Kattis Grind

A modern CLI tool for competitive programming on Kattis. This tool helps streamline your competitive programming workflow by automating problem fetching, solution testing, and submission processes.

Features

• Fetch Problems: Download problem statements and sample test cases
• Submit Solutions: Submit your code directly from the command line with real-time feedback
• Random Problem Discovery: Find random problems within specified difficulty ranges
• Multi-language Support: Supports C++, Python, Java, C#, Go, Rust, and many more
• Template System: Automatic boilerplate code generation for your preferred languages
• Problem Hints: Optional integration with Steve Halim's cpbook.net for problem type hints and solving strategies

Installation

Option 1: Install directly from GitHub

pip install git+https://github.com/chrismacdonaldw/kattis-grind.git

This installs the kattis-grind command globally, allowing you to use it from anywhere.

Option 2: Local development setup

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/chrismacdonaldw/kattis-grind.git
cd kattis-grind

2. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Quick Start

If installed via pip (Option 1):

1. Initialize Configuration:

kattis-grind config init

2. Edit your configuration with your Kattis credentials:

   • Download your .kattisrc file from Kattis
   • Place it in your home directory or edit the generated one

3. Fetch a problem:

kattis-grind fetch hello

4. Submit a solution:

kattis-grind submit solution.py

If running locally (Option 2):

1. Initialize Configuration:

python main.py config init

2. Edit your configuration with your Kattis credentials:

   • Download your .kattisrc file from Kattis
   • Place it in your home directory or edit the generated one

3. Fetch a problem:

python main.py fetch hello

4. Submit a solution:

python main.py submit solution.py

Commands

Note: Replace kattis-grind with python main.py if running locally instead of installing via pip.

fetch <problem_id>

Downloads a problem and sets up a directory with:

• Problem description (HTML file)
• Sample input/output files
• Boilerplate code templates for configured languages

kattis-grind fetch hello
kattis-grind fetch twostones

submit <files...>

Submits your solution to Kattis with real-time feedback.

# Submit a single file
kattis-grind submit solution.py

# Submit multiple files
kattis-grind submit main.cpp helper.h

# Specify problem and language explicitly
kattis-grind submit solution.java --problem hello --language Java

Options:

• --problem, -p: Specify the problem ID (auto-detected from filename if not provided)
• --language, -l: Specify the programming language (auto-detected from extension if not provided)
• --mainclass, -m: Specify the main class name (for languages that require it)
• --force, -f: Skip confirmation prompt

rand

Finds a random problem within your configured difficulty range.

# Find a random problem
kattis-grind rand

# Specify difficulty range
kattis-grind rand --min 1.5 --max 2.0

# Fetch immediately
kattis-grind rand --fetch

# Output only the problem ID
kattis-grind rand --id-only

Options:

• --min: Minimum difficulty (uses config default if not specified)
• --max: Maximum difficulty (uses config default if not specified)
• --fetch, -f: Automatically fetch the problem
• --id-only, -i: Output only the problem ID (useful for scripting)

config init

Creates a default configuration file in your home directory.

kattis-grind config init

Configuration

The tool uses a .kattisrc configuration file, which should be placed in your home directory. You should use the templates/default_kattisrc which can be generated with the config init command shown above.

Configuration File Structure

[user]
# Found at https://<hostname>/downloads/kattisrc
username = YOUR_USERNAME_HERE
token = YOUR_TOKEN_HERE

[kattis]
hostname = open.kattis.com
loginurl = https://open.kattis.com/login
submissionurl = https://open.kattis.com/submit

[settings]
# Preferred programming languages (comma-separated)
languages = python,cpp
# Difficulty range for random problem selection (min-max)
difficulty = 1.5-3.0
# Directory where problems will be saved (supports ~ for home directory)
problems_directory = kattis_problems
# Whether to fetch hints from Steve Halim's cpbook.net site
include_hints = false

[templates]
# Template Examples:
# cpp = ~/.kattis-grind/templates/cpp_template.cpp
# py = ~/.kattis-grind/templates/py_template.py

Configuration Options

Custom Problems Directory

You can configure where problems are saved using the problems_directory setting:

[settings]
problems_directory = kattis_problems

# Or using ~ as a root:
problems_directory = ~/competitive_programming/kattis

Problem Hints

Enable hints from Steve Halim's cpbook.net to get problem type information and solving strategies:

[settings]
include_hints = true

When enabled, the tool will display hints like:

• Problem Type: Classification (e.g., "1.4a, One-Liner I/O")
• Hint Text: Solving strategy (e.g., "just print 'Hello World!'")

Environment Variables

• KATTIS_GRIND_HOME: Override the default configuration directory

Project Structure

After fetching problems, your directory structure will look like:

kattis_problems/
├── hello/
│   ├── hello.html          # Problem description
│   ├── sample-1.in         # Sample input
│   ├── sample-1.ans        # Expected output
│   ├── hello.py            # Python template
│   └── hello.cpp           # C++ template
└── twostones/
    ├── twostones.html
    ├── sample-1.in
    ├── sample-1.ans
    ├── twostones.py
    └── twostones.cpp

Acknowledgments

This project uses the official Kattis CLI as a starting point. The original Kattis CLI provided the foundation for understanding the Kattis API and submission process.