boxxy
boxxy is a tool for boxing up misbehaving Linux applications and forcing them to put their files and directories in the right place, without symlinks!
Linux-only! boxxy uses Linux namespaces for its functionality.
For example, consider tmux. It wants to put its config in ~/.tmux.conf. With boxxy, you can put its config in ~/.config/tmux/tmux.conf instead:
# ~/.config/boxxy/boxxy.yaml
rules:
- name: "redirect tmux config from ~/.tmux.conf to ~/.config/tmux/tmux.conf"
target: "~/.tmux.conf"
rewrite: "~/.config/tmux/tmux.conf"
mode: "file"
motivation
I recently had to use the AWS CLI. It wants to save data in ~/.aws, but I don't want it to just clutter up my $HOME however it wants. boxxy lets me force it to puts its data somewhere nice and proper.
features
- box any program and force it to put its files/directories where you want it to
- context-dependent boxing, ie different rules apply in different directories depending on your configuration
- minimal overhead
- opt-in immutable fs outside of rule rewrites, ie only the files/directories you specify in rules are writable
potential drawbacks
- new project, 0.x.y, comes with all those warnings
- cannot use sudo inside the container (see #6)
- primarily tested for my use-cases
example usage
loaded 1 rules
INFO boxxy::enclosure > applying rule 'Store AWS CLI config in ~/.config/aws'
INFO boxxy::enclosure > redirect: ~/.aws -> ~/.config/aws
INFO boxxy::enclosure > boxed "aws" ♥
AWS Access Key ID [****************d]: a
AWS Secret Access Key [****************c]: b
Default region name [b]: c
Default output format [a]: d
git:(mistress) | ▶ ls ~/.aws
git:(mistress) | ▶ ls ~/.config/aws
config credentials
git:(mistress) | ▶ cat ~/.config/aws/config
[default]
region = c
output = d
git:(mistress) | ▶">
git:(mistress) | ▶ cat ~/.config/boxxy/boxxy.yaml rules: - name: "Store AWS CLI config in ~/.config/aws" target: "~/.aws" rewrite: "~/.config/aws" git:(mistress) | ▶ boxxy aws configure INFO boxxy > loaded 1 rules INFO boxxy::enclosure > applying rule 'Store AWS CLI config in ~/.config/aws' INFO boxxy::enclosure > redirect: ~/.aws -> ~/.config/aws INFO boxxy::enclosure > boxed "aws" ♥ AWS Access Key ID [****************d]: a AWS Secret Access Key [****************c]: b Default region name [b]: c Default output format [a]: d git:(mistress) | ▶ ls ~/.aws git:(mistress) | ▶ ls ~/.config/aws config credentials git:(mistress) | ▶ cat ~/.config/aws/config [default] region = c output = d git:(mistress) | ▶
suggested usage
alias aws="boxxy aws"(repeat for other tools)- use contexts to keep project configs separate on disk
- dotfiles!
- stop using symlinks!!!
configuration
The boxxy configuration file lives in ~/.config/boxxy/boxxy.yaml. If none exists, an empty one will be created for you.
rules:
# The name of the rule. User-friendly name for your reference
- name: "redirect aws-cli from ~/.aws to ~/.config/aws"
# The target of the rule, ie the file/directory that will be shadowed by the
# rewrite.
target: "~/.aws"
# The rewrite of the rule, ie the file/directory that will be used instead of
# the target.
rewrite: "~/.config/aws"
- name: "use different k8s configs when in ~/Projects/my-cool-startup"
target: "~/.kube/config"
rewrite: "~/Projects/my-cool-startup/.kube/config"
# The context for the rule. Any paths listed in the context are paths where
# this rule will apply. If no context is specified, the rule applies
# globally.
context:
- "~/Projects/my-cool-startup"
# The mode of this rule, either `directory` or `file`. `directory` is the
# default. Must be specified for the correct behaviour when the target is a
# file. Required because the target file/directory may not exist yet.
mode: "file"
# The list of commands that this rule applies to. If no commands are
# specified, the rule applies to all programs run with boxxy.
only:
- "kubectl"
syntax
rules:
- name: "any valid string" # required
target: "path" # required
rewrite: "path" # required
context: # optional
- "path"
- "path"
mode: "directory | file" # optional
only: # optional
- "binary name"
- "binary name"
developing
- set up pre-commit:
pre-commit install - make sure it builds:
cargo build - do the thing!
- test with the command of your choice, ex.
cargo run -- ls -lah ~/.config
how does it work?
- create temporary directory in /tmp
- set up new user/mount namespace
- bind-mount
/to tmp directory - bind-mount rule mounts rw so that target programs can use them
- remount
/ro - run!
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