Bunster

A shell compiler that converts shell scripts into secure, portable and static binaries. Unlike other tools (ie. shc), Bunster does not just wrap your script within a binary. It literally compiles them to standalone shell-independent programs.

Under the hood, Bunster transpiles shell scripts into Go code. Then uses the Go Toolchain to compile the code to an executable.

Bunster aims to be compatible with bash as a starting move. Expecting that most bash scripts will just work with bunster. Additional shells will be supported as soon as we release v1.

Warning

This project is in its early stages of development. Only a subset of features are supported so far.

Features

In addition to being compatible with bash. bunster offers a lot of additional features that empower its uniqueness:

• Static binaries: scripts compiled with bunster are not just wrappers around your script, nor do they rely on any external shells on your system.

• Modular: unlike traditional shells scripts that are written in a single file. bunster offers a module system that allows you to distribute code across as many files as needed. learn more

• Package Manager: bunster has a buitlin package manager that makes it easy to publish and consume modules as libraries. learn more

• Native .env files support: .env files are nativily supported in bunster. Allowing you to load variables from .env files at runtime. learn more

• Static assets embedding: bunster allows you to embed files and directories within your compiled program at compile time. And use them as if they were normal files in the system at runtime. learn more

• Static analysis: bunster statically analizes your scripts and reports potential bugs at compile time. (wip)

Get Started

Learn more about the usage of bunster.

Installation

We have bash script that installs bunster and adds it to your $PATH.

curl -f https://bunster.netlify.app/install.sh | bash

The script will install bunster at ~/.local/bin/bunster on linux. And ~/bin/bunster on mac. If you want to install the binary system wide and make it accessible by all users.

curl -f https://bunster.netlify.app/install.sh | GLOBAL=1 bash

Warning

Do not trust scripts downloaded from the internet. A quick look at the code before running it won't hurt.

Checkout the documentation for different ways of installation.

FAQ

How does bunster make your scripts more secure?

It does not. Bunster does not make your script more secure. Instead, it makes your environment more secure. Bunster builds programs that can run in environments where the shell doesn't exist, for example in a cloud server. By eliminating the shell, you remain safe from a variety of security risks (examples include: RCE, Command Injection, Reverse Shell, ...).

more about this topic on this discussion: #126.

Does bunster replace the programs in my script?

No, bunster replaces the shell, but you still need to have the programs available in $PATH to use them. Later we might add first-class support for a subset of commands builtin.

Is bunster a drop-in replacement for bash?

Yes and No.

Yes because bunster aims to be compatible with bash, with a lot of additional features. Bunster is worth being your primary tool for shell scripting.

No because bunster programs are binary. They're cool if they're yours, but very bad if downloaded from the internet. Also, if you only have a short script that runs a few commands, it doesn't worth installing an entire toolchain. You can use the shell.

• Use bunster for long, complex scripts or to run scripts in security-critical environments.
• Don't use bunster for short, simple scripts.

Why would I choose bunster over classic shells?

You don't have to. If you're happy with your favorite shell, just stick with it. Bunster is just another option. However, there are a lot of motivators worth consideration.

• Unique goals: Bunster brings a lot of features that are not present in any of the shells out there.
• Implementation differences: Bunster is built differently. A lot of implementation details have been adopted to improve efficiency of your scripts.
• Portability: How many times you wrote a script for bash in one machine, and it didn't work in another machine just because bash version was different. Well, bunster programs are statically linked, compile once, run everywhere (with respect to arch/os).
• Security: A lot of security risks are brought just by having the shell installed on your web server, (or wherever else). if your programs are statically linked. you can eliminate the shell at all. Additionally, in some cases you might want to hide the content of the script for any reason. Well, is it easy to read binary files ?

Versioning

Bunster follows SemVer system for release versioning. On each minor release v0.x.0, you should expect adding new features, code optimization, and build improvements. On each patch release v0.N.x, you should expect bug fixes and/or other minor enhancements.

Once we reach the stable release v1.0.0, you must expect your bash scripts to be fully compatible with Bunster (there might be some caveats). All features mentioned above to be implemented unless the community agreed on skipping some of them.

Adding support for additional shells is not planned until our first stable release v1. All regarding contributions will remain open until then.

Developers Guidline

If you are interested in this project and want to know more about it's underlying implementation. Or if you want to contribute back but you don't know where to start. We have brief article that explains everything you need to get your hands dirty. Things like the project structure, packages and their concerns, how each component work and interact with other components, how to add new features, how to improve existing features, testing and anything else in this regard.

Contributing

Thank you for considering contributing to the Bunster project! The contribution guide can be found in the documentation.

This project is developed and maintained by the public community, which includes you. Anything in this repository is subject to criticism. Including features, the implementation, the code style, the way we manage code reviews, the documentation and anything else in this regard.

Hence, if you think that we're doing something wrong, or have a suggestion that can make this project better, please consider opening an issue.

Code Of Conduct

In order to ensure that the Bunster community is welcoming to all, please review and abide by the Code of Conduct.

Security

If you discover a security vulnerability within Bunster, please send an e-mail to Yassine Benaid via yassinebenaide3@gmail.com. All security vulnerabilities will be promptly addressed.

Please check out our Security Policy for more details.

License

The Bunster project is open-sourced software licensed under The 3-Clause BSD License.