How to bind sort mtime to a key?

[Kossak-esky]

I tried adding sort mtime:\M-x to keybindings (F9), uncommenting existing shortcut first, but it doesn't work.

[leo-arch]

Hi @Kossak-esky!

For the time being, bindable actions are fixed, and there's no sort mtime action. However, it can be done by binding to a plugin. Follow these steps:

1. Create a new plugin named sort_mtime.sh under ~/.config/clifm/plugins with this content:

#!/bin/sh
echo "sort mtime" > "$CLIFM_BUS"
exit 0

Do not forget to make it executable: te sort_mtime.sh.

2. Bind the new plugin to an action name: run actions edit and add this line: plugin2=sort_mtime.sh

3. Edit your keybindings and bind a key to the new plugin:

plugin2:\M-x

NOTE: There are four available slots for plugins (plugin[1-4]), and plugin1 is already used by the xclip.sh plugin, which can be removed if you don't use it.

4. Restart clifm.

[tkossak]

Thank you very much! Is it possible to make this a toggle? When I press M-x it should sort by mtime, if I press it again it should sort by name?

[leo-arch]

Hi @tkossak. Yes, it is. You just need a way to keep track of the current sorting method, for example, using a temp file.

1. Create the sort_mtime.sh script:

#!/bin/sh

TEMPFILE="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/clifm_sort_mtime"

if ! [ -f "$TEMPFILE" ]; then
	echo "sort mtime" > "$CLIFM_BUS"
	echo "1" > "$TEMPFILE"
	exit 0
fi

if [ "$(cat "$TEMPFILE")" = "1" ]; then
	echo "sort name" > "$CLIFM_BUS"
	echo "0" > "$TEMPFILE"
else
	echo "sort mtime" > "$CLIFM_BUS"
	echo "1" > "$TEMPFILE"
fi

exit 0

2. Make it executable: te sort_mtime.sh
3. Bind it to an action via actions edit: plugin2=sort_mtime.sh
4. Bind the action to a keybinding via kb edit: plugin2:\M-x.
5. Restart clifm.

I'm planning to export clifm status values via environment variables to make things like this easier in the future. So, instead of the temp file thing you would just need to check an environment variable (say CLIFM_SORT_STYLE).

[leo-arch]

With the latest commit status information is exported via environment variables, for example, the current sort style is exported as CLIFM_SORT_STYLE.

The sort_mtime.sh plugin can now be written as follows:

#!/bin/sh

if [ -z "$CLIFM_SORT_STYLE" ]; then
	echo "clifm: CLIFM_SORT_STYLE is not set" >&2
	exit 1
fi

if [ "$CLIFM_SORT_STYLE" = "mtime" ]; then
	echo "sort name" > "$CLIFM_BUS"
else
	echo "sort mtime" > "$CLIFM_BUS"
fi

exit 0

EDIT: For the complete list of exported values consult the Environment section in the Wiki.