TinyShell: A Minimalist Shell Implementation in C

TinyShell is a simple, minimalist shell implementation written in C, designed for educational purposes. It demonstrates the core concepts of how a shell works, including reading input, parsing commands, and executing system commands or built-in functions.

Features

• Basic command parsing and execution.
• Built-in commands: cd, help, and exit.
• Execution of system commands via execvp.
• Simple loop for command input and execution.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

To compile and run TinyShell, you need:

• A C compiler (e.g., gcc, clang).
• Standard development tools (make, etc.) if you wish to use a Makefile.

Compilation

To compile TinyShell, navigate to the source code directory and run:

gcc -o tinysh main.c

Running TinyShell

After compilation, you can start TinyShell by running:

./tinysh

You will be greeted with a simple prompt (> ) where you can type your commands.

Built-in Commands

• cd [directory] - Change the current working directory.
• help - Display information about built-in commands.
• exit - Exit TinyShell.

Extending TinyShell

To add new built-in commands:

1. Define a new function for the command in the source code.
2. Add the command name and function to the builtin_str and builtin_func arrays, respectively.
3. Ensure your command function returns 1 to continue execution, or 0 to signal TinyShell to exit.

License

TinyShell is open-source software distributed under the MIT license. Feel free to modify, distribute, and use it as you see fit.

Acknowledgments

• This project is inspired by Stephen Brennan's tutorial on writing a shell in C.
• Special thanks to everyone who contributed to testing and providing feedback for TinyShell.

Enjoy experimenting with TinyShell!