MANIFEST ASSISTANCE TOOL

Mast is a command-line utility for working with file MANIFESTS and DIGESTS. Mast can be used to create or update recursive directory listings, or compare manifests to actual directory contents. It can be useful in conjunction with packaging tools (such as Box), or as a stand-alone tool for monitoring file changes.

USAGE

  mast v1.4.0

  Usage:
    mast [command] [options...]

  Examples:
    mast
    mast -u -f PUBLISH

  Commands:
    -c --create         Generate a new manifest. (default)
    -u --update         Update an existing manifest.
    -l --list           List the files given in the manifest file. (Use -f to specify an alternate file.)
    -D --diff           Diff manifest file against actual.
    -n --new            List existent files that are not given in the manifest.
    -o --old            List files given in the manifest but are non-existent.
       --clean          Remove non-manifest files. (Will ask for confirmation first.)
    -v --verify         Verify that a manifest matches actual.
    -r --recent         Verify that a manifest is more recent than actual.
    -h --help           Display this help message.

  Options:
    -a --all            Include all files. This deactivates default exclusions
                        so it is possible to make complete list of all contents.
    -d --dir            When creating a list include directory paths; by default
                        only files are listed.
    -s --show           Show files using the options header in the manifest file.
    -f --file PATH      Path to manifest file. When using update command, if not
                        given then the file matching 'MANIFEST', case-insensitive
                        and with an optional '.txt' extension, will be looked for
                        in the current directory. If the path of the manifest file
                        is anything else then --file option must be specified.
    -g --digest TYPE    Include cryptographic signature. Type can be either
                        md5, sha1, sha128, sha256, or sha512.
    -x --exclude PATH   Exclude a file or dir from the manifest matching against
                        full pathname. You can use --exclude repeatedly.
    -i --ignore PATH    Exclude a file or dir from the manifest matching against
                        an entry's basename. You can use --ignore repeatedly.
       --no-head        Suppress mast header from output.
    -q --quiet          Suppress extraneous output.
       --debug          Run in debug mode.
  

Here is an example of a mast generated MANIFEST file.

  #!mast bin lib meta test [A-Z]*
  bin/mast
  lib/mast/cli.rb
  lib/mast/core_ext.rb
  lib/mast/manifest.rb
  lib/mast.rb
  meta/authors
  meta/contact
  meta/description
  meta/package
  meta/project
  meta/ruby
  meta/sitemap
  meta/version
  TUTORIAL.rdoc
  HISTORY.rdoc
  LICENSE
  README.rdoc
  

Notice the #! header. That is how mast can easily update a manifest at a later time without the need to respecify all the options. Simply use the --update or -u option.

  $ manifest -u
  MANIFEST updated.
  

When creating a manifest the --file option can also be used to write the output to a file instead of stdout. In the update example, mast automatically sets the --file option if a file in the working directory has a name matching "MANIFEST" case-insensitive with optional .txt extension; otherwise you can use the --file option to specify an alternate.

To create a DIGEST, rather than a MANIFEST, use the --digest or -g option.

  #!mast -g sha1 bin lib meta test [A-Z]*
  f9f1afb9bfae1c9faedbea4a2c30259bf0f7aabc bin/mast
  da39a3ee5e6b4b0d3255bfef95601890afd80709 lib/mast
  bd2b091df1d3d4c0b53a1c77f4506043cfec1d98 lib/mast/cli.rb
  7f58c6c9693b369a8b16d6cf1c33895683247c81 lib/mast/core_ext.rb
  1d8a3a06419d7429d76a0abeb1e422ef77683cbc lib/mast/manifest.rb
  6d5934bb71ac55c43c530e69be8cb67931225871 lib/mast.rb
  8045a881b3310ff8a5f663a6e11278a8d304ce94 meta/authors
  2d54dd0ad1e32d9a8c8d3c33aabae2f5f20dbee7 meta/contact
  8f125e831ab047264ad2a0294480bd0a92ab8491 meta/description
  16f24cd1ec2bc5b6ec6b2310f502983f106b824c meta/homepage
  4983288cfc12926909557341e8e390bd5e862fb3 meta/namespace
  df70e594a5fbc0d55dc0fcfcb29a57503339b22a meta/package
  7547afc4af34697b17e29117626a9a0488b8725f meta/repository
  13319c0bd7a630388816acd412d676f40a92e883 meta/ruby
  785ea838fe41924d61d12ffc5ac5a0132f7ae572 meta/sitemap
  c538b66c7110ca3a028ccfe422d0f1fa200a9935 meta/version
  dc6c400f4df68ad39c282026850fa44a65e4f7df TUTORIAL.rdoc
  b6c4ee33dfa1a541f180adfbfc0f71d4c9fa1019 HISTORY.rdoc
  ec16ef5152c62fac2c222d836e42b57360a5d805 LICENSE
  b325b103b3e51a52d78aa72eb6050160fe56ecfe README.rdoc
  

As you can see from the command-line help, mast has a number of additional commands and options. Try them out.

IMPORTANT! Be cautious with the --clean command. This mode of operation will delete any files in your directory not listed in the manifest. It will ask for confirmation before proceeding however, so don't be too worried.