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› Command line utilities
#cli #posix #echo

app bolo

A tiny Rust implementation of the classic echo command

by fahimaloy

1 unstable release

Uses new Rust 2024

0.1.0 Nov 16, 2025

#899 in Command line utilities

MIT/Apache

14KB
185 lines

bolo

A tiny, fast, Rust implementation of the classic echo command.

Crates.io Downloads Rust License Version

About bolo

bolo is a zero-dependency, blazing fast native binary written in 100% safe Rust. It is designed to be a faithful and efficient clone of the standard POSIX echo utility.

The name "Bolo" means "speak" in Bengali — perfect for an echo clone!

Features

  • Full POSIX echo behavior
  • Supports standard options: -n (suppress newline), -e (enable escapes), -E (disable escapes)
  • Comprehensive backslash escape sequence handling when using -e (e.g., \n, \t, \a, \b, \c, \0nnn, \xHH)
  • Includes --help and --version flags
  • Zero dependencies
  • Blazing fast native binary with a tiny footprint (approx. 200 KB)
  • Built entirely with safe Rust for guaranteed memory safety.

Installation

cargo install bolo

Now bolo is available globally!

From Source

git clone https://github.com/fahimaloy/bolo.git
cd bolo
cargo install --path .

Build & Run Locally

# Build the optimized release binary
cargo build --release
# Run the binary directly from the target directory
./target/release/bolo hello world

Usage

bolo [OPTIONS] [STRING...]

Examples

Command Output Notes
bolo hello world hello world Basic echo
bolo -n "no newline" no newline(no newline at end) Use -n to suppress the trailing newline
bolo -e "Line1\nLine2\tTabbed" Line1
Line2 Tabbed		 Use -e to interpret escape sequences
bolo -e "Bell\a" && sleep 1 (makes a beep sound) \a (alert) produces an audible bell sound
bolo -e "Stop here\c and ignore this" Stop here \c stops the output immediately
bolo --help Shows the help message
bolo --version Shows the version information

Supported Escape Sequences (-e)

Sequence Meaning
\\ backslash character
\a alert (bell)
\b backspace
\c stop output immediately
\e escape character
\f form feed
\n newline
\r carriage return
\t horizontal tab
\v vertical tab
\0nnn octal value (1–3 digits)
\xHH hexadecimal value (1–2 digits)

Project Structure

bolo/
├── Cargo.toml
├── src/
│   └── main.rs
├── README.md
├── LICENSE-MIT
└── LICENSE-APACHE

Development

Development Commands

# Run tests
cargo test

# Build the release binary
cargo build --release

# Run with arguments for quick testing
cargo run -- -e "Hello\nWorld"

Why Rust?

Rust provides the perfect environment for small, high-performance CLI tools like bolo:

  • No Runtime/GC: Results in a tiny binary (~200 KB) and minimal overhead.
  • Performance: Compiles to native code, offering speed comparable to C/C++.
  • Safety: Guarantees memory safety without sacrificing performance.
  • Distribution: Produces a single, easy-to-distribute binary.

Contributing

Contributions are always welcome! Feel free to:

  • Open an issue to report bugs or suggest features.
  • Submit a Pull Request with improvements.
  • Areas for improvement include enhancing escape handling or adding optional color/formatting support.

Please follow the Rust community's Code of Conduct.

License

This project is dual-licensed under the following, at your option:

  • MIT License
  • Apache License 2.0

See LICENSE-MIT and LICENSE-APACHE for full details.

Author

Fahim Ahmed
[email protected]

No runtime deps