feat: add -b/--brief flag for compact list output (#505)

Add a --brief flag that lists cheatsheets with only title and tags,
omitting the file path column. Can be used standalone (-b) or combined
with --list (-lb), and composes with existing filters (-t, -p).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

README.md

@@ -70,6 +70,12 @@ To list all available cheatsheets:
 cheat -l
 ```
 
+To briefly list all cheatsheets (names and tags only):
+
+```sh
+cheat -b
+```
+
 To list all cheatsheets that are tagged with "networking":
 
 ```sh

cmd/cheat/brief_integration_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// TestBriefFlagIntegration exercises the -b/--brief flag end-to-end.
+func TestBriefFlagIntegration(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("integration test uses Unix-specific env vars")
+	}
+
+	// Build the cheat binary once for all sub-tests.
+	binPath := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "cheat_test")
+	build := exec.Command("go", "build", "-o", binPath, ".")
+	if output, err := build.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to build cheat: %v\nOutput: %s", err, output)
+	}
+
+	// Set up a temp environment with some cheatsheets.
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	sheetsDir := filepath.Join(root, "sheets")
+	os.MkdirAll(sheetsDir, 0755)
+
+	os.WriteFile(
+		filepath.Join(sheetsDir, "tar"),
+		[]byte("---\nsyntax: bash\ntags: [ compression ]\n---\ntar xf archive.tar\n"),
+		0644,
+	)
+	os.WriteFile(
+		filepath.Join(sheetsDir, "curl"),
+		[]byte("---\nsyntax: bash\ntags: [ networking, http ]\n---\ncurl https://example.com\n"),
+		0644,
+	)
+
+	confPath := filepath.Join(root, "conf.yml")
+	conf := fmt.Sprintf("---\neditor: vi\ncolorize: false\ncheatpaths:\n  - name: test\n    path: %s\n    readonly: true\n", sheetsDir)
+	os.WriteFile(confPath, []byte(conf), 0644)
+
+	env := []string{
+		"CHEAT_CONFIG_PATH=" + confPath,
+		"HOME=" + root,
+		"PATH=" + os.Getenv("PATH"),
+		"EDITOR=vi",
+	}
+
+	run := func(t *testing.T, args ...string) string {
+		t.Helper()
+		cmd := exec.Command(binPath, args...)
+		cmd.Dir = root
+		cmd.Env = env
+		output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("cheat %v failed: %v\nOutput: %s", args, err, output)
+		}
+		return string(output)
+	}
+
+	t.Run("brief output omits file path column", func(t *testing.T) {
+		output := run(t, "-b")
+		lines := strings.Split(strings.TrimSpace(output), "\n")
+
+		// Header should have title and tags but not file
+		if !strings.Contains(lines[0], "title:") {
+			t.Errorf("expected title: in header, got: %s", lines[0])
+		}
+		if !strings.Contains(lines[0], "tags:") {
+			t.Errorf("expected tags: in header, got: %s", lines[0])
+		}
+		if strings.Contains(lines[0], "file:") {
+			t.Errorf("brief output should not contain file: column, got: %s", lines[0])
+		}
+
+		// Data lines should not contain the sheets directory path
+		for _, line := range lines[1:] {
+			if strings.Contains(line, sheetsDir) {
+				t.Errorf("brief output should not contain file paths, got: %s", line)
+			}
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("list output still includes file path column", func(t *testing.T) {
+		output := run(t, "-l")
+		lines := strings.Split(strings.TrimSpace(output), "\n")
+
+		if !strings.Contains(lines[0], "file:") {
+			t.Errorf("list output should contain file: column, got: %s", lines[0])
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("brief with filter works", func(t *testing.T) {
+		output := run(t, "-b", "tar")
+		if !strings.Contains(output, "tar") {
+			t.Errorf("expected tar in output, got: %s", output)
+		}
+		if strings.Contains(output, "curl") {
+			t.Errorf("filter should exclude curl, got: %s", output)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("combined -lb works identically to -b", func(t *testing.T) {
+		briefOnly := run(t, "-b", "tar")
+		combined := run(t, "-lb", "tar")
+		if briefOnly != combined {
+			t.Errorf("-b and -lb should produce identical output\n-b:\n%s\n-lb:\n%s", briefOnly, combined)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("brief with tag filter works", func(t *testing.T) {
+		output := run(t, "-b", "-t", "networking")
+		if !strings.Contains(output, "curl") {
+			t.Errorf("expected curl in tag-filtered output, got: %s", output)
+		}
+		if strings.Contains(output, "tar") {
+			// tar is tagged "compression", not "networking"
+			t.Errorf("tag filter should exclude tar, got: %s", output)
+		}
+		if strings.Contains(output, "file:") {
+			t.Errorf("brief output should not contain file: column, got: %s", output)
+		}
+	})
+}

cmd/cheat/cmd_list.go

@@ -87,12 +87,17 @@ func cmdList(opts map[string]interface{}, conf config.Config) {
 	var out bytes.Buffer
 	w := tabwriter.NewWriter(&out, 0, 0, 1, ' ', 0)
 
-	// write a header row
-	fmt.Fprintln(w, "title:\tfile:\ttags:")
-
 	// generate sorted, columnized output
-	for _, sheet := range flattened {
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s\t%s\t%s\n", sheet.Title, sheet.Path, strings.Join(sheet.Tags, ","))
+	if opts["--brief"].(bool) {
+		fmt.Fprintln(w, "title:\ttags:")
+		for _, sheet := range flattened {
+			fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s\t%s\n", sheet.Title, strings.Join(sheet.Tags, ","))
+		}
+	} else {
+		fmt.Fprintln(w, "title:\tfile:\ttags:")
+		for _, sheet := range flattened {
+			fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s\t%s\t%s\n", sheet.Title, sheet.Path, strings.Join(sheet.Tags, ","))
+		}
 	}
 
 	// write columnized output to stdout

cmd/cheat/main.go

@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ func main() {
 	case opts["--edit"] != nil:
 		cmd = cmdEdit
 
-	case opts["--list"].(bool):
+	case opts["--list"].(bool), opts["--brief"].(bool):
 		cmd = cmdList
 
 	case opts["--tags"].(bool):

cmd/cheat/usage.go

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ func usage() string {
 Options:
   --init                  Write a default config file to stdout
   -a --all                Search among all cheatpaths
+  -b --brief              List cheatsheets without file paths
   -c --colorize           Colorize output
   -d --directories        List cheatsheet directories
   -e --edit=<cheatsheet>  Edit <cheatsheet>
@@ -41,8 +42,8 @@ Examples:
   To list all available cheatsheets:
     cheat -l
 
-  To list all cheatsheets whose titles match "apt":
-    cheat -l apt
+  To briefly list all cheatsheets whose titles match "apt":
+    cheat -b apt
 
   To list all tags in use:
     cheat -T

doc/cheat.1

@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@ Display the config file path.
 \-a, \[en]all
 Search among all cheatpaths.
 .TP
+\-b, \[en]brief
+List cheatsheets without file paths.
+.TP
 \-c, \[en]colorize
 Colorize output.
 .TP
@@ -72,8 +75,8 @@ cheat \-d
 To list all available cheatsheets:
 cheat \-l
 .TP
-To list all cheatsheets whose titles match `apt':
-cheat \-l \f[I]apt\f[R]
+To briefly list all cheatsheets whose titles match `apt':
+cheat \-b \f[I]apt\f[R]
 .TP
 To list all tags in use:
 cheat \-T

doc/cheat.1.md

@@ -29,6 +29,9 @@ OPTIONS
 -a, --all
 : Search among all cheatpaths.
 
+-b, --brief
+: List cheatsheets without file paths.
+
 -c, --colorize
 : Colorize output.
 
@@ -81,8 +84,8 @@ To view all cheatsheet directories:
 To list all available cheatsheets:
 : cheat -l
 
-To list all cheatsheets whose titles match 'apt':
-: cheat -l _apt_
+To briefly list all cheatsheets whose titles match 'apt':
+: cheat -b _apt_
 
 To list all tags in use:
 : cheat -T