2.3. Bash Completion Setup#

This page explains how to set up bash completion for kde-builder with all features including menu-complete (cycling through options with TAB).

2.3.1. Features#

2.3.1.1. Tab Completion#

Complete kde-builder options with TAB
Complete project and group names
Complete installed projects for --run option
File path completion for --rc-file option

2.3.1.3. Mutual Exclusion#

Once you use an option, its conflicting options won't be suggested:

kde-builder --async --<TAB>
# Will NOT show --no-async

kde-builder --build-only --<TAB>
# Will NOT show --no-build, --install-only, or --src-only

2.3.1.4. Cached Completions#

Project/group names: Cached for 1 hour
Installed projects: Cached for 5 minutes
Cache location: ~/.cache/kde-builder/bash-completion/

To clear cache:

rm -rf ~/.cache/kde-builder/bash-completion/

2.3.2. Installation and Configuration#

Create symlink to the completion file:

# Create the directory if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/

# Link to the completion file
ln -s ~/.local/share/kde-builder/data/completions/bash/kde-builder ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/kde-builder

Add the following lines to your ~/.bashrc file:

# Load kde-builder bash completion
if [ -e ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/kde-builder ]; then
  source ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/kde-builder
fi

Optional: For Menu-Complete Feature (options would be autofilled inline in a cyclic fashion from the menu).

Create or edit ~/.inputrc and add these lines:

# Menu-complete: Cycle through completions with TAB
TAB: menu-complete

# Shift+TAB: Cycle backwards through completions
"\e[Z": menu-complete-backward

# Show all options immediately before cycling
set show-all-if-ambiguous on

# Show common prefix before cycling
set menu-complete-display-prefix on

# Case-insensitive completion
set completion-ignore-case on

# Treat hyphens and underscores as equivalent
set completion-map-case on

What this does:

First TAB: Shows all matching options
Second TAB: Fills in the first option
Third TAB: Cycles to the next option
Shift+TAB: Cycles backwards

Example behavior:

$ kde-builder --a<TAB>
--after  --all-config-projects  --all-kde-projects  --async

$ kde-builder --a<TAB><TAB>
$ kde-builder --after

$ kde-builder --after <TAB>
$ kde-builder --after --all-config-projects

$ kde-builder --after --all-config-projects <Shift+TAB>
$ kde-builder --after --async

2.3.3. Reload Configuration#

After making these changes, reload your configuration:

# Reload bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# Reload inputrc (if you edited it)
bind -f ~/.inputrc

Or simply restart your terminal.

2.3.4. Troubleshooting#

2.3.4.1. Completion not working?#

Check if the file is sourced:
```
type _kde_builder
```
Should output: _kde_builder is a function.

Reload completion:

complete -r kde-builder
source ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/kde-builder

Check file permissions:

ls -l ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/kde-builder

Should be readable (at least -rw-r--r--).

2.3.4.3. Mutual exclusion not working?#

Clear bash functions and reload:

unset -f _kde_builder _kde_builder_filter_options _kde_builder_remove_option
source ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/kde-builder

Verify filter function exists:
```
type _kde_builder_filter_options
```

Test manually:

COMP_WORDS=(kde-builder --async)
_kde_builder_filter_options "--async --no-async" | grep "no-async"

Should output nothing (--no-async should be filtered).

2.3.5. Optional: System-Wide Installation#

To install for all users (requires root):

sudo ln -s ~/.local/share/kde-builder/data/completions/bash/kde-builder /usr/share/bash-completion/completions/kde-builder

Then each user only needs to configure ~/.inputrc for menu-complete feature.

2.3.6. Uninstallation#

# Remove completion file
rm ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/kde-builder

# Remove from .bashrc
# (manually edit and remove the kde-builder completion lines)

# Remove from .inputrc
# (manually edit and remove the menu-complete configuration)

# Clear cache
rm -rf ~/.cache/kde-builder/bash-completion/

# Restart terminal or run:
complete -r kde-builder

2.3.7. Comparison with Zsh Completion#

Both bash and zsh completions for kde-builder offer similar features:

Feature	Bash	Zsh
Option completion	✅	✅
Project/group completion	✅	✅
Mutual exclusion	️✅	✅
Option descriptions	❌	✅
Menu-complete	Via `~/.inputrc`	Built-in
Caching	✅	✅

Zsh advantage: Descriptions appear inline when you press TAB.
Bash advantage: Works everywhere bash is available.

Bash Completion Setup

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