Windows Native Unix Shell (wnus) - Version 0.0.9.6

A comprehensive Unix/Linux-like shell environment for Windows, implemented entirely in C++ without external dependencies. Windows Native Unix Shell brings the power and familiarity of bash commands to native Windows, with full NTFS support and Windows API integration.

🌟 Overview

Windows Native Unix Shell (wnus) is a standalone bash-like console application for Windows that provides: - 276+ commands with 276+ fully implemented - Native Windows integration using NTFS file system and Windows APIs - No external dependencies - no WSL, Git Bash, Cygwin, or other installations required - Full bash compatibility for common command-line workflows including I/O redirection and process control - Comprehensive documentation with man pages for every command

✨ Key Features

Core Capabilities

• 🔧 276+ Unix/Linux commands implemented natively in C++
• 📁 Native NTFS support with Windows ACL integration
• �️ Virtual root filesystem (wnus:/) with unified drive access via /C, /D, etc.
• �🔀 Full pipe operations (|) for command chaining
• 🔗 Command chaining with && (AND) and || (OR) operators
• 📤 I/O redirection with >, >>, and < operators
• 🚀 Background processes with & operator
• ⌨️ Interactive tab completion for commands and file paths
• 📜 Persistent command history with search capabilities
• 🔖 Configurable command aliases for personalized workflows
• 📖 Comprehensive man page system for detailed command documentation
• ❓ Context-sensitive help (--help flag for all commands)
• 🛑 Process control with Ctrl+C (terminate) and Ctrl+Z (suspend)

Advanced Features

• 🔐 Windows ACL integration via chmod, chown, chgrp
• 🔗 Hard and symbolic links with native NTFS support
• 🌐 Network operations including SSH, SCP, rsync, wget, curl
• 📦 Archive management with tar, gzip, zip support
• 💻 Process management with ps, top, kill, nice commands
• 👥 User/group management with Windows account integration
• 🔄 Service control for Windows services
• 🚀 Shell scripting with sh command and source support
• 🧮 Built-in calculators (bc, calc, qalc)

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Windows 7 or later (Windows 10/11 recommended)
• C++ compiler (MSVC, MinGW, or Clang)
• ~5.5 MB disk space for executable
• ~15 MB RAM minimum for typical usage

Building

Using PowerShell build script (recommended):

.\build.ps1

Using CMake:

mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
cmake --build . --config Release

Using MSVC directly:

cl /EHsc /O2 garyscon.cpp /Fe:wnus.exe user32.lib shell32.lib advapi32.lib ws2_32.lib iphlpapi.lib netapi32.lib

Running

wnus.exe

Or for single command execution:

wnus.exe -c "ls -la"

📚 Command Reference

Navigation & File Viewing (8 commands)

• pwd - Print working directory
• cd [dir] - Change directory
• ls [-la] [path] - List directory contents
• cat <file>... - Display file contents
• less <file> - View file with paging
• head [-n N] - Display first N lines
• tail [-n N] - Display last N lines
• tac <file> - Print files in reverse line order

File Operations (14 commands)

• touch, mkdir, rm, rmdir, mv, rename - Basic file operations
• ln [-s], unlink - Create/remove links
• chmod, chown, chgrp - Permission management
• dd - Low-level file copy
• file, blkid - File/device information

Text Processing (21 commands)

• grep, egrep, sed, awk - Pattern matching and text processing
• sort, cut, paste, uniq - Text manipulation
• wc, tee, diff, patch - Text utilities
• cmp, sdiff, rev, printf, echo, yes, seq, jot, factor - Text output and generators

Text Formatting & Analysis (18 commands)

• fmt - Reformat paragraph text
• fold - Wrap text to specified width
• pr - Paginate text with headers
• lpr, lp - Send jobs to printer (stubbed)
• expand - Convert tabs to spaces
• unexpand - Convert spaces to tabs
• od - Octal/hexadecimal dump
• hexdump, hd - Hex dump with ASCII
• strings - Extract printable strings from binary files
• column - Format output into columns
• comm - Compare sorted files
• join - Join lines on common field
• look - Display lines beginning with string
• tsort - Topological sort
• vis, unvis - Display/reverse non-printable characters
• tac - Print files with lines in reverse order

Encoding & Checksums (6 commands)

• base64 - Base64 encode/decode
• md5sum - MD5 checksum
• sha1sum - SHA1 checksum
• sha256sum - SHA256 checksum
• cksum - CRC checksum
• sum - Checksum and block count

File Search (4 commands)

• find - Find files/directories
• locate - Recursive search
• which - Locate command in PATH
• file - Determine file type

System Info (19 commands)

• df, du - Disk usage
• uptime, uname, date - System information
• cal, ncal - Calendar display
• free, vmstat, iostat, mpstat - System statistics
• hostname, hostid, arch, nproc, lsb_release - Host identifiers
• neofetch, sysctl - Host information and tunables

User & Group (23 commands)

• whoami, who, w, last, id - User information
• finger, user, groups - User details
• logname, users - Session user reporting
• passwd - Password management
• useradd, userdel, usermod - User administration
• groupadd, groupmod, groupdel - Group administration
• gpasswd, getent - Account management
• mesg, write, wall - Local messaging controls

Process Management (23 commands)

• ps, proc, htop, top - Process viewing
• pgrep, pidof, pstree - Process lookup and tree display
• kill, killall, pkill, xkill - Process termination
• nice, renice - Priority management
• jobs, bg, fg - Job control (info guides)
• strace, lsof - Debugging (info guides)
• sleep, wait, timeout, nohup - Delays and timed execution

Archives & Compression (11 commands)

• tar - Archive management
• gzip/gunzip - Gzip compression
• zip/unzip - ZIP archives
• bzip2/bunzip2 - Bzip2 (info guides)
• dd - Low-level copy
• make - Build automation from Makefile

File Utilities (9 commands)

• cp - Copy files and directories
• dirname - Extract directory from pathname
• readlink - Display symbolic link target
• realpath - Print resolved absolute path
• mktemp - Create temporary file/directory
• install - Copy files and set attributes
• truncate - Shrink or extend file size
• fallocate - Preallocate file space
• pathchk - Validate pathnames

Network & Remote (20 commands)

• ssh, scp, rsync - Remote access
• ftp, sftp - Connectivity probes for FTP and SSH/SFTP
• wget, curl - File downloads
• ping, traceroute - Diagnostics
• ip, ifconfig, iptables - Network config
• dig, nslookup, netstat, ss - Network info
• nmap, tcpdump, lspci, lsusb - Network/hardware tools Tip: For a quick FTP connectivity check, use ftp -u anonymous -w anonymous@ test.rebex.net (public read-only server).

Services & System (5 commands)

• service - Windows service control
• shutdown, reboot - Power management
• sync - File system sync

Shell & Scripting (21 commands)

• sh, source, exec - Script execution
• echo, printf - Output
• bc, calc, qalc - Calculators
• xargs - Argument processing
• true, false, tty, script, logger - Shell utilities and logging
• xdg-open - Open files/URLs with default application
• alias/unalias - Command shortcuts
• history - Command history
• umask - File mode mask
• case - Pattern matching (info)
• read - Read input
• test - Conditional evaluation

Editing & Display (3 commands)

• nano - Text editor
• clear - Clear screen
• screen - Terminal multiplexer (limited)

Admin & Help (6 commands)

• sudo, su - Privilege elevation
• man - Manual pages
• help - Command listing
• version - Version information
• exit, quit - Exit shell

📖 Documentation

Getting Help

<command> --help    # Quick command help
man <command>       # Full manual page
help                # List all commands
version             # Show version and features

Man Pages

Every command has a comprehensive manual page with: - Name and description - Usage synopsis - Detailed options - Examples - Related commands

🔧 Usage Examples

File Operations

ls -la                        # List all files with details
cat file.txt | grep "error"   # Search in file
find . -name "*.log"          # Find log files
tar -czf backup.tar.gz data/  # Create archive

Text Processing

grep -i "warning" *.log       # Case-insensitive search
sed 's/old/new/g' file.txt    # Replace text
awk '{print $1}' data.txt     # Extract column
sort file.txt | uniq          # Sort and remove duplicates

System Operations

ps | grep chrome              # Find Chrome processes
df -h                         # Show disk usage
uptime                        # System uptime
neofetch                      # System info display

Network Operations

ssh user@server.com           # SSH connection
scp file.txt user@host:/tmp/  # Secure copy
wget https://example.com/file # Download file
ping google.com               # Network test

Process Management

ps                            # List processes
kill 1234                     # Kill by PID
killall chrome                # Kill by name
nice -n 10 command            # Run with priority

🎯 Advanced Features

Piping

ls -la | grep ".txt" | sort
cat log.txt | grep "error" | wc -l
ps | grep "chrome"

Command Chaining

mkdir test && cd test && touch file.txt   # Execute if previous succeeds
rm file.txt || echo "File not found"      # Execute if previous fails
make && make test && make install         # Multi-step build

I/O Redirection

# Output redirection
echo "Hello" > output.txt                 # Write to file (overwrite)
echo "World" >> output.txt                # Append to file
ls -la > filelist.txt                     # Save directory listing

# Input redirection
cat < input.txt                           # Read from file
grep "error" < log.txt                    # Search in file via stdin
wc -l < data.txt                          # Count lines from file

# Combined redirection
sort < unsorted.txt > sorted.txt          # Read input, write output
cat file1.txt file2.txt > combined.txt    # Merge files

Background Processes

# Run command in background
long_running_command &                    # Start background job
notepad &                                 # Open notepad without blocking

# Multiple background jobs
command1 & command2 & command3 &          # Run multiple jobs

# Output shows: [job_number] process_id command_line

Process Control

# Ctrl+C - Interrupt current command
# Displays: ^C
# Returns to prompt immediately

# Ctrl+Z - Suspend current process (limited support)
# Displays: ^Z
# Message about job control shown

Aliases

alias ll="ls -la"
alias ..="cd .."
unalias ll

Shell Scripts

# Create and execute script
cat > script.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/sh
echo "Starting..."
mkdir -p backup
cp -r data backup/
echo "Done!"
EOF

sh script.sh

Tab Completion

• Press Tab to auto-complete commands and paths
• Works for file names, directory names, and commands

Home Directory

cd ~                  # Go to home
ls ~/Documents        # List home documents

🔐 Administrator Operations

Commands requiring admin privileges:

sudo service apache start
sudo passwd username
sudo useradd newuser
sudo shutdown -r now

Run as Administrator or use built-in sudo command.

📊 Performance

• Startup: Instant (native executable)
• Execution: Native Windows API performance
• Memory: ~5-10 MB
• Size: ~4.4 MB executable

🔄 Version History

v0.0.7.6 (Current)

• Added 8 new utility commands:
• cp - Copy files and directories with -r/-f/-i/-v/-p flags
• dirname - Extract directory portion from pathnames
• readlink - Display symbolic link targets with -f flag
• realpath - Print resolved absolute file paths
• mktemp - Create temporary files/directories with random names
• install - Copy files and set attributes with -d/-m/-v flags
• fmt - Reformat paragraph text with -w flag
• fold - Wrap text to specified width with -s flag
• Updated command count from 155 to 163 (149 fully implemented)
• Full implementations with proper error handling and all standard flags

v0.0.7.5

• Added internal make command for build automation from Makefile
• Implemented full Makefile parser with dependency resolution and timestamp-based rebuilding
• Added support for -f, -C, -n, and -B flags in make command
• Added tilde (~) expansion for home directory shortcut in all path operations
• Updated pwd command to display "~" when in home directory
• Renamed project from garyscon to wnus (Windows Native Unix Shell)
• Fixed command chaining to properly isolate redirection contexts between commands

v0.0.7.4

• Added full I/O redirection support:
• Output redirection with > (overwrite)
• Append redirection with >> (append)
• Input redirection with < (read from file)
• Added background process execution with & operator
• Added process control with Ctrl+C (interrupt) and Ctrl+Z (suspend)
• Implemented background process tracking and cleanup
• Changed prompt from "gash" to "wnus" for consistency
• All redirections work with pipes and command chains

v0.0.7.3

• Added command chaining with && (AND) and || (OR) operators
• Enhanced command execution pipeline with conditional logic
• Support for complex command sequences with multiple operators
• Improved error handling in chained command execution

v0.0.7.2

• Minor bug fixes and stability improvements

v0.0.7.1

• Added internal read, rename, unlink, nohup, blkid, test, and egrep
• Enhanced shell scripting with input reading and conditional testing
• Improved file operations with pattern-based renaming and unlinking
• Added process immunity with nohup and block device attribute display

v0.0.7.0

• Added internal pgrep, pidof, pstree, timeout, ftp, sftp, and sysctl
• Expanded process lookup/tree capabilities and timed command execution
• Added FTP/SSH connectivity probes and sysctl-style system info

v0.0.6.9

• Added internal quota, basename, whereis, stat, type, and chattr commands
• Enhanced file attribute management and pathname manipulation
• Improved filesystem information display and command lookup utilities

v0.0.6.8

• Added internal trap, ulimit, expr, info, apropos, and whatis commands
• Enhanced command information and expression evaluation
• Improved signal handling compatibility and resource limit display
• Better manual page searching and command documentation

v0.0.6.7

• Added internal printenv, export, shuf, banner, time, and watch commands
• Enhanced environment variable management
• Added text shuffling and visual banner display utilities
• Improved command timing and execution monitoring

v0.0.6.6

• Added internal updatedb, timedatectl, env, split, nl, and tr commands
• Enhanced file indexing, text processing, and system time utilities
• Improved pipeline support for text processing commands

v0.0.6.5

• Added internal mkfs, fsck, systemctl, journalctl, and more commands
• Enhanced filesystem and service management utilities

v0.0.6.4

• Added internal nc, unrar, xz, unxz, and dmesg commands
• Enhanced compression and network utilities

v0.0.6.3

• Added internal sleep and wait commands
• Updated help, man pages, and version banner

v0.0.6.2

• Added sh command for shell scripts
• Enhanced scripting capabilities

v0.0.6.1

• Added bzip2/bunzip2 guides
• Improved compression support

v0.0.6.0

• Added tac, mpstat, cal, lspci, lsusb
• Enhanced system commands

📄 License

GNU General Public License v3.0

📝 Notes

Informational Commands: Some commands provide guidance rather than full implementation: - bzip2/bunzip2 - External tool guides - lspci/lsusb - Hardware enumeration guides
- strace/lsof - System inspection guides - jobs/bg/fg - Job control guides - at/cron/crontab - Scheduling guides - tcpdump - Network capture guide

See command help (--help) and man pages for Windows alternatives and recommendations.

🔗 Links

• Full command reference: Type help in shell
• Manual pages: Type man <command>
• Version info: Type version

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Gary's Shell - Bringing Unix power to Windows! 🚀