Install xcv with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• xcv

Project history

The project appeared at the start of 2015 with the v1.0.0 tag on its first public commit. Its README frames the tool as a wrapper around cp, mv, and ls, trading generality for a familiar desktop-like verb set: x for cut, c for copy, v for paste, and l for list.

Early commits fixed quoting, made the package bpkg-friendly, printed errors to stderr, and added dotfile support. The project was already small and largely complete by the v1.0.1 tag later in January 2015, with Homebrew installation added in 2016.

Adoption history

xcv never became a broad Unix primitive; its adoption story is that of a tiny convenience command packaged for people who like shell workflows but occasionally want a clipboard-like file staging area. The README documents Homebrew, bpkg, and npm installation paths, pointing to cross-ecosystem packaging rather than a large upstream ecosystem.

How it is used

The user runs xcv c or xcv x with file arguments, then changes directories and runs xcv v to copy staged files into the current directory. xcv l lists staged files before pasting.

$HOME/.xcv is a transient staging directory used by the tool, not a user-authored config file. The implementation recreates it when a new cut or copy operation starts and clears it after paste.

Why package nerds care

xcv is interesting as a package because it is almost aggressively simple: a Bash wrapper that packages a file-manager metaphor for terminals. It is the kind of small CLI that package indexes preserve even when its whole behavior can be understood in one screen of shell.

Timeline

• 2015-01-01: Initial commit and v1.0.0 tag.
• 2015-01-02: Early fixes for quoting, bpkg packaging, stderr output, and dotfile support.
• 2015-01-18: v1.0.1 tag.
• 2016-01-25: Homebrew installation added to the README.

Related projects

• cp, mv, and ls: core commands that xcv wraps.
• bpkg and npm: alternative installation channels documented by the project.
• Shell aliases such as fsx, fsc, fsv, and fsl: README-suggested shortcuts for the four actions.

Sources

• Git history and tags: https://github.com/busterc/xcv
• README, busterc/xcv: https://github.com/busterc/xcv#readme
• xcv script: https://github.com/busterc/xcv/blob/master/xcv