ccsh - Compact C Shell

A small yet powerful Unix-like shell written in C, featuring interactive command line editing, job control, aliases, and more.

Features

• Interactive Command Line: Full readline support with history, tab completion, and line editing
• Job Control: Background job management with jobs, fg, and bg commands
• Alias Support: Command aliases with alias and unalias
• Built-in Commands: cd, pwd, exit, help, jobs, fg, alias, unalias
• Redirection: Input/output redirection with >, >>, <
• Pipelines: Command chaining with |
• Signal Handling: Proper Ctrl+C handling
• Cross-Platform: Works on macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD

Cross-Platform Support

Supported Platforms

Platform	Package Manager	Dependencies
Ubuntu/Debian	apt	build-essential libreadline-dev
CentOS/RHEL	yum	Development Tools readline-devel
Fedora	dnf	Development Tools readline-devel
Arch Linux	pacman	base-devel readline
macOS	brew	readline
FreeBSD	pkg	gcc readline
OpenBSD	pkg_add	gcc readline
NetBSD	pkgin	gcc readline

Quick Start

Automatic Setup (Recommended)

# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd ccsh-shell

# Install dependencies and build
./build-and-package.sh -a

Manual Setup

# 1. Install dependencies (see platform-specific instructions below)
# 2. Build the project
make all

# 3. Run the shell
./ccsh

Platform-Specific Installation

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential libreadline-dev

CentOS/RHEL/Fedora

# CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum groupinstall "Development Tools"
sudo yum install readline-devel

# Fedora
sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools"
sudo dnf install readline-devel

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel readline

macOS

# Install Homebrew (if not already installed)
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install dependencies
brew install readline

FreeBSD

sudo pkg install gcc readline

OpenBSD

sudo pkg_add gcc readline

NetBSD

sudo pkgin install gcc readline

Build Options

Using Makefile

# Standard build
make all

# Static binary (Linux/BSD)
make static

# Debug build
make debug

# Clean build artifacts
make clean

# Check dependencies
make check-deps

# Show help
make help

Using Build Script

# Full automated build (install deps + build + test + package)
./build-and-package.sh -a

# Install dependencies only
./build-and-package.sh -d

# Check dependencies
./build-and-package.sh -c

# Build specific type
./build-and-package.sh -b normal    # Standard build
./build-and-package.sh -b static    # Static binary
./build-and-package.sh -b debug     # Debug build

# Test the build
./build-and-package.sh -t

# Create distribution package
./build-and-package.sh -p

# Build and package
./build-and-package.sh -b normal -p

Distribution Package

The build script can create a distribution package with all necessary files:

# Create distribution package
./build-and-package.sh -p

This creates a dist/ folder with:

• Compiled executable
• Installation/uninstallation scripts
• Documentation
• Test scripts
• Compressed tar.gz package with checksum

Usage

Basic Usage

# Start the shell
./ccsh

# Run a command and exit
echo "ls" | ./ccsh

Built-in Commands

ccsh> help          # Show help
ccsh> cd /tmp       # Change directory
ccsh> pwd           # Print working directory
ccsh> jobs          # List background jobs
ccsh> alias ll=ls   # Create alias
ccsh> unalias ll    # Remove alias
ccsh> exit          # Exit shell

Job Control

ccsh> sleep 10 &    # Run in background
ccsh> jobs          # List background jobs
ccsh> fg 0          # Bring job to foreground

Redirection and Pipelines

ccsh> ls > files.txt        # Output redirection
ccsh> cat < files.txt       # Input redirection
ccsh> ls | grep .c          # Pipeline
ccsh> echo "test" >> log    # Append redirection

Development

Project Structure

ccsh-shell/
├── main.c                 # Main shell implementation
├── Makefile               # Cross-platform build configuration
├── build-and-package.sh   # Automated build script
├── test.sh                # Test suite
├── README.md              # This file
└── docs/                  # Documentation

Building for Different Platforms

The build system automatically detects your platform and configures the appropriate compiler flags and libraries:

• Linux: Uses -lreadline -lncurses -ltinfo for static builds
• macOS: Uses -lreadline (static linking limited)
• BSD: Uses -lreadline -lncurses for static builds

Debugging

# Build with debug symbols
make debug

# Run with debug output
./ccsh

Testing

# Run the test suite
make test

# Or use the build script
./build-and-package.sh -t

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. "readline/readline.h: No such file or directory"

   • Install readline development headers for your platform
   • Use ./build-and-package.sh -d to install dependencies

2. Static linking fails on macOS

   • macOS has limitations with static linking
   • Use make all instead of make static

3. Build fails on unknown Linux distribution

   • Install manually: gcc, make, readline-dev
   • Or use the build script: ./build-and-package.sh -d

Platform-Specific Notes

• macOS: Static linking is limited due to system restrictions
• FreeBSD: May require additional ncurses libraries
• OpenBSD: Uses different package manager (pkg_add)
• NetBSD: Uses pkgin package manager

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test on multiple platforms
5. Submit a pull request

Acknowledgments

• GNU Readline library for interactive command line editing
• POSIX standards for shell compatibility

---

Support

If you find my work useful, consider supporting it: