scat: A General-Purpose Command-Line Content Poster

scat is a versatile command-line interface for sending content from files or standard input to a configured destination, such as Slack. It is inspired by slackcat but is designed to be more generic and extensible.

---

Features

• Post text messages: Send content from arguments, files, or stdin.
• Send Direct Messages (DMs): Send messages or files directly to users by their ID or mention name.
• Upload files: Upload files from a path or stdin.
• Stream content: Continuously stream from stdin, posting messages periodically.
• Export channel logs: Export message history from a channel to a structured JSON file or stdout.
• Profile management: Configure multiple destinations and switch between them easily.
• Extensible providers: Currently supports Slack and a mock provider for testing.

Installation

Download the latest binary for your system from the Releases page.

Alternatively, you can build from source:

make build

Initial Setup

Before you can start posting, you need to create a configuration file.

1. Initialize the config file:

   Run the following command to create a configuration file (~/.config/scat/config.json) in the default location:

   scat config init

   Important: This configuration file contains sensitive information such as Slack tokens. For security, it is highly recommended to set the file permissions to 600 (read and write only for the owner).

2. Configure a Profile:

   The default profile uses a mock provider, which is useful for testing. To post to a real service like Slack, you need to add a new profile.

   For detailed instructions on setting up a Slack profile, please see the Slack Setup Guide.

   Here is a quick example of how to add a new Slack profile:

   # This will prompt you to enter your Slack Bot Token securely.
   scat profile add my-slack-workspace --provider slack --channel "#general"

3. Set the Active Profile:

   Tell scat to use your new profile by default:

   scat profile use my-slack-workspace

Usage Examples

Here are some common ways to use scat.

Posting Text Messages (post)

• From an argument to a channel: scat post --channel "#random" "Hello from the command line!"

• From standard input (pipe) to the default channel: echo "This message was piped." | scat post

• As a Direct Message to a user (by mention name): scat post --user @someuser "Hello, this is a direct message."

• As a Direct Message to a user (by user ID): scat post --user U123ABCDE "You can also use a user ID for DMs."

Posting Block Kit Messages (post with --format blocks)

• From an argument (JSON string): scat post --format blocks '[{"type": "section", "text": {"type": "mrkdwn", "text": "Hello, Block Kit from argument!"}}]'

• From a file (JSON file): (Create a file named blocks.json with Block Kit JSON content) scat post --format blocks --from-file ./blocks.json

• From standard input (JSON pipe): echo '[{"type": "section", "text": {"type": "mrkdwn", "text": "Hello, Block Kit from stdin!"}}]' | scat post --format blocks

Uploading Files (upload)

• Upload a file to a channel: scat upload --file ./report.pdf --channel "#reports"

• Upload a file as a DM to a user with a comment: scat upload --file ./screenshot.png --user @someuser -m "Here is the screenshot you requested."

Exporting Channel Logs (export log)

Exports message history from a channel to a structured JSON file or stdout. It fetches all messages, including replies in threads. For details on the output format, including fields like user_id, user_name, and post_type, please refer to the Export Data Format documentation.

• Export to stdout and pipe to jq: scat export log --channel "#random" | jq .

• Export to a specific file: scat export log -c "#random" --output "my-export.json"

• Export and download attached files to an auto-generated directory: scat export log -c "#random" --output-files auto

• Export log to stdout and download files to a specific directory: scat export log -c "#random" --output - --output-files "./attachments"

Command Reference

Global Flags

Flag	Description
--config <path>	Specify an alternative path for the configuration file.
--profile <name>	Use a specific profile for the command.
--debug	Enable verbose debug logging.
--silent	Suppress success messages.
--noop	Perform a dry run without sending content.

Main Commands

Command	Description
scat post	Posts a text message.
scat upload	Uploads a file.
scat export	Exports data, such as channel logs.
scat profile	Manages configuration profiles.
scat config	Manages the configuration file itself.
scat channel	Manages channels for supported providers.

post Command Flags

Flag	Shorthand	Description
--channel	-c	Override destination channel (cannot be used with --user).
--user		Send a direct message to a user by ID or mention name.
--from-file		Read message body from a file.
--stream	-s	Stream messages from stdin continuously.
--tee	-t	Print stdin to screen while posting.
--username	-u	Override the username for this post.
--iconemoji	-i	Icon emoji to use (Slack provider only).
--format		Message format (text or blocks). Default is text.

upload Command Flags

Flag	Shorthand	Description
--channel	-c	Override destination channel (cannot be used with --user).
--user		Send a direct message to a user by ID or mention name.
--file	-f	Required. Path to the file, or - for stdin.
--filename	-n	Filename for the upload.
--filetype		Filetype for syntax highlighting (e.g., go).
--comment	-m	A comment to post with the file.

export log Command Flags

Flag	Shorthand	Description
--channel	-c	Required. Channel to export from.
--output		Output file path for the log. Use - for stdout (default).
--output-files		Directory to save downloaded files. If set to auto, a directory is auto-generated.
--output-format		Output format (json or text).
--start-time		Start of time range (RFC3339 format).
--end-time		End of time range (RFC3339 format).

profile Subcommands

Subcommand	Description
list	List all available profiles.
use	Set the active profile.
add	Add a new profile.
set	Set a value in the current profile.
remove	Remove a profile.

channel Subcommands

Subcommand	Description
list	Lists available channels for slack profiles.
create	Creates a new channel for slack profiles.

config Subcommands

Command	Description
config init	Creates a new default configuration file.

---

Acknowledgements

This project is heavily inspired by and based on the concepts of bcicen/slackcat. The core logic for handling file/stdin streaming and posting was re-implemented with reference to the original slackcat codebase. slackcat is also distributed under the MIT License.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.