MTBL_DUMP(1)

💖 NAME 💖

mtbl_dump — bestie, this one prints the key-value entries out of an MTBL file. That's it, that's the job. 🎀

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

mtbl_dump [-s] [-x] [-k ABCD] [-v ABCD] [-K #] [-V #] FILE

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

Okay so mtbl_dump(1) prints all the key-value entries from an MTBL file straight to stdout, in file order. No sorting, no drama, just vibes in the order the file gave them to us. 💅

By default, every entry gets its own line, with double quotes wrapping the key and the value, and a single space character chillin' between the two. Unprintable characters and embedded double quote characters get escaped using the Python string literal syntax. Iconic behaviour, honestly. 🐍✨

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🔥 The -x hex mode glow-up

With the -x option, each entry is printed on its own line, formatted as an 8 digit hex length, then a colon, then the hex digit pairs separated by a dash — and you get that whole treatment for the key and for the value. Look at these little masterpieces:

0000006:00-02-61-63-08-64 00000003:f2-e9-e4
00000004:03-01-2d-00 00000000:

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🦋 Prefix matching, aka the -k and -v era

The -k and -v options take as arguments a prefix as a hex-string with no embedded punctuation. So for example, -k "00ab" is legal, but -v "00-ab" is illegal. Not me enforcing the rules but okay periodt. 💀

• With the -k option, only entries whose key matches the prefix will be printed.
• With the -v option, only entries whose value matches the prefix will be printed.

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👑 Length matching, aka -K and -V

The -K and -V options take as arguments a positive integer which specifies the minimum length of the key or value, respectfully. (That's the original's wording, bestie, I'm not touching it 🫶)

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🌈 Stacking filters

-k, -v, -K, and -V can all be specified at the same time, and only entries that match all of them will be printed. Every filter has to say yes. It's giving group chat consensus. 😭✅

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💜 OPTIONS 💜

• -s — Silent mode (don't output anything). Lowkey useful for benchmarking, highkey the chillest flag here. 🤫
• -x — Use hex mode output, described above. The hex-y one. 🔥
• -k — Match on a key prefix, described above. 🔑
• -v — Match on a value prefix, described above. 📦
• -K — Match on a key prefix by minimal length, described above. 📏
• -V — Match on a value prefix by minimal length, described above. 📐

Heads up bestie: -k and -v want hex-strings with no punctuation, and -K and -V want positive integers. Don't mix those up or it's not gonna go how you want. 💅

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and that's the whole page, no notes, ate and left no crumbs 💖✨🦋

This lil' slice of the mtbl_dump(1) manual is dated 07/13/2021, and it's the mtbl_dump page itself living in the manual — so yeah, that's the source and the version, and I said it cute because you deserve it. 🎀👑