Shell Completions

Jake provides tab completion for recipe names and flags in bash, zsh, and fish.

Quick Install

The easiest way to set up completions:

jake --completions --install

This automatically detects your shell and installs completions to the appropriate location.

Auto-detection reads $SHELL and also recognizes Windows-style shell paths such as C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe when you invoke Jake from PowerShell or other Windows terminals.

Manual Installation

Generate the completion script and save it:

Bash

jake --completions bash > ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/jake

Zsh

jake --completions zsh > ~/.zsh/completions/_jake

You may need to add the completions directory to your fpath in ~/.zshrc:

fpath=(~/.zsh/completions $fpath)
autoload -Uz compinit && compinit

Fish

jake --completions fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/jake.fish

Environment Detection

The --install command automatically detects your zsh environment:

Environment	Install Location	Configuration
Oh-My-Zsh	~/.oh-my-zsh/custom/completions/_jake	None needed
Homebrew zsh	/opt/homebrew/share/zsh/site-functions/_jake	None needed
Vanilla zsh	~/.zsh/completions/_jake	Auto-patches ~/.zshrc
Bash	~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/jake	None needed
Fish	~/.config/fish/completions/jake.fish	None needed

For vanilla zsh, the installer adds a configuration block to ~/.zshrc:

# >>> jake completion >>>
# This block is managed by jake. Do not edit manually.
fpath=(~/.zsh/completions $fpath)
autoload -Uz compinit && compinit -u
# <<< jake completion <<<

Uninstalling

Remove completions and configuration:

jake --completions --uninstall

This removes the completion file and cleans up any .zshrc modifications.

What Gets Completed

Tab completion works for:

• Recipe names - Dynamically loaded from your Jakefile
• CLI flags - All options like --list, --dry-run, --verbose
• Flag values - File paths for -f/--jakefile, shell names for --completions, group names for --group, and type values for --type

Using Completions

After installation, restart your shell (or source your config file):

# Complete recipe names
jake bu<TAB>        # → jake build

# Complete flags
jake --<TAB>        # Shows all available flags

# Complete flag values
jake --completions <TAB>    # → bash, zsh, fish
jake -f <TAB>               # → file completion
jake --group <TAB>          # → groups from the current Jakefile
jake --type <TAB>           # → task, file, simple, external

Machine-Readable Output

For scripting and integration with other tools:

# Space-separated list of recipe names
jake --summary
# Output: build test deploy clean lint

# One recipe per line
jake -l --short

# Use in scripts
for recipe in $(jake --summary); do
    echo "Found recipe: $recipe"
done

Troubleshooting

Completions Not Working

1. Restart your shell after installation
2. Verify the completion file exists:

   ls ~/.zsh/completions/_jake  # zsh
   ls ~/.config/fish/completions/jake.fish  # fish

3. For zsh, ensure compinit is called in your config

Wrong Recipes Showing

Completions load recipes from the nearest Jakefile Jake discovers in the current directory or one of its parent directories. Make sure you’re in the right project, or pass -f/--jakefile to point completions at a specific file.

Slow Completions

Recipe names are loaded dynamically. If you have a very large Jakefile with many imports, completions might be slightly delayed.