decoreba

README

decoreba

Inline finder for the commands you use every day and never quite memorize.

~2 ms startup · 6.2 MB binary · zero dependencies

Features · Install · Quick start · Usage · Shell · Sync · MCP

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Features

• Inline overlay — Opens below the cursor, not as a fullscreen app. Dismiss without trace. Pure ANSI escape codes, no libraries.
• Fuzzy search + typo tolerance — Damerau-Levenshtein distance catches typos. Accent normalization (próximo matches proximo).
• Recency ranking — Score = fuzzy match + usage count + exponential decay (48h half-life). Pinned commands stay at top.
• Workflows — Multi-step commands with interactive runner. Each step is a title + command pair. Enter steps forward, Ctrl+X runs all.
• Zero dependencies — Pure Go standard library. No ncurses, no fzf, no daemon. Single 6.2 MB binary.
• MCP server — Model Context Protocol over stdin/stdout. Lets AI agents search, add, edit, and execute from your vault.

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Install

npm install -g decoreba

Downloads a prebuilt binary for your platform. No Go toolchain needed.

go install github.com/matheuzgomes/decoreba/cmd/decoreba@latest

Quick start

decoreba                    # auto-detect context from cwd
decoreba git                # search within "git" context
decoreba add                # add a command
decoreba edit 0c9           # edit by id prefix
decoreba stats              # vault statistics

See the full reference below.

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Usage

Palette

The overlay appears below your prompt, not fullscreen. Type to fuzzy-search. Enter copies the command. Ctrl+X executes it.

[!NOTE] Shift+Enter also executes, but only in terminals that implement the kitty keyboard protocol (kitty, WezTerm, Ghostty). In most terminals Shift+Enter sends the same byte as Enter and will copy instead.

When results exceed the viewport, an overflow indicator appears (… 3 more). If the terminal is 3 rows or shorter, a graceful message is shown instead. NO_COLOR or --no-color disables all ANSI codes.

Keybindings

Universal (every terminal emulator)

Key	Action
↑ / Ctrl+K	Navigate up
↓ / Ctrl+J	Navigate down
Enter	Copy selected
1 – 9	Direct select (empty search)
Ctrl+X	Execute selected (press twice, or y to confirm)
Ctrl+E	Edit selected
Ctrl+S	Toggle pin
Backspace (empty)	Remove context chip
Tab / Shift+Tab	Next / previous field (form)
Esc / Ctrl+C	Cancel

Kitty protocol only (kitty, WezTerm, Ghostty)

Key	Action
Shift+Enter	Execute selected

Execute mode

Ctrl+X triggers execution. A confirmation prompt appears: Run this command? y/yes n/no. Press Ctrl+X again or y to confirm. Any other key cancels.

With --shell-output, the command text is printed to stdout instead of the clipboard. The shell widget (below) strips the prefix automatically:

decoreba docker ps --shell-output   # prints "✓ docker ps" or "EXEC:docker ps"

Add / Edit form

Five fields: context, title, command, tags, notes. Context autocompletes from existing entries. Tags render as colored chips. Ctrl+W turns the command into a multi-step workflow editor.

decoreba edit <id> or Ctrl+E from the palette reopens the form pre-filled.

Workflows

Commands can have multiple steps. Each step is a title + command pair.

Enter runs the next step. Ctrl+X runs all remaining (confirms first). Esc aborts. Failed steps show ✗. Subprocess I/O routes through /dev/tty so interactive programs still work when piped.

Variables

Use {{placeholder}} or {{name:default}} in any command. On copy or execute, decoreba prompts for each value inline:

$ decoreba deploy

  Container name: [web]

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Shell integration

Completions

Generate tab completions for subcommands, contexts, and sync actions:

eval "$(decoreba completion bash)"   # or zsh / fish

Ctrl+O widget

Opens the palette pre-filled with whatever you typed. Enter inserts the command at the cursor. Ctrl+X executes (confirms first).

source <(decoreba shell bash)   # or zsh

Init

Installs both widget and completions into your shell rc file in one step. Creates a backup before modifying.

decoreba init              # interactive
decoreba init --yes        # non-interactive

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Gist sync

Sync your vault across machines via a private GitHub Gist.

decoreba sync init          # create a new Gist and upload
decoreba sync push          # upload local changes
decoreba sync pull          # download remote changes
decoreba sync status        # show ahead/behind/diverged/clean

Requires DECOREBA_GIST_TOKEN (classic PAT with gist scope). Pass --encrypt to encrypt with AES-256-GCM before upload. The key is derived from the token.

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MCP server

Runs a Model Context Protocol server over stdin/stdout. Lets AI agents (Claude Desktop, Cline, etc.) interact with your command vault directly.

decoreba mcp

Tool	Action
decoreba_search	Fuzzy search across all contexts
decoreba_get	Look up a command by ID
decoreba_list_contexts	List all contexts with counts
decoreba_add	Add a new command
decoreba_edit	Update an existing command
decoreba_remove	Delete by ID
decoreba_execute	Run a command and return output
decoreba_stats	Vault statistics

Write and delete tools require confirm: true. Dangerous commands (rm -rf /, > /dev/sda, etc.) are blocked by a built-in denylist. Auto-backup runs before every modification.

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Data

Single JSON file. Atomic writes (save to .tmp, rename over target).

OS	Path
Linux	$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/decoreba/commands.json
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/decoreba/commands.json
Windows	%AppData%\decoreba\commands.json

Override the directory with $DECOREBA_CONFIG (the filename is always commands.json).

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Performance

Metric	Value
Binary	6.2 MB (CLI, stripped with -s -w)
Startup	~2 ms
RSS	~7 MB
Dependencies	zero (pure Go stdlib)
Targets	linux amd64/arm64, macOS amd64/arm64, windows amd64

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Design

• Appear, don't replace. Inline overlay, not alternate screen. The terminal is exactly as it was before.
• Right answer before you finish typing. Fuzzy + typo tolerance + recency + pinning.
• Keyboard-first. Every action has a shortcut. The hint line teaches them progressively. No mouse.
• Context over categories. Commands live under the tool they belong to. Auto-detection from cwd.
• Accessible. NO_COLOR and --no-color disable all ANSI escape codes.