cut Ref — Libor Benes

cut Ref is a lightweight Firefox sidebar extension offering efficient offline access to 107 essential cut command options, field specifications, delimiter patterns, and practical usage scenarios.

The cut command, written by Gottfried W. R. Luderer at Bell Labs in February 1985, originated as a Unix text processing tool for extracting columns and character ranges. It excels at simple column extraction where full regex power isn't required, offering superior performance and simplicity compared to tools like awk for straightforward operations. cut's design embodies the Unix philosophy of creating focused, composable tools.

Content Coverage:
The extension includes essential cut elements:
• Character Operations: Extract specific characters or ranges (-c, -b).
• Field Operations: Select fields, field ranges, and complex field combinations by position with various delimiters (-f, -d).
• Delimiter Support: Commas, tabs, colons, spaces, pipes, and custom characters.
• Output Control: Custom output delimiters and formatted output.
• Line Handling: Suppressing lines without delimiters and complement operations.
• Advanced Features: Complement operations, output delimiter control, line filtering.
• Combination Patterns: Pipelines with grep, sort, awk, and other Unix utilities.

Target Audience:
• System Administrators processing logs and configurations.
• Data Analysts extracting columns from datasets.
• Developers parsing structured text outputs.
• Shell Scripting Enthusiasts building text processing pipelines.
• DevOps Engineers analyzing system outputs.

Use Cases & Practical Applications:
• System Administration: Extracting specific columns from /etc/passwd, process lists, or system logs.
• Data Processing: Preparing CSV/TSV files by selecting relevant columns for analysis.
• Log Analysis: Parsing web server logs to extract IP addresses, timestamps, or URLs.
• System output filtering.
• Shell Scripting: Building data processing pipelines in automation scripts.
• Quick Data Extraction: Ad-hoc column extraction during development and debugging sessions.

Extension Features:
• 107 Comprehensive Entries: Covering all cut options and practical patterns.
• Instant Search: Real-time filtering by option, delimiter, or description.
• Click-to-Copy: One-click command copying for immediate terminal use.
• Compact Interface: Space-efficient sidebar optimized for quick reference.

Security-First Design:
• Zero permissions required. • No data collection. • Entirely offline operation.
• No Tracking: No analytics, telemetry, or user monitoring.
• Secure DOM manipulation only. • No third-party dependencies.
• All data stored locally in embedded JavaScript file.
• Local Processing Only: All operations occur within the sidebar with no external calls or connections.
• Secure Implementation: Uses only safe DOM methods.
• Manifest v2 Compliant: Adheres to Mozilla's security standards and privacy requirements.

Technical Specifications:
• Compatibility: Firefox 109.0+ (64-bit desktop) • Size: 39 KB total.
• Performance: Instant search with efficient filtering. • Testing: Verified on Firefox 147.0.1.

cut Ref provides immediate access to this essential utility's capabilities, supporting professionals who rely on Unix text processing tools while maintaining strict security and privacy standards.