ref: Manage references for large writing projects
By Andrew Stewart (https://andrewinfosec.com)
ref
is a CLI tool for managing references in large writing projects. The program uses the filesystem as a database, with one directory per reference number.
NB: This program assumes macOS.
Workflow
Set the location of the database with $ ref loc
. The location of the database is stored in ~/.ref
. This step does not have to be repeated.
During the writing process, when the time comes to add a new reference, use $ ref add
. This creates a reference number, copies it to the clipboard, and opens the corresponding directory. You can then copy the files associated with the reference into the directory, and command+v
the reference number into your manuscript.
Reference numbers increase monotonically, so reference number 1 is followed by reference number 2, and so on. Reference numbers are never reused.
To view the files associated with a reference number us $ ref <number>
. This will open the *.html
and *.pdf
files from the directory associated with the reference number.