replace

The replace command populates variables within a command string. Its primary function is to take a command template containing placeholders and fill them in, either through command-line arguments or an interactive prompt.

This is the underlying command that powers variable substitution when you select a command from the search UI or use the Ctrl+L hotkey.

Variable Syntax

IntelliShell primarily uses the {{variable-name}} format for placeholders, but it also support the <variable_name> format for compatibility with other tools or examples.

Usage

intelli-shell replace [OPTIONS] [COMMAND_STRING]

Arguments

• COMMAND_STRING The command template containing variables to be replaced.

  If this argument is omitted or set to -, the command will be read from standard input, allowing for piping.

Options

• -e, --env <KEY[=VALUE]>

  Assigns a value to a variable. This option can be used multiple times for multiple variables.

  • If specified as key=value, it directly assigns the value.
  • If only a key is provided (e.g., --env api-token), IntelliShell will read the value from a corresponding environment variable (e.g., API_TOKEN).

• -E, --use-env

  Automatically populates any remaining variables from their corresponding environment variables (e.g., {{api-key}} maps to API_KEY). This gives access to all environment variables without listing them explicitly. This is always enabled in interactive mode.

• -i, --interactive

  Opens the interactive TUI to fill in the variables.

• -l, --inline

  When used with --interactive, forces the TUI to render inline.

• -f, --full-screen

  When used with --interactive, forces the TUI to render in full-screen mode.

Examples

Basic Non-Interactive Replacement

Provide values for variables directly on the command line.

intelli-shell replace 'echo "Hello, {{name}}!"' --env name=World
# Output: echo "Hello, World!"

Using Standard Input (Piping)

Pipe a command template into replace to have its variables filled.

echo 'curl -H "Auth: {{token}}"' | intelli-shell replace --env token=xyz123
# Output: curl -H "Auth: xyz123"

Populating from Environment Variables

Use existing environment variables to populate command templates.

# Set an environment variable
export FILENAME="report.pdf"

# Use the --use-env flag to automatically find and replace {{filename}}
intelli-shell replace 'tar -czvf archive.tar.gz {{filename}}' --use-env
# Output: tar -czvf archive.tar.gz report.pdf

Launching the Interactive UI

If you prefer to fill in variables using the TUI, use the --interactive flag.

intelli-shell replace -i 'scp {{file}} {{user}}@{{host}}:/remote/path'

This will open an interactive prompt asking you to provide values for file, user, and host.