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Posted on • Updated on • Originally published at z.digitalclouds.dev

⚙️ ❮ ZConvey ❯

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ZConvey integrates multiple Zsh sessions. They are given an ID, optionally a NAME (both unique), and can send commands to each other.

Use this to switch all your Zshells to given directory, via zc-all cd $PWD! Also, there's zc-bg-notify script (not a function), that will show notification under prompt of every active Zsh session.

You can call this script from any program, Bash or GUI.

Video – view on asciinema. You can resize the video by pressing Ctrl-+ or Cmd-+.

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Zstyles for ZConvey values being set are the defaults. They must be set before loading the plugin.

zstyle ":plugin:zconvey" check_interval "2"         # How often to check if there are new commands (in seconds)
zstyle ":plugin:zconvey" expire_seconds "22"        # If shell is busy for 22 seconds, the received command will expire and not run
zstyle ":plugin:zconvey" greeting "logo"            # Display logo at Zsh start ("text" – display text, "none" – no greeting)
zstyle ":plugin:zconvey" ask "0"                    # zc won't ask for missing data ("1" has the same effect as always using -a option)
zstyle ":plugin:zconvey" ls_after_rename "0"        # Don't execute zc-ls after doing rename (with zc-rename or zc-take)
zstyle ":plugin:zconvey" use_zsystem_flock "1"      # Should use faster zsystem's flock when it's possible?
                                                    # (default true on Zsh >= 5.3, will revert to mixed zsystem/flock on older Zshells)
zstyle ":plugin:zconvey" output_method "feeder"     # To put commands on command line, ZConvey can use small program "feeder". Or "zsh"
                                                    # method, which currently doesn't automatically run the command – to use when e.g.
                                                    # feeder doesn't build (unlikely) or when occurring any problems with it
zstyle ":plugin:zconvey" timestamp_from "datetime"  # Use zsh/datetime module for obtaining timestamp. "date" – use date command (fork)
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ZConvey commands

Command Description
zc Sends to other session; use "-a" option to be asked for target and a command to send
zc-ls Lists all active and named sessions
zc-id Shows ID and NAME of current session
zc-all The same as zc, but targets are all other active sessions (with -f also busy sessions)
zc-take Takes a name for current or selected sessions, schematically renames any conflicting sessions
zc-logo The same as zc-id, but in a form of an on-screen logo; bound to Ctrl-O Ctrl-I
zc-rename Assigns name to current or selected session; won't rename if there's a session with the same name
zc-bg-notify In subdirectory cmds, link it to /usr/local/bin, etc. or load with e.g. ZI

The main command is zc (yet it is rather rarely used, I'm always sending to all sessions with zc-all). It is used to execute commands on other sessions. zc-ls is the main tool to obtain overall information on sessions. zc-take is a nice rename tool to quickly name a few sessions. Keyboard shortcut Ctrl-O Ctrl-I will show current session's ID and NAME in form of an on-screen logo.

Install ZConvey with ZI

Add zi load z-shell/zconvey to your .zshrc file. ZI will clone the plugin the next time you start zsh. To update issue zi update z-shell/zconvey.

ZI can load in turbo-mode, below is an example configuration.

zi ice wait"0"
zi light z-shell/zconvey
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Adding zc-bg-notify to $PATH:

zi ice wait"0" as"command" pick"cmds/zc-bg-notify" silent
zi light z-shell/zconvey
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Manual ZConvey installation

The plugin is "standalone", which means that only sourcing it is needed. So to install, unpack zconvey somewhere and add

source {where-zconvey-is}/zconvey.plugin.zsh
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to zshrc.

If using a plugin manager, then ZI is recommended, but you can use any other too, and also install with Oh My Zsh (by copying directory to ~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/plugins).

The plugin integrates with my other plugin Zsh-Select. Install it with e.g. ZI to be able to use -a option for zc command.

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