20 KiB
pda! is a command-line key-value store tool with:
- templates,
- encryption at rest using age,
- Git-backed version control,
- search and filtering by key and/or value,
- plaintext exports in multiple formats,
- support for all binary data,
- time-to-live/expiry support,
and more, written in pure Go, and inspired by skate and nb.
pda! stores key-value pairs natively as newline-delimited JSON files. The list command outputs tabular data by default, but also supports CSV, TSV, Markdown and HTML tables, and raw NDJSON. Because every store is in plaintext, Git versioning is pretty easy: auto-committing, pushing, and fetching can be enabled in the config to automatically version changes, or just pda sync regularly.
Contents
- Overview
- Installation
- Get Started
- Git-backed version control
- Templates
- Filtering
- TTL
- Binary
- Encryption
- Environment
Overview
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██ (c) 2025 Lewis Wynne
Usage:
pda [command]
Key commands:
copy Make a copy of a key
get Get the value of a key
identity Show or create the age encryption identity
list List the contents of a store
move Move a key
remove Delete one or more keys
run Get the value of a key and execute it
set Set a key to a given value
Store commands:
export Export store as NDJSON (alias for list --format ndjson)
import Restore key/value pairs from an NDJSON dump
list-stores List all stores
remove-store Delete a store
Git commands:
git Run any arbitrary command. Use with caution.
init Initialise pda! version control
sync Manually sync your stores with Git
Additional Commands:
completion Generate the autocompletion script for the specified shell
help Help about any command
version Display pda! version
Most commands have aliases and flags. pda help [command] to see them.
Installation
# Get the latest release from the AUR
yay -S pda
# Or use pda-git for the latest commit
yay -S pda-git
# Go install
go install github.com/llywelwyn/pda@latest
# Or
git clone https://github.com/llywelwyn/pda
cd pda
go install
Get Started
pda set to save a key.
# From arguments
pda set name "Alice"
# From stdin
echo "Alice" | pda set name
cat dogs.txt | pda set dogs
pda set kitty < cat.png
# --safe to skip if the key already exists.
pda set name "Alice" --safe
pda set name "Bob" --safe
pda get name
# Alice
pda get to retrieve it.
pda get name
# Alice
# Or run it directly.
pda run name
# same as: pda get name --run
# Check if a key exists (exit 0 if found, exit 1 if not).
pda get name --exists
pda mv to move it.
pda mv name name2
# renamed name to name2
pda cp to make a copy.
pda cp name name2
# 'mv --copy' and 'cp' are aliases. Either one works.
pda mv name name2 --copy
pda rm to delete one or more keys.
pda rm kitty
# Remove multiple keys, within the same or different stores.
pda rm kitty dog@animals
# Mix exact keys with glob patterns.
pda set cog "cogs"
pda set dog "doggy"
pda set kitty "cat"
pda rm kitty --key "?og"
# Opt in to a confirmation prompt with --interactive/-i (or always_prompt_delete in config).
pda rm kitty -i
# ??? remove 'kitty'? (y/n)
# ==> y
pda ls to see what you've got stored.
pda ls
# Key Value TTL
# name Alice no expiry
# dogs four legged mammals no expiry
# Or as CSV.
pda ls --format csv
# Key,Value,TTL
# name,Alice,no expiry
# dogs,four legged mammals,no expiry
# Or TSV, or Markdown, or HTML.
# Just the count of entries.
pda ls --count
# 2
pda ls --count --key "d*"
# 1
Long values are truncated to fit the terminal. Use --full/-f to show the complete value.
pda ls
# Key Value TTL
# note this is a very long (..30 more chars) no expiry
pda ls --full
# Key Value TTL
# note this is a very long value that keeps on going and going no expiry
pda export to export everything as NDJSON.
pda export > my_backup
# Export only matching keys.
pda export --key "a*"
# Export only entries whose values contain a URL.
pda export --value "**https**"
pda import to import it all back. By default, import merges into the existing store — existing keys are updated and new keys are added.
# Import with an argument.
pda import -f my_backup
# ok restored 2 entries into @default
# Or from stdin.
pda import < my_backup
# ok restored 2 entries into @default
# Import only matching keys.
pda import --key "a*" -f my_backup
# Full replace — drop all existing entries before importing.
pda import --drop -f my_backup
You can have as many stores as you want.
# Save to a specific store.
pda set alice@birthdays 11/11/1998
# See which stores have contents.
pda list-stores
# @default
# @birthdays
# Check out a specific store.
pda ls @birthdays --no-header --no-ttl
# alice 11/11/1998
# bob 05/12/1980
# Export it.
pda export birthdays > friends_birthdays
# Import it.
pda import birthdays < friends_birthdays
# Delete it.
pda rm-store birthdays
Git
pda! supports automatic version control backed by Git, either in a local-only repository or by initialising from a remote repository.
pda init will initialise the version control system.
# Initialise an empty pda! repository.
pda init
# Or clone an existing one.
pda init https://github.com/llywelwyn/my-repository
# --clean to replace your (existing) local repo with a new one.
pda init --clean
pda sync conducts a best-effort syncing of your local data with your Git repository. Any time you swap machine or know you've made changes outside of pda! itself, I recommend syncing.
If you're ahead of your Git repo, syncing will add your changes, commit them, and push to remote if a remote is set. If you use multiple devices or otherwise end up behind your Git repo, syncing will detect this and give you a prompt: either stash your local changes and pull the latest commit from version control, or abort and fix the issue manually.
# Sync with Git
pda sync
# With a custom commit message.
pda sync -m "added production credentials"
pda! supports some automation via its config. There are options for git.auto_commit, git.auto_fetch, and git.auto_push. Any of these operations will slow down pda! because it means versioning with every change, but it does effectively guarantee never managing to desync oneself and requiring manual fixes, and reduces the frequency with which one will need to manually run the sync command.
Auto-commit will commit changes immediately to the local Git repository any time pda! data is changed. Auto-fetch will fetch before committing any changes, but incurs a significant slowdown in operations simply due to the time a fetch takes. Auto-push will automatically push committed changes to the remote repository, if one is set.
If auto-commit is set to false, auto-fetch and auto-push will do nothing. They can be considered to be additional steps taken during the commit process.
Running pda sync manually will always fetch, commit, and push - or if behind it will fetch, stash, and pull - regardless of config.
My general recommendation would be to enable git.auto_commit, and to run a manual pda sync any time you're preparing to switch machines, or loading up a new one.
Templates
Values support effectively all of Go's text/template syntax. Templates are evaluated on pda get.
text/template is a Turing-complete templating library that supports most of what you'd expect in a scripting language. Actions are given with {{ action }} syntax and support pipelines and nested templates, along with a lot more. I recommend reading the documentation if you want to do anything more complicated than described here.
To fit text/template nicely into this tool, pda has a sparse set of additional functions built-in. For example, default values, enums, required values, lists, among others.
Below is more detail on the extra functions added by this tool.
{{ .BASIC }} substitution
pda set greeting "Hello, {{ .NAME }}"
pda get greeting NAME="Alice"
# Hello, Alice
default sets a default value.
pda set greeting "Hello, {{ default "World" .NAME }}"
pda get greeting
# Hello, World
pda get greeting NAME="Bob"
# Hello, Bob
require errors if missing.
pda set file "{{ require .FILE }}"
pda get file
# FAIL cannot get 'file': ...required value is missing or empty
env reads from environment variables.
pda set my_name "{{ env "USER" }}"
pda get my_name
# llywelwyn
enum restricts acceptable values.
pda set level "Log level: {{ enum .LEVEL "info" "warn" "error" }}"
pda get level LEVEL=info
# Log level: info
pda get level LEVEL=debug
# FAIL cannot get 'level': ...invalid value 'debug', allowed: [info warn error]
int to parse as an integer.
pda set number "{{ int .N }}"
pda get number N=3
# 3
# Use it in a loop.
pda set meows "{{ range int .COUNT }}meow! {{ end }}"
pda get meows COUNT=4
# meow! meow! meow! meow!
list to parse CSV as a list.
pda set names "{{ range list .NAMES }}Hi {{.}}. {{ end }}"
pda get names NAMES=Bob,Alice
# Hi Bob. Hi Alice.
pass no-template to output literally without templating.
pda set hello "{{ if .MORNING }}Good morning.{{ end }}"
pda get hello MORNING=1
# Good morning.
pda get hello --no-template
# {{ if .MORNING }}Good morning.{{ end }}
Filtering
--key/-k and --value/-v can be used as filters with glob support. gobwas/glob is used for matching. Both flags are repeatable, with results matching one-or-more of the keys and one-or-more of the values passed. If a --key and --value are passed, results must match both of them. If multiple are passed, results must match at least one --key and --value pattern.
--key and --value filters work with list, remove, export, and import commands.
* wildcards a word or series of characters, stopping at separator boundaries (the default separators are /-_.@: and space).
pda ls --no-values --no-header
# cat
# dog
# cog
# mouse hotdog
# mouse house
# foo.bar.baz
pda ls --key "*"
# cat
# dog
# cog
pda ls --key "* *"
# mouse hotdog
# mouse house
pda ls --key "foo.*.baz"
# foo.bar.baz
** super-wildcards ignore word boundaries.
pda ls --key "foo**"
# foo.bar.baz
pda ls --key "**g"
# dog
# cog
# mouse hotdog
? wildcards a single letter.
pda ls --key "?og"
# dog
# cog
# frog --> fail
# dogs --> fail
[abc] must match one of the characters in the brackets.
pda ls --key "[dc]og"
# dog
# cog
# bog --> fail
# Can be negated with '!'
pda ls --key "[!dc]og"
# dog --> fail
# cog --> fail
# bog
[a-c] must fall within the range given in the brackets.
pda ls --key "[a-g]ag"
# bag
# gag
# wag --> fail
# Can be negated with '!'
pda ls --key "[!a-g]ag"
# bag --> fail
# gag --> fail
# wag
pda ls --key "19[90-99]"
# 1991
# 1992
# 2001 --> fail
# 1988 --> fail
--value filters by value content using the same glob syntax.
pda ls --value "**localhost**"
# db-url postgres://localhost:5432 no expiry
# Combine key and value filters.
pda ls --key "db*" --value "**localhost**"
# db-url postgres://localhost:5432 no expiry
# Multiple --value patterns are OR'd.
pda ls --value "**world**" --value "42"
# greeting hello world no expiry
# number 42 no expiry
Globs can be arbitrarily complex, and --key can be combined with exact positional args on rm.
pda rm cat --key "{mouse,[cd]og}**"
# ??? remove 'cat'? (y/n)
# ==> y
# ??? remove 'mouse trap'? (y/n)
# ...
Locked (encrypted without an available identity) and non-UTF-8 (binary) entries are silently excluded from --value matching.
TTL
ttl sets an expiration time. Expired keys get marked for garbage collection and will be deleted on the next-run of the store. They wont be accessible.
# Expire after 1 hour
pda set session "123" --ttl 1h
# After 54 minutes and 10 seconds
pda set session2 "xyz" --ttl 54m10s
list shows expiration in the TTL column by default.
pda ls
# Key Value TTL
# session 123 in 59m30s
# session2 xyz in 51m40s
export and import persist the expiry date. Expirations will continue ticking down regardless of if they're actively in a store or not - the expiry is just a timestamp, not a timer.
Binary
Save binary data.
pda set logo < logo.png
And get it like normal.
pda get logo > output.png
list and get will show a summary for binary data on a TTY. If it's being piped somewhere or ran outside of a TTY, it'll output the raw bytes.
--base64/-b to view binary data as base64 on a TTY.
pda get logo
# (binary: 4.2 KB, image/png)
pda get logo --base64
# iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAIAAACQd1PeAAAADklEQVQI12...
export encodes binary data as base64.
pda export
# {"key":"logo","value":"89504E470D0A1A0A0000000D4948445200000001000000010802000000","encoding":"base64"}
Encryption
pda set --encrypt encrypts values at rest using age. Values are stored on disk as age ciphertext and decrypted automatically by commands like get and list when the correct identity file is present. An X25519 identity is generated on first use and saved at ~/.config/pda/identity.txt.
pda set --encrypt api-key "sk-live-abc123"
# ok created identity at ~/.config/pda/identity.txt
pda set --encrypt token "ghp_xxxx"
get decrypts automatically.
pda get api-key
# sk-live-abc123
The on-disk value is ciphertext, so encrypted entries are safe to commit and push with Git.
pda export
# {"key":"api-key","value":"YWdlLWVuY3J5cHRpb24u...","encoding":"secret"}
mv, cp, and import all preserve encryption. Overwriting an encrypted key without --encrypt will warn you.
pda cp api-key api-key-backup
# still encrypted
pda set api-key "oops"
# WARN overwriting encrypted key 'api-key' as plaintext
# hint pass --encrypt to keep it encrypted
If the identity file is missing, encrypted values are inaccessible but not lost. Keys are still visible, and the ciphertext is preserved through reads and writes.
pda ls
# Key Value TTL
# api-key locked (identity file missing) no expiry
pda get api-key
# FAIL cannot get 'api-key': secret is locked (identity file missing)
pda identity to see your public key and identity file path.
pda identity
# ok pubkey age1ql3z7hjy54pw3hyww5ayyfg7zqgvc7w3j2elw8zmrj2kg5sfn9aqmcac8p
# ok identity ~/.config/pda/identity.txt
# Just the path.
pda identity --path
# ~/.config/pda/identity.txt
# Generate a new identity. Errors if one already exists.
pda identity --new
Environment
Config is stored in your user config directory in pda/config.toml.
Usually: ~/.config/pda/config.toml
# ~/.config/pda/config.toml
display_ascii_art = true
[key]
always_prompt_delete = false
always_prompt_overwrite = false
[store]
default_store_name = "default"
always_prompt_delete = true
[git]
auto_fetch = false
auto_commit = true
auto_push = false
PDA_CONFIG overrides the default config location. pda! will look for a config.toml file in that directory.
PDA_CONFIG=/tmp/config/ pda set key value
Data is stored in your user data directory under pda/stores/.
Usually:
- linux:
~/.local/share/pda/stores/ - macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/pda/stores/ - windows:
%LOCALAPPDATA%/pda/stores/
PDA_DATA overrides the default storage location.
PDA_DATA=/tmp/stores pda set key value
pda run (or pda get --run) uses SHELL for command execution.
# SHELL is usually your current shell.
pda run script
# An empty SHELL falls back to using 'sh'.
export SHELL=""
pda run script