@file syntax for reading cmdline args from text files

[rednoah]

Passing complex arguments that contain lots of special characters like $ ! % ' " to a command-line tool can be tricky. Correctly escaping such arguments for cmd or bash can get very painful very quickly.

Argument List

FileBot allows you specify argument files via @/path/to/file syntax, so you can pass in your complex command-line arguments via separate text files line by line without having to worry about quoting or escaping anything.

e.g. pass all arguments via an external text file:

Shell: Select all

filebot @/path/to/args.txt

Console Output: Select all

$ cat args.txt
-script
fn:amc
/input
--output
/output
--action
duplicate
--def
movieFormat=Movies/{ny}/{fn}
seriesFormat=TV/{n}/{'S'+s00}/{fn}
animeFormat=Anime/{n}/{fn}

DO NOT quote "arguments" in @files. Your arguments are "quoted" implicitly by the new line separator.

DO NOT specify multiple arguments in a single line. Your arguments are delimited by the new line separator.

DO NOT add trailing space characters. Any character that is not the new line separator is interpreted as literal argument value, including leading and trailing (i.e. invisible) space and tab characters.

DO NOT use Microsoft tools such as Notepad or Word to edit plain text files. They will add an invisible BOM marker at the beginning of the file. Use tools such as Notepad++ or Sublime Text to create and edit plain text files instead.

Option Value

The --format, --mapper, --filter and --file-filter options accept Groovy expressions literally, or as *.groovy UTF-8 encoded plain text files:

Shell: Select all

--format /path/to/MovieFormat.groovy

Script Parameter Value

You may also pass --def script binding values via UTF-8 encoded plain text files. That's handy when passing in complex multi-line formats.

e.g. pass --def name=value parameter value via an external text file:

Shell: Select all

filebot -script fn:amc /input --output /output --def movieFormat=@/path/to/MovieFormat.groovy

Format: Select all

Movies/{
[ allOf {ny}
        { allOf {vf}
                {group}
        }
, allOf {ny}
        {'CD'+pi}
        {lang}
]*.findResults { 
    if (it) it.toString()
              .replaceAll(/[!?.]+$/)
              .asciiQuotes()
}*.join(' ')
  .join('/')
}

Format Value

The format value itself allows for another level of redirection that is applicable to both GUI and CLI usage, so you can use the same @format.groovy syntax in both GUI and CLI.

e.g. include code from an external *.groovy text file at compile time:

Format: Select all

@/path/to/format.groovy