Skill Template

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:

• data.log — main data file where entries are stored (date-stamped lines)
• history.log — timestamped log of all commands executed
• config.json — configuration file path (referenced by config command)

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

• Shell: Bash 4+
• No external dependencies — uses only standard Unix utilities (date, grep, wc, cat)
• Works on: Linux, macOS, any POSIX-compatible system

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

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