files/lib/python3.9/sysconfig.py
/home/patermars/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_64/steam-runtime-sniper/var/tmp-39ELR2/usr/lib/python3.9/logging/config.py
/home/patermars/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_64/steam-runtime-sniper/var/tmp-39ELR2/usr/lib/python3.9/sysconfig.py
Search complete for 'config.py'.
Searching for configuration files related to 'sddm'...
/etc/pam.d/sddm
/etc/pam.d/sddm-autologin
/etc/pam.d/sddm-greeter
/etc/sddm.conf
/home/patermars/.local/share/fish/generated_completions/sddm-greeter.fish
/home/patermars/.local/share/fish/generated_completions/sddm.fish
Search complete for 'sddm'.

where as , if we did:

whereis sddm

Output:

sddm: /usr/bin/sddm /usr/lib/sddm /usr/share/sddm /usr/share/man/man1/sddm.1.gz

Display the script version:

where-is -v

Display the help message:

where-is -h

List the directories being searched:

where-is -d

This command will search for configuration files related to grub in the following directories:

• /etc
• /etc/default
• /usr/local/etc
• $HOME/.config
• $HOME/.local/share
• /opt

Script Details

Here's a brief overview of what the where-is script does:

1. Checks if an argument is provided:

   • If no argument is provided, it displays usage information and exits.

2. Defines directories to search:

   • An array of directories (CONFIG_DIRS) is defined, which includes common locations for configuration files.

3. Parses options:

   • Supports -h or --help to display usage information and exit.
   • Supports -v or --version to display the script version and exit.
   • Supports -d or --directories to list the directories being searched and exit.

4. Searches for configuration files:

   • Uses the find command to search each directory in CONFIG_DIRS for files that match the application name (case-insensitive).
   • Suppresses error messages to avoid cluttering the output.

Customization

You can customize the where-is script by adding or removing directories from the CONFIG_DIRS array to suit your specific needs.

License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please fork the repository and submit a pull request with your changes.

Contact

For any questions or suggestions, feel free to open an issue in the repository or contact the maintainer.

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Enjoy using where-is to easily locate your configuration files!