Forrest logo
back to the complete tool

complete:tldr:a9c6b

complete: Apply a function that performs autocompletion to a command.
$ complete -F ${function} ${command}
try on your machine

This command is used to create a completion function for a specific command in the Unix/Linux shell.

  • The -F option specifies the name of the function that will be invoked to generate the completions for the specified command. ${function} is the placeholder for the name of the completion function that you want to create.

  • ${command} represents the name of the command for which you want to enable tab-completion.

When you run this command, it sets up the completion function ${function} to be invoked whenever you press the Tab key after typing ${command}. This function will generate and display the possible completions for the command, based on what you have already typed.

The completion function can be written in the shell script using the complete command itself or by defining a separate function elsewhere in the script and then providing its name using ${function} in the complete command. The completion function is responsible for determining the possible completions based on the current argument and context of the command being completed.

This explanation was created by an AI. In most cases those are correct. But please always be careful and never run a command you are not sure if it is safe.
back to the complete tool