Chief

Bash Plugin Manager & Terminal Enhancement Tool

Chief is a lightweight, powerful Bash library system that helps you organize your shell environment through a plugin-based architecture. Think of it as a package manager for your bash functions, aliases, and tools.

Quick Install

# Install stable version
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/randyoyarzabal/chief/refs/heads/main/tools/install.sh)"

For development version, use:

# Install development version (may be unstable)  
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/randyoyarzabal/chief/refs/heads/dev/tools/install.sh)"

That's it! Restart your terminal and start using Chief.

Disconnected Installation

For environments without git connectivity:

# Download Chief, transfer to target system, then:
./tools/install.sh --local

Quick Start: Portable Setup

Real-world example: Set up Chief with remote plugins and vault that follows you across all systems.

One-Time Setup (any new system)

# 1. Install Chief (one command)
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/randyoyarzabal/chief/refs/heads/main/tools/install.sh)"

# 2. Configure your plugin repository (replace with your repo)
chief.config_set -y PLUGINS_GIT_REPO="git@github.com:yourusername/my-plugins.git"
chief.config_set -y PLUGINS_PATH="${HOME}/chief_plugins"
chief.config_set -y PLUGINS_GIT_BRANCH="main"
chief.config_set -y PLUGINS_GIT_PATH="bash/plugins"   # or "" for repo root, this is plugins path relative to PLUGINS_PATH
chief.config_set -y PLUGINS_GIT_AUTOUPDATE="false"    # manual updates
chief.config_set -y PLUGINS_TYPE="remote"             # Enable remote sync

# 3. (Optional) Enable multi-line prompt, useful when current working dir is deep.
chief.config_set -y MULTILINE_PROMPT=true 

# 4. (Optional) Load your encrypted secrets (if exists)
chief.vault_file-load  # Team vault (.chief_shared-vault - if exists)
chief.vault_file-load ~/.my-personal-vault     # Personal vault

For detailed vault setup and management, see: Vault Configuration

Result

• Same plugins everywhere: Functions, aliases, and tools sync across laptop, server, CI/CD
• Encrypted secrets: Vault files travel with your setup (team + personal)
• Zero reconfiguration: New systems work identically after this setup
• Version controlled: Track changes to your shell environment

30-Second Demo

# See what's available
chief.help

# See available user and core plugin tools
chief.help plugins

# Find any function, alias or environment variable
chief.whereis git_status

# Create a custom function
chief.plugin mytools

Key Features

• Vault System - Encrypt sensitive environment variables
• Enterprise-Ready Tools - Built-in OpenShift, SSL/TLS, SSH, AWS, Git, and Python utilities
• Remote Plugin Sync - Share plugins across teams via Git
• Git-Aware Prompts - Beautiful, intelligent terminal prompts
• Instant Discovery - Find any function with chief.whereis
• Zero Disruption - Only affects Bash, won't interfere with existing setups
• Plugin Architecture - Organize tools into reusable, shareable plugins

Available Plugins

Chief comes with 8 powerful plugins providing 58+ functions for your daily workflow:

Discovery & Help

• chief.help - Interactive help system with plugin browsing
• chief.whereis <function> - Find any function across all plugins
• chief.plugins_* - Plugin management and discovery tools

Vault Plugin (2 functions)

• chief.vault_file-edit - Edit encrypted files securely
• chief.vault_file-load - Load encrypted environment variables

OpenShift/Kubernetes Plugin (9 functions)

• chief.oc_get-all-objects - Comprehensive resource discovery with filtering
• chief.oc_clean-olm - OLM cleanup with selective targeting
• chief.oc_clean-replicasets - Clean up old replica sets with safety checks
• chief.oc_show-stuck-resources - Troubleshoot stuck resources with auto-fix
• chief.oc_delete-stuck-ns - Force delete terminating namespaces
• chief.oc_approve-csrs - Batch CSR approval with interactive mode
• chief.oc_login - Enhanced login with context management
• chief.oc_vault-kubeadmin - Display kubeadmin credentials from Vault
• chief.oc_whoami - Show current user, API server, and console information

SSL/TLS Plugin (4 functions)

• chief.ssl_create-ca - Create certificate authorities with minimal setup
• chief.ssl_create-tls-cert - Generate TLS certificates signed by your CA
• chief.ssl_renew-tls-cert - Renew existing certificates with smart parameter extraction
• chief.ssl_view-cert - Analyze certificates with multiple display options
• chief.ssl_get-cert - Download certificates from remote servers

SSH Plugin (3 functions)

• chief.ssh_create-keypair - Generate SSH key pairs with best practices
• chief.ssh_get-publickey - Extract and display public keys
• chief.ssh_rm-host - Clean known_hosts entries safely

System Utilities Plugin (18 functions)

• chief.etc_create-bootusb - Create bootable USB drives safely
• chief.etc_folder-sync - Professional rsync-based directory synchronization
• chief.etc_copy-dotfiles - Copy configuration files with backup support
• chief.etc_shared_term_* - Create and manage shared tmux sessions
• chief.etc_chmod_* - Enhanced file permission management
• chief.etc_mount-share - Network share mounting utilities
• File comparison, IP validation, system prompts, and more...

Git Plugin (16 functions)

• chief.git_clone - Enhanced git cloning with safety checks
• chief.git_commit - Streamlined commit workflow
• chief.git_reset_* - Safe reset operations with dry-run support
• chief.git_branch - Advanced branch management
• chief.git_config-user - Quick user configuration setup
• Complete workflow support: tagging, amending, credential caching, URL management

Python Plugin (4 functions)

• chief.python_create-ve - Virtual environment creation and setup
• chief.python_start-ve - Activate virtual environments
• chief.python_stop-ve - Deactivate environments
• chief.python_ve-dep - Install dependencies from requirements.txt

AWS Plugin (2 functions)

• chief.aws_set-role - Switch between AWS IAM roles
• chief.aws_export-creds - Export AWS credentials to environment

Safe for Everyone

• Zsh/Oh My Zsh Users: Chief won't touch your existing setup
• Custom Prompts: Prompt features disabled by default
• Easy Removal: Clean uninstall available anytime
• Dry-Run Safety: Critical operations support --dry-run to preview changes safely

Bug Reports & Support

Found a bug or need help? We're here to help! Please create an issue on GitHub:

Report an Issue

When reporting issues, please include:

• OS version: Run uname -a to get your system details
• Chief version: Run chief.help to see the current version
• Steps to reproduce: Clear, step-by-step instructions
• Error messages: Copy the exact error output
• Expected vs actual behavior: What you expected vs what happened

This helps us quickly identify and fix issues!

Learn More

Complete Documentation - Installation, tutorials, examples, and advanced features

Quick Start Guide - Get productive in 5 minutes

Plugin Development - Create and share your own plugins

Contributing

Contributions welcome! See our documentation for guidelines.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.