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This repository has been retired. For better functionality see editfile, which is much more lightweight and portable

edit_file - Text Editor with Validation

A terminal-based text editor wrapper with built-in validation for multiple file formats. Designed for system administrators and developers who need reliable file editing with syntax checking.

Features

  • Syntax validation for multiple file formats
  • Safe file editing with temporary file handling
  • Automatic editor detection
  • Line number targeting support
  • Binary file detection and protection
  • Shell script validation with shellcheck

Supported File Types

  • Code: Python, PHP, Shell scripts
  • Data: JSON, YAML, XML, TOML, INI, CSV
  • Markup: HTML, Markdown, SVG

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Open-Technology-Foundation/edit_file
cd edit_file

Setup Environment and Dependencies

The tool uses a virtual environment and requires Python packages and external programs for full functionality:

# Create and activate virtual environment
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install Python dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Make scripts executable
chmod +x edit_file edit_file.py filetype.py shellcheckr.py

External Programs

Some validators require external programs:

# For Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install shellcheck yamllint php-cli

# For Fedora/RHEL/CentOS
sudo dnf install ShellCheck yamllint php-cli

# For macOS with Homebrew
brew install shellcheck yamllint php

The tool works without these programs but will skip validation for those file types.

System-wide Installation (optional)

# Create a system-wide link to the launcher script
sudo ln -s $(pwd)/edit_file /usr/local/bin/edit_file

The launcher script automatically activates the virtual environment before running the Python program.

Usage

Basic usage:

./edit_file <filename>

Options:

-n, --no-validate   Skip validation
-l, --line LINE     Start editing at specified line number
-s, --shellcheck    Run shellcheck on shell scripts
-V, --version       Show version information

If installed system-wide, you can use it from any directory:

edit_file <filename>

Examples

Edit Python file with validation:

./edit_file script.py

Edit YAML file starting at line 50:

./edit_file -l 50 config.yaml

Edit shell script with shellcheck validation:

./edit_file -s deploy.sh

Skip validation when editing:

./edit_file -n data.json

Editor Selection

The tool selects editors in this priority:

  1. $EDITOR environment variable
  2. Available system editors: joe, nano, vim, vi, mcedit, ne, micro, emacs, jed, gedit

Validation Methods

File Type Validation Method
Python Python compiler
PHP php -l
Shell bash -n + shellcheck
JSON json.load
YAML yamllint + PyYAML
XML ElementTree
HTML html5lib
Markdown mdformat
TOML tomli/toml
INI configparser
CSV csv module

Requirements

Core

  • Python 3.12+
  • PyYAML (for YAML validation)

Optional Python Dependencies

  • colorama (for colored output)
  • html5lib (for HTML validation)
  • mdformat (for Markdown validation)
  • tomli (for TOML validation)

External Tools

  • shellcheck (for enhanced shell script validation)
  • yamllint (for enhanced YAML validation)
  • php-cli (for PHP validation)

Project Files

  • edit_file.py - Main editor script
  • filetype.py - File type detection
  • shellcheckr.py - Shell script validation wrapper
  • requirements.txt - Python dependencies

License

Licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.