Usage

Universal Text Pre-Processor ('utpp') is a tool for preprocessing any file

Usage: utpp [options] <files> [variables]

Options:
      --help           Show help                                       [boolean]
  -V, --version        Show version number                             [boolean]
  -o, --output         write to output file                             [string]
  -c, --check          checks the file's syntax only  [boolean] [default: false]
  -v, --verbose        show more debug logs           [boolean] [default: false]
  -p, --print          prints the output to stdout instead of files    [boolean]
  -q, --quiet          makes the preprocessor quiet   [boolean] [default: false]
      --ignore         glob pattern to ignore files       [string] [default: ""]
      --encoding       encoding of the input file     [string] [default: "utf8"]
      --no-eval        disables eval function                          [boolean]
      --no-files       disables inclusion from files                   [boolean]
      --no-urls        disables inclusion from urls                    [boolean]
      --no-env         disables inclusion of environment variables     [boolean]
      --no-template    disables template replacement                   [boolean]
      --no-vars        disables variables replacement                  [boolean]
      --ignore-unkown  ignores unknown commands to improve compat      [boolean]
      --safe           enables safe mode: only process marked files    [boolean]

Examples:
  utpp -o out.txt input.txt  runs the preprocessor on input.txt and write output
                             to out.txt
  utpp input.txt foo=bar     runs the preprocessor on input.txt and sets
                             variable foo to bar
  utpp "*/**" foo=bar        runs the preprocessor on all files in the current &
                             sub directory and sets variable foo to bar
  utpp -c input.txt          validates the syntax of input.txt file

for more info and support visit https://github.com/adrianschubek/utpp

tip

You can use any glob pattern as files argument to select multiple files. For example utpp "*/**" foo=bar will run the preprocessor on all files in the current directory and all subdirectories and set the variable foo to bar. Or utpp "foo.txt;bar.tex;baz.html" will run the preprocessor on foo.txt, bar.tex and baz.html.

tip

Show this help page by running utpp.

Running it on a single file

utpp input.txt

This will run the preprocessor on input.txt and write the output to input.txt as well.

If you want to write the output to a different file, use the -o option:

utpp -o output.txt input.txt

This will run the preprocessor on input.txt and write the output to output.txt. The input file will not be modified.

And if you want to print the output to stdout, use the -p option:

utpp -p input.txt

This will run the preprocessor on input.txt and print the output to stdout. This is useful if you want to pipe the output to another program. The input file will not be modified.

Running it on multiple files

utpp "*/**"

This will run the preprocessor on all files in the current directory and all subdirectories and write the output to the same files.

If you want to write the output to stdout, use the -p option:

utpp -p "*/**"

info

The -o option is not supported when running on multiple files.

caution

If you specify a wide glob pattern (such as "/**") you could run in on files you did not intend to run it on, which may result in errors. Make sure to read the Safe Mode option.

Using mutiple patterns

You can specify multiple glob patterns by separating them with a semicolon ; :

utpp "foo.txt;bar.tex;baz.html"

This will run the preprocessor on foo.txt, bar.tex and baz.html and write the output to the same files.

Ignoring files

You can specify a glob pattern to ignore files by using the --ignore option:

utpp --ignore "*/**/*.txt" "*/**"

This will run the preprocessor on all files in the current directory and all subdirectories except for files ending with .txt. By seperating the patterns with a semicolon ; you can specify multiple patterns to ignore.

Setting variables

You can set variables by specifying them after the files argument:

utpp input.txt foo=bar

This will run the preprocessor on input.txt and set the variable foo to bar. You can also set multiple variables by leaving a space between them foo=bar baz=qux.

tip

When setting a value which contain spaces, you need to wrap it in quotes: foo="bar baz".

Troubleshooting

Enable verbose mode by using the -v option:

utpp -v input.txt

This will print debug logs to the console. Checkout Safe Mode for further troubleshooting.

Checking the syntax only

You can check the syntax of a file without running the preprocessor by using the -c option:

utpp -c input.txt

This will check the syntax of input.txt and print any errors to the console. Combine it with -v to print debug logs as well.

Silent mode

You can make the preprocessor silent by using the -q option:

utpp -q input.txt

This wil supress any output to the console except errors.

tip

You can also silence these errors and making utpp completly quiet by pipeing the output to /dev/null:

utpp -q input.txt > /dev/null 2>&1