buku 4.9

Description:

buku 4.9

buku












buku in action!
Introduction
buku is a powerful bookmark manager and a personal textual mini-web.
For those who prefer the GUI, bukuserver exposes a browsable front-end on a local web host server.
When I started writing it, I couldn't find a flexible command-line solution with a private, portable, merge-able database along with seamless GUI integration. Hence, buku.
buku can import bookmarks from browser(s) or fetch the title, tags and description of a URL from the web. Use your favourite editor to add, compose and update bookmarks. Search bookmarks instantly with multiple search options, including regex and a deep scan mode (handy with URLs).
It can look up broken links on the Wayback Machine. There's an Easter Egg to revisit random bookmarks.
There's no tracking, hidden history, obsolete records, usage analytics or homing.
To get started right away, jump to the Quickstart section. buku has one of the best documentation around. The man page comes with examples. For internal details, please refer to the operational notes.
buku is a library too! There are several related projects, including a browser plug-in.
Table of Contents

Features
Installation

Dependencies
From a package manager
Release packages
From source
Running standalone


Shell completion
Usage

Command-line options
Colors


Quickstart
Examples
Automation
Troubleshooting

Editor integration


Collaborators
Contributions
Related projects
In the Press

Features

Store bookmarks with auto-fetched title, tags and description
Auto-import from Firefox, Google Chrome, Chromium and MS Edge
Open bookmarks and search results in browser
Shorten, expand URLs
Browse cached page from the Wayback Machine
Text editor integration
Lightweight, clean interface, custom colors
Powerful search options (regex, substring...)
Continuous search with on the fly mode switch
Portable, merge-able database to sync between systems
Import/export bookmarks from/to HTML, XBEL, Markdown or Orgfile
Smart tag management using redirection (>>, >, <<)
Multi-threaded full DB refresh
Manual encryption support
Shell completion scripts, man page with examples
Privacy-aware (no unconfirmed user data collection)

Installation
Dependencies



Feature
Dependency




Lang, SQLite
Python 3.8+


HTTPS
certifi, urllib3


Encryption
cryptography


HTML
beautifulsoup4, html5lib



To copy URL to clipboard buku uses xsel (or xclip) on Linux, pbcopy (default installed) on OS X, clip (default installed) on Windows, termux-clipboard on Termux (terminal emulation for Android), wl-copy on Wayland. If X11 is missing, GNU Screen or tmux copy-paste buffers are recognized.
From a package manager
To install buku with all its dependencies from PyPI, run:
# pip3 install buku

You can also install buku from your package manager. If the version available is dated try an alternative installation method.
Packaging status (expand)




Unlisted packagers:


● PyPI (pip3 install buku)
● Termux (pip3 install buku)


Release packages
Auto-generated packages (with only the cli component) for Arch Linux, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE Leap and Ubuntu are available with the latest stable release.
NOTE: CentOS may not have the python3-beautifulsoup4 package in the repos. Install it using pip3.
From source
If you have git installed, clone this repository. Otherwise download the latest stable release or development version (risky).
Install the dependencies. For example, on Ubuntu:
$ apt-get install ca-certificates python3-urllib3 python3-cryptography python3-bs4

Install the cli component to default location (/usr/local):
$ sudo make install

To remove, run:
$ sudo make uninstall

PREFIX is supported, in case you want to install to a different location.
Running standalone
buku is a standalone utility. From the containing directory, run:
$ chmod +x buku
$ ./buku

Shell completion
Shell completion scripts for Bash, Fish and Zsh can be found in respective subdirectories of auto-completion/. Please refer to your shell's manual for installation instructions.
Usage
Command-line options
usage: buku [OPTIONS] [KEYWORD [KEYWORD ...]]

Bookmark manager like a text-based mini-web.

POSITIONAL ARGUMENTS:
KEYWORD search keywords

GENERAL OPTIONS:
-a, --add URL [tag, ...]
bookmark URL with comma-separated tags
-u, --update [...] update fields of an existing bookmark
accepts indices and ranges
refresh title and desc if no edit options
if no arguments:
- update results when used with search
- otherwise refresh all titles and desc
-w, --write [editor|index]
edit and add a new bookmark in editor
else, edit bookmark at index in EDITOR
edit last bookmark, if index=-1
if no args, edit new bookmark in EDITOR
-d, --delete [...] remove bookmarks from DB
accepts indices or a single range
if no arguments:
- delete results when used with search
- otherwise delete all bookmarks
-h, --help show this information and exit
-v, --version show the program version and exit

EDIT OPTIONS:
--url keyword bookmark link
--tag [+|-] [...] comma-separated tags
clear bookmark tagset, if no arguments
'+' appends to, '-' removes from tagset
--title [...] bookmark title; if no arguments:
-a: do not set title, -u: clear title
-c, --comment [...] notes or description of the bookmark
clears description, if no arguments
--immutable N disable web-fetch during auto-refresh
N=0: mutable (default), N=1: immutable

SEARCH OPTIONS:
-s, --sany [...] find records with ANY matching keyword
this is the default search option
-S, --sall [...] find records matching ALL the keywords
special keywords -
"blank": entries with empty title/tag
"immutable": entries with locked title
--deep match substrings ('pen' matches 'opens')
-r, --sreg expr run a regex search
-t, --stag [tag [,|+] ...] [- tag, ...]
search bookmarks by tags
use ',' to find entries matching ANY tag
use '+' to find entries matching ALL tags
excludes entries with tags after ' - '
list all tags, if no search keywords
-x, --exclude [...] omit records matching specified keywords

ENCRYPTION OPTIONS:
-l, --lock [N] encrypt DB in N (default 8) # iterations
-k, --unlock [N] decrypt DB in N (default 8) # iterations

POWER TOYS:
--ai auto-import bookmarks from web browsers
Firefox, Chrome, Chromium, Vivaldi, Edge
-e, --export file export bookmarks to Firefox format HTML
export XBEL, if file ends with '.xbel'
export Markdown, if file ends with '.md'
format: [title](url) <!-- TAGS -->
export Orgfile, if file ends with '.org'
format: *[[url][title]] :tags:
export buku DB, if file ends with '.db'
combines with search results, if opted
-i, --import file import bookmarks from file
supports .html .xbel .json .md .org .db
-p, --print [...] show record details by indices, ranges
print all bookmarks, if no arguments
-n shows the last n results (like tail)
-f, --format N limit fields in -p or JSON search output
N=1: URL; N=2: URL, tag; N=3: title;
N=4: URL, title, tag; N=5: title, tag;
N0 (10, 20, 30, 40, 50) omits DB index
-j, --json [file] JSON formatted output for -p and search.
prints to stdout if argument missing.
otherwise writes to given file
--colors COLORS set output colors in five-letter string
--nc disable color output
-n, --count N show N results per page (default 10)
--np do not show the subprompt, run and exit
-o, --open [...] browse bookmarks by indices and ranges
open a random bookmark, if no arguments
--oa browse all search results immediately
--replace old new replace old tag with new tag everywhere
delete old tag, if new tag not specified
--url-redirect when fetching an URL, use the resulting
URL from following *permanent* redirects
(when combined with --export, the old URL
is included as additional metadata)
--tag-redirect [tag] when fetching an URL that causes permanent
redirect, add a tag in specified pattern
(using 'http:{}' if not specified)
--tag-error [tag] when fetching an URL that causes an HTTP
error, add a tag in specified pattern
(using 'http:{}' if not specified)
--del-error [...] when fetching an URL causes any (given)
HTTP error, delete/do not add it
--export-on [...] export records affected by the above
options, including removed info
(requires --update and --export; specific
HTTP response filter can be provided)
--shorten index|URL fetch shortened url from tny.im service
--expand index|URL expand a tny.im shortened url
--cached index|URL browse a cached page from Wayback Machine
--offline add a bookmark without connecting to web
--suggest show similar tags when adding bookmarks
--tacit reduce verbosity, skip some confirmations
--nostdin do not wait for input (must be first arg)
--threads N max network connections in full refresh
default N=4, min N=1, max N=10
-V check latest upstream version available
-g, --debug show debug information and verbose logs

SYMBOLS:
> url
+ comment
# tags

PROMPT KEYS:
1-N browse search result indices and/or ranges
O [id|range [...]] open search results/indices in GUI browser
toggle try GUI browser if no arguments
a open all results in browser
s keyword [...] search for records with ANY keyword
S keyword [...] search for records with ALL keywords
d match substrings ('pen' matches 'opened')
r expression run a regex search
t [tag, ...] search by tags; show taglist, if no args
g taglist id|range [...] [>>|>|<<] [record id|range ...]
append, set, remove (all or specific) tags
search by taglist id(s) if records are omitted
n show next page of search results
o id|range [...] browse bookmarks by indices and/or ranges
p id|range [...] print bookmarks by indices and/or ranges
w [editor|id] edit and add or update a bookmark
c id copy URL at search result index to clipboard
? show this help
q, ^D, double Enter exit buku

Colors
buku supports custom colors. Visit the wiki page on how to customize colors for more details.
Quickstart


Export VISUAL or EDITOR to point to your favourite editor. Note that VISUAL takes precedence over EDITOR.


Create a sweeter shortcut with some convenience.
alias b='buku --suggest'



Auto-import bookmarks from your browser(s). Please quit the relevant browsers beforehand to ensure the databases are not locked.
b --ai



Manually add a bookmark (for hands-on).
b -w



List your bookmarks with DB index.
b -p



For GUI and browser integration (or to sync bookmarks with your favourite bookmark management service) refer to the wiki page on System integration.


Quick (bash/zsh) commands to fuzzy search with fzf and open the selection in Firefox:
firefox $(buku -p -f 10 | fzf)
firefox $(buku -p -f 40 | fzf | cut -f1)

POSIX script to show a preview of the bookmark as well:
#!/usr/bin/env sh

url=$(buku -p -f4 | fzf -m --reverse --preview "buku -p {1}" --preview-window=wrap | cut -f2)

if [ -n "$url" ]; then
echo "$url" | xargs firefox
fi



Examples


Edit and add a bookmark from editor:
$ buku -w
$ buku -w 'gedit -w'
$ buku -w 'macvim -f' -a https://ddg.gg search engine, privacy

The first command picks editor from the environment variable EDITOR. The second command opens gedit in blocking mode. The third command opens macvim with option -f and the URL and tags populated in template.


Add a simple bookmark:
$ buku --nostdin -a https://github.com/
2648. GitHub: Let’s build from here · GitHub
> https://github.com/
+ GitHub is where over 94 million developers shape the future of software, together. Contribute to the open source community, manage your Git repositories, review code like a pro, track bugs
and features, power your CI/CD and DevOps workflows, and secure code before you commit it.

$ buku --nostdin -a https://github.com/
[ERROR] URL [https://github.com/] already exists at index 2648

>: URL, +: comment, #: tags
Title, description and tags will be fetched from site. Buku only stores unique URLs and will raise error if the URL already present in the database:


Add a bookmark with tags search engine and privacy, comment Search engine with perks, fetch page title from the web:
$ buku -a https://ddg.gg search engine, privacy -c Search engine with perks
336. DuckDuckGo
> https://ddg.gg
+ Alternative search engine with perks
# privacy,search engine

where, >: URL, +: comment, #: tags


Add a bookmark with tags search engine & privacy and immutable custom title DDG:
$ buku -a https://ddg.gg search engine, privacy --title 'DDG' --immutable 1
336. DDG (L)
> https://ddg.gg
# privacy,search engine

Note that URL must precede tags.


Add a bookmark without a title (works for update too):
$ buku -a https://ddg.gg search engine, privacy --title



Edit and update a bookmark from editor:
$ buku -w 15012014

This will open the existing bookmark's details in the editor for modifications. Environment variable EDITOR must be set.


Update existing bookmark at index 15012014 with new URL, tags and comments, fetch title from the web:
$ buku -u 15012014 --url http://ddg.gg/ --tag web search, utilities -c Private search engine



Fetch and update only title for bookmark at 15012014:
$ buku -u 15012014



Update only comment for bookmark at 15012014:
$ buku -u 15012014 -c this is a new comment

Applies to --url, --title and --tag too.


Export bookmarks tagged tag 1 or tag 2 to HTML, XBEL, Markdown, Orgfile or a new database:
buku−ebookmarks.html−−stagtag1,tag2 buku -e bookmarks.xbel --stag tag 1, tag 2
buku−ebookmarks.md−−stagtag1,tag2 buku -e bookmarks.org --stag tag 1, tag 2
$ buku -e bookmarks.db --stag tag 1, tag 2
All bookmarks are exported if search is not opted.


Import bookmarks from HTML, XBEL, Markdown or Orgfile:
$ buku -i bookmarks.html
$ buku -i bookmarks.xbel
$ buku -i bookmarks.md
$ buku -i bookmarks.org
$ buku -i bookmarks.db



Delete only comment for bookmark at 15012014:
$ buku -u 15012014 -c

Applies to --title and --tag too. URL cannot be deleted without deleting the bookmark.


Update or refresh full DB with page titles from the web:
$ buku -u
$ buku -u --tacit (show only failures and exceptions)

This operation can update the title or description fields of non-immutable bookmarks by parsing the fetched page. Fields are updated only if the fetched fields are non-empty. Tags remain untouched.


Delete bookmark at index 15012014:
$ buku -d 15012014
Index 15012020 moved to 15012014

The last index is moved to the deleted index to keep the DB compact. Add --tacit to delete without confirmation.


Delete all bookmarks:
$ buku -d



Delete a range or list of bookmarks:
$ buku -d 100-200
$ buku -d 100 15 200



Search bookmarks for ANY of the keywords kernel and debugging in URL, title or tags:
$ buku kernel debugging
$ buku -s kernel debugging



Search bookmarks with ALL the keywords kernel and debugging in URL, title or tags:
$ buku -S kernel debugging



Search bookmarks tagged general kernel concepts:
$ buku --stag general kernel concepts



Search for bookmarks matching ANY of the tags kernel, debugging, general kernel concepts:
$ buku --stag kernel, debugging, general kernel concepts



Search for bookmarks matching ALL of the tags kernel, debugging, general kernel concepts:
$ buku --stag kernel + debugging + general kernel concepts



Search for bookmarks matching any of the keywords hello or world, excluding the keywords real and life, matching both the tags kernel and debugging, but excluding the tags general kernel concepts and books:
$ buku hello world --exclude real life --stag 'kernel + debugging - general kernel concepts, books'



List all unique tags alphabetically:
$ buku --stag



Run a search and update the results:
$ buku -s kernel debugging -u --tag + linux kernel



Run a search and delete the results:
$ buku -s kernel debugging -d



Encrypt or decrypt DB with custom number of iterations (15) to generate key:
$ buku -l 15
$ buku -k 15

The same number of iterations must be specified for one lock & unlock instance. Default is 8, if omitted.


Show details of bookmarks at index 15012014 and ranges 20-30, 40-50:
$ buku -p 20-30 15012014 40-50



Show details of the last 10 bookmarks:
$ buku -p -10



Show all bookmarks with real index from database:
$ buku -p
$ buku -p | more



Replace tag 'old tag' with 'new tag':
$ buku --replace 'old tag' 'new tag'



Delete tag 'old tag' from DB:
$ buku --replace 'old tag'



Append (or delete) tags 'tag 1', 'tag 2' to (or from) existing tags of bookmark at index 15012014:
$ buku -u 15012014 --tag + tag 1, tag 2
$ buku -u 15012014 --tag - tag 1, tag 2



Open URL at index 15012014 in browser:
$ buku -o 15012014



List bookmarks with no title or tags for bookkeeping:
$ buku -S blank



List bookmarks with immutable title:
$ buku -S immutable



Shorten URL www.google.com and the URL at index 20:
$ buku --shorten www.google.com
$ buku --shorten 20



Append, remove tags at prompt (taglist index to the left, bookmark index to the right):
// append tags at taglist indices 4 and 6-9 to existing tags in bookmarks at indices 5 and 2-3
buku (? for help) g 4 9-6 >> 5 3-2
// set tags at taglist indices 4 and 6-9 as tags in bookmarks at indices 5 and 2-3
buku (? for help) g 4 9-6 > 5 3-2
// remove all tags from bookmarks at indices 5 and 2-3
buku (? for help) g > 5 3-2
// remove tags at taglist indices 4 and 6-9 from tags in bookmarks at indices 5 and 2-3
buku (? for help) g 4 9-6 << 5 3-2



List bookmarks with colored output:
$ buku --colors oKlxm -p



Add a bookmark after following all permanent redirects, but only if the server doesn't respond with an error (and there's no network failure)
$ buku --add http://wikipedia.net --url-redirect --del-error
2. Wikipedia
> https://www.wikipedia.org/
+ Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia, created and edited by volunteers around the world and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation.



Add a bookmark with tag http redirect if the server responds with a permanent redirect, or tag shaped like http 404 on an error response:
$ buku --add http://wikipedia.net/notfound --tag-redirect 'http redirect' --tag-error 'http {}'
[ERROR] [404] Not Found
3. Not Found
> http://wikipedia.net/notfound
# http 404,http redirect



Update all bookmarks matching the search by updating the URL if the server responds with a permanent redirect, deleting the bookmark if the server responds with HTTP error 400, 401, 402, 403, 404 or 500, or adding a tag shaped like http:{} in case of any other HTTP error; then export those affected by such changes into an HTML file, marking deleted records as well as old URLs for those replaced by redirect.
$ buku -S ://wikipedia.net -u --url-redirect --tag-error --del-error 400-404,500 --export-on --export backup.html



More help:
$ buku -h
$ man buku



Automation
Interactive workflows can be automated using expect. Issue #368 has a working example on automating auto-import.
Troubleshooting
Editor integration
You may encounter issues with GUI editors which maintain only one instance by default and return immediately from other instances. Use the appropriate editor option to block the caller when a new document is opened. See issue #210 for gedit.
Collaborators

Arun Prakash Jana
Alexey Gulenko
Rachmadani Haryono
Johnathan Jenkins
SZ Lin

Copyright © 2015-2024 Arun Prakash Jana


Contributions
Missing a feature? There's a rolling ToDo List with identified tasks. Contributions are welcome! Please follow the PR guidelines.
See also our documentation here
Related projects

bukubrow, WebExtension for browser integration
oil, search-as-you-type cli front-end
buku_run, rofi front-end
pinku, a Pinboard-to-buku import utility
buku-dmenu, a simple bash dmenu wrapper
poku, sync between Pocket and buku
Ebuku, Emacs interface to buku
diigoku, buku importer for Diigo

Videos

Buku: Take Your Bookmarks Everywhere You Go
Buku is a great open-source bookmark manager

In the Press

2daygeek
Hacker Milk
It's F.O.S.S.
LinOxide
LinuxUser Magazine 01/2017 Issue
Make Tech Easier
One Thing Well
Open Source For You
ulno.net

License

For personal and professional use. You cannot resell or redistribute these repositories in their original state.

Share

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter