# hanslub42/rlwrap

A readline wrapper

Repository: https://github.com/hanslub42/rlwrap
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/rlwrap
Language: C
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2026-05-24T12:25:07+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 73/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 84, release rhythm 44, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4574, "days_push": 101, "days_rel": 293, "gap_med": 83, "n_releases_24m": 4}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3126, forks 166 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:44.481265+00:00)

## What it is
rlwrap is a command-line wrapper that uses GNU Readline to add line editing, persistent input history, and user-defined completion to any interactive command. It works on a wide range of Unix-like systems and includes a filter mechanism for custom input/output effects.

## Use cases
- add arrow-key editing and history to a REPL that lacks readline
- wrap netcat or other plain commands with command-line editing
- add custom word completion to an interactive program from a word list file
- keep persistent command history across invocations of a tool
- hide and avoid storing passwords typed into wrapped commands

## When to choose
- a command shows escape sequences like ^[[D when you press arrow keys
- you want bash-style history recall and CTRL-R search for any interactive program
- you need user-defined completion word lists for a custom shell or REPL

## When to avoid
- the target program already has sophisticated terminal handling like fish or fzf
- you need a graphical or non-interactive input solution
- you are on a non-Unix platform without a POSIX terminal environment

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: cli, developer-tools, terminal-ui
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: bsd, cli, cross-platform
- tags: readline, input-editing, command-history, completion, pty-wrapper, command-line, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- hanslub42/rlwrap (main) score 73

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:44.481265+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 2026-08-30T07:26:22.585924+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/hanslub42/rlwrap (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:44.481265+00:00, sha 72cc23217657)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.