# mridgers/clink

Bash's powerful command line editing in cmd.exe

Repository: https://github.com/mridgers/clink
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/mridgers-clink
Language: C
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2024-08-03T13:25:55+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4626, "days_push": 760, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3315, forks 285 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:56.100284+00:00)

## What it is
Clink brings GNU Readline's powerful line editing, completion, and history features from Bash to Windows cmd.exe. It is scriptable via Lua and integrates directly into the native Windows shell.

## Use cases
- add bash-style line editing to cmd.exe
- persistent command history in Windows command prompt
- tab completion for git and other tools in cmd
- customize the cmd.exe prompt with colors
- write custom completions with Lua
- search command history with Ctrl-R on Windows

## When to choose
- you use cmd.exe daily and want Bash-like editing and completion
- you want persistent, searchable command history on Windows
- you need scriptable prompt and completion customization via Lua

## When to avoid
- you already use PowerShell or a modern shell with PSReadLine
- you need a full Unix shell environment rather than cmd enhancements
- you work primarily on Linux or macOS

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: cli, developer-tools, terminal-ui, plugin-system
- domain: developer-tools, windows
- platform: windows, cli
- tags: readline, cmd-exe, shell-enhancement, tab-completion, command-history, lua-scripting, prompt-customization, command-line

## Member repositories
- mridgers/clink (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:56.100284+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:42:05.615860+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mridgers/clink (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:56.100284+00:00, sha e522736b08ee)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.