Skill Template

skill-template

Multi-purpose utility tool for managing entries, searching data, and exporting records. A general-purpose CLI toolkit with init, add/remove, list, search, and export capabilities — ideal as a starting point for building your own skill or as a standalone data management tool.

Commands

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | skill-template run | Execute the main function with the given input | | skill-template config | Show configuration file path (config.json location) | | skill-template status | Show current status (reports "ready" when operational) | | skill-template init | Initialize the data directory and prepare for use | | skill-template list | List all entries in the data log | | skill-template add | Add a new dated entry to the data log | | skill-template remove | Remove a specified entry | | skill-template search | Search the data log for a term (case-insensitive) | | skill-template export | Export all data from the data log to stdout | | skill-template info | Show version number and data directory path | | skill-template help | Show help message with all available commands | | skill-template version | Show version number |

How It Works

skill-template manages a simple text-based data log (data.log) in its data directory. You can add entries (automatically date-stamped), list them, search through them, and export the full contents. Every command is also recorded in a separate history.log for auditing.

Workflow

1. Initialize: Run skill-template init to set up the data directory 2. Add entries: Use skill-template add to log items with automatic date stamps 3. Review: Use skill-template list to see all entries or skill-template search to find specific ones 4. Export: Run skill-template export to output all data for backup or processing

Data Storage

All data is stored in $SKILL_TEMPLATE_DIR or defaults to ~/.local/share/skill-template/. The directory contains:

The tool automatically creates the data directory on first run. You can override the storage location by setting the SKILL_TEMPLATE_DIR environment variable.

Requirements

When to Use

1. Quick data logging — Use skill-template add "meeting notes: discussed Q2 targets" to capture timestamped entries without opening an editor 2. Building a new skill — Fork this as a starting template with a working CLI framework (case dispatch, logging, data management) already in place 3. Simple searchable notebook — Add notes throughout the day, then use skill-template search "keyword" to find them later 4. Data export for processing — Run skill-template export to pipe all entries to another tool or save as a backup file 5. Learning bash CLI patterns — Study the script as an example of a well-structured bash tool with case-based dispatch, logging, and data management

Examples

# Initialize the data directory
skill-template init
Add some entries
skill-template add "Project Alpha: milestone 1 complete"
skill-template add "Bug fix: resolved login timeout issue"
skill-template add "Meeting: sprint review with team"
List all entries
skill-template list
Search for project-related entries
skill-template search "Project"
Check the tool status
skill-template status
View version and data location
skill-template info
Show configuration path
skill-template config
Export all data to a file
skill-template export > backup.txt
Run a custom function
skill-template run "my-task"

Configuration

Set the SKILL_TEMPLATE_DIR environment variable to change the data directory:

export SKILL_TEMPLATE_DIR="$HOME/my-skill-data"

Default location: ~/.local/share/skill-template/

Output

All command output goes to stdout in plain text. The list and export commands output the raw content of data.log, making them easy to pipe into other tools:

skill-template list | grep "2024-03"
skill-template export | wc -l

# Initialize the data directory
skill-template init
Add some entries
skill-template add "Project Alpha: milestone 1 complete"
skill-template add "Bug fix: resolved login timeout issue"
skill-template add "Meeting: sprint review with team"
List all entries
skill-template list
Search for project-related entries
skill-template search "Project"
Check the tool status
skill-template status
View version and data location
skill-template info
Show configuration path
skill-template config
Export all data to a file
skill-template export > backup.txt
Run a custom function
skill-template run "my-task"

Set the SKILL_TEMPLATE_DIR environment variable to change the data directory:

export SKILL_TEMPLATE_DIR="$HOME/my-skill-data"

Default location: ~/.local/share/skill-template/