Pipe viewer reimplementation

pv is a Unix pipe monitoring application. (And this is copy of the much older original)

You can use it in places where a progressbar, or at least a flow rate meter, would be handy. Some handy examples:

# Is it still transferring or did something freeze?
docker save excelsior | pv | ssh me@devbox.company.com "docker load"

# Why doesn't gzip have a progressbar already?
pv gigantic-file | gunzip | gawk '/size/ { x += $4 } END {print x}'

Feature Comparison with Standard pv

This Rust implementation covers the core functionality of the original pv utility but is missing several advanced features. Here's a comparison:

Implementation Priority

High Priority (Additional Core Features):

• Custom format strings (-F) - Essential for scripting and integration
• Numeric output (-n) - Important for automation
• Rate limiting (-L) - Common use case for bandwidth control
• Output to file (-o) - Basic I/O redirection
• Force output (-f) - Important for non-terminal usage
• Quiet mode (-q) - Essential for silent operation

Medium Priority (Enhanced Display):

• SI units (-k) - Standards compliance
• Bits display (-8) - Network monitoring use case
• Buffer percentage (-T) - Useful debugging feature
• Transfer statistics (-v) - Nice summary feature
• Gauge mode (-g) - Alternative progress display

Lower Priority (Advanced Features):

• Watch file descriptor (-d) - Advanced monitoring feature
• Remote control (-R) - Advanced process control
• Store and forward (-U) - Specialized use case
• Direct I/O (-K) - Performance optimization
• Cursor positioning (-c) - Terminal control feature

Summary

The current implementation covers exactly 70% of the standard pv features (32 out of 46 options). It successfully implements the core progress monitoring functionality including custom format strings, numeric output, rate limiting, output to file, force output, SI units, bits display, stop at size, wait for first byte, and delay start, but lacks many advanced features that make the original pv versatile for different use cases.

Out of Scope Features

Some features are currently out of scope for this implementation due to limitations with the underlying indicatif library or complexity considerations:

Not Planned (Significant Technical Challenges)

Remote Control (-R)

• Requires inter-process communication and signal handling
• indicatif is designed for single-process use
• Would require major architectural changes

Cursor Positioning (-c)

• Requires precise terminal control beyond indicatif's abstractions
• Complex interaction with terminal state management
• Limited practical use cases

Buffer Percentage (-T) & Last Written Bytes (-A)

• Requires access to internal buffer state that indicatif doesn't expose
• Would need custom buffering layer implementation

Lower Priority (Possible but Complex)

Gauge Mode (-g)

• Different display paradigm than indicatif's percentage-focused approach
• Would require custom progress bar rendering

Advanced Terminal Features

• Bar style customization (-u)
• Complex multi-line displays (-x, -v)
• May require extending indicatif or custom terminal handling

The focus remains on implementing high-value features that provide the most utility while working well within the indicatif framework.

Installation

Static Binary (Recommended)

Download the pre-built static binary for Linux x86_64 from the releases page:

# Download and install the latest release
curl -L -o pv https://github.com/SeanTater/pv/releases/latest/download/pv-linux-x86_64
chmod +x pv
sudo mv pv /usr/local/bin/

# Verify installation
pv --version

The static binary has no dependencies and works on any Linux x86_64 system.

Flatpak

Download the latest Flatpak bundle from the releases page and install:

flatpak install pv.flatpak

Then run with:

flatpak run com.github.SeanTater.pv [options] [files...]

From Source with Cargo

# Install from GitHub
cargo install --git https://github.com/SeanTater/pv.git

# Or clone and build locally
git clone https://github.com/SeanTater/pv.git
cd pv
cargo build --release

Build Requirements

• Rust 1.70+ (stable, beta, or nightly)
• Cargo package manager

Development

Setting up Pre-commit Hooks

This project uses pre-commit hooks to automatically format code and run linting checks before commits. This prevents formatting-related CI failures.

Option 1: Automatic Git Hook (Recommended) The repository includes a Git pre-commit hook that will automatically run cargo fmt and cargo clippy:

# Hook is already set up - just make sure it's executable
chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-commit

Option 2: Pre-commit Framework For more advanced setups, install the pre-commit framework:

# Install pre-commit (requires Python)
uv tool install pre-commit

# Install the git hook scripts
pre-commit install

# Optionally run against all files
pre-commit run --all-files

Manual Commands

# Format code
cargo fmt

# Check linting
cargo clippy --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings

# Run tests
cargo test

# Check formatting without fixing
cargo fmt --all -- --check