CLI¶

Install¶

1	`pip install ghostbit-cli`

This installs the gbit and ghostbit commands.

With optional extras for terminal rendering:

pip install "ghostbit-cli[all]"       # pygments + rich (recommended)
pip install "ghostbit-cli[color]"     # pygments — syntax highlighting
pip install "ghostbit-cli[markdown]"  # rich — Markdown rendering

Configuration¶

# Set your self-hosted server
gbit config set server https://paste.example.com

# Show current config
gbit config show

# Remove a key
gbit config unset server

Config is stored at ~/.config/ghostbit.toml.

Create a paste¶

From stdin¶

cat main.py | gbit
echo "hello world" | gbit
git diff HEAD~1 | gbit

From a file¶

1 2	`gbit main.py gbit secrets.env`

Language is auto-detected from the file extension.

Options¶

Flag	Short	Description
`--lang LANG`	`-l`	Language hint (`python`, `go`, `rust`, `sql`, …)
`--expires SECONDS`	`-e`	TTL in seconds. `3600` = 1h, `86400` = 1d
`--burn`	`-b`	Delete after the first view
`--max-views N`	`-m`	Delete after N views
`--password [PASS]`	`-p`	Encrypt with a password. Omit value to be prompted securely.
`--server URL`	`-s`	Override server URL for this invocation only
`--quiet`	`-q`	Print URL only (useful in scripts)
`--json`		Print full JSON response including `full_url`
`--no-history`		Don't save this paste to local history
`--version`	`-V`	Print version and exit

Delete a paste¶

1	`gbit delete https://paste.example.com/abc123#KEY~TOKEN`

The delete token is read from the URL fragment (after ~). No server-side secret needed — the token was generated at creation time and embedded in the URL.

Paste history¶

All created pastes are saved locally to ~/.local/share/ghostbit/history.jsonl.
Nothing is sent to the server — this file stays on your machine only.

# List recent pastes
gbit list

# Wipe local history
gbit list --clear

Example output:

1
2
3

ID           Lang            Created      Expires     URL
abc123       python          2h ago       in 22h      https://paste.example.com/abc123#KEY~TOKEN
def456       json            5d ago       never       https://paste.example.com/def456#KEY~TOKEN

View a paste¶

Download, decrypt, and display a paste directly in the terminal:

# Non-password paste (key is in the URL fragment)
gbit view https://paste.example.com/abc123#KEY~TOKEN

# Password-protected paste (prompts for password interactively)
gbit view https://paste.example.com/abc123#~TOKEN

# Pipe to another tool
gbit view https://paste.example.com/abc123#KEY~TOKEN | less

Markdown pastes are rendered with titles, bold, lists, and code blocks (requires rich)
Other languages are syntax-highlighted (requires pygments)
Falls back to plain text if neither is installed
Burn-after-read pastes display a warning on stderr after decryption

Examples¶

# Burn after read
cat deploy.sh | gbit --burn

# Expire in 1 hour, max 3 views
gbit config.yml --expires 3600 --max-views 3

# Password protected (secure prompt)
echo "db_password=s3cr3t" | gbit -p

# Password inline (visible in process list)
gbit file.py --password mysecret

# Language override
curl api.example.com/data | gbit --lang json

# Scripting: URL only
URL=$(cat file.py | gbit --quiet)
echo "Paste created: $URL"

# Skip local history for sensitive pastes
cat secrets.env | gbit --burn --no-history

# Full JSON response
cat data.json | gbit --json

Shell completion¶

Enable tab-completion for gbit in your shell.

Bash¶

# Activate for the current session
eval "$(gbit completion bash)"

# Make it permanent
echo 'eval "$(gbit completion bash)"' >> ~/.bashrc

Zsh¶

# Activate for the current session
eval "$(gbit completion zsh)"

# Make it permanent
echo 'eval "$(gbit completion zsh)"' >> ~/.zshrc

Fish¶

# Activate for the current session
gbit completion fish | source

# Make it permanent
gbit completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/gbit.fish

Supported language extensions¶

Auto-detected from file extension or filename when using gbit <file>:

Extension / Name	Language
`.py`	python
`.js`	javascript
`.ts`	typescript
`.go`	go
`.rs`	rust
`.rb`	ruby
`.sh`, `.bash`, `.zsh`	bash
`.html`	html
`.css`	css
`.sql`	sql
`.json`	json
`.yaml`, `.yml`	yaml
`.toml`	toml
`.md`	markdown
`.diff`, `.patch`	diff
`.java`	java
`.c`	c
`.cpp`	cpp
`.cs`	csharp
`.php`	php
`.kt`	kotlin
`.swift`	swift
`.lua`	lua
`.r`	r
`Dockerfile`	dockerfile
`Makefile`	makefile