🐚 IIUI Mini Shell

Academic Project — 2024

A Lightweight Cross-Platform Shell Built with Python

IIUI Mini Shell is a lightweight command-line shell built from scratch in Python, designed to provide essential shell functionality while exploring concepts such as command parsing, process execution, filesystem operations, pipes, I/O redirection, and command history.

✨ Features

🧩 Built-in Commands

Includes 20+ built-in commands for everyday shell operations:

Command	Description
cd	Change directory
pwd	Show current directory
ls / dir	List files and directories
mkdir	Create directories
rmdir	Remove empty directories
touch	Create files
rm / del	Remove files or directories
cat / type	Display file contents
echo	Print text
clear / cls	Clear terminal
history	View command history
whoami	Display current username
which / where	Locate commands
date	Display date and time
tree	Display directory structure
help	Show command reference
about	Display shell information
exit / quit	Exit the shell

📜 Persistent Command History

• Saves command history between sessions
• Navigate previously entered commands using arrow keys

⌨️ Tab Auto-completion

• Auto-complete available commands with Tab
• Complete file and directory names

🔗 Pipes

Supports piping the output of one command into another:

command1 | command2

📥 I/O Redirection

Supports redirecting command input and output:

command > output.txt
command >> output.txt
command < input.txt

⚙️ Background Processes

Run commands without blocking the shell:

command &

🖥️ Cross-Platform

Designed to work across Windows, Linux, and macOS, with platform-specific command aliases such as dir/ls and cls/clear.

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Python
• subprocess
• os
• shutil
• readline / platform-specific input handling
• PyInstaller for executable packaging

🚀 Getting Started

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/aamnamz/IIUI-Mini-Shell.git
cd IIUI-Mini-Shell

Run the shell

python main.py

📦 Standalone Executable

The project can be packaged as a standalone Windows executable using PyInstaller, allowing the shell to run without requiring a Python installation.

pyinstaller --onefile main.py

The generated executable will be available in the dist/ directory.

💡 What This Project Explores

IIUI Mini Shell was built to explore how command-line shells work internally, including:

• Command parsing and execution
• Process management
• Filesystem operations
• Inter-process communication
• Pipes and I/O redirection
• Persistent command history
• Cross-platform system interaction

📌 Project Status

Completed — standalone shell with cross-platform functionality and Windows executable support.

👩‍💻 Author

Amna Mumtaz

GitHub · LinkedIn