Marktab Actions

Marktab actions allow you to automate custom workflows triggered by bookmark events. By defining rules in a marktab file, you can execute shell commands, modify bookmarks, or integrate with external tools.

1. Getting Started

1.1. Location of Marktab File

The default marktab file is located at:

~/.config/gosuki/marktab

1.2. Basic Structure

Each line in the marktab file defines a rule with three components:

#  *  *   *
#  |  |   |_____ shell command to execute
#  |  |_________ pattern to match on the url or title
#  |____________ trigger keyword to detect in tags

TRIGGER	 	PATTERN		 COMMAND

• TRIGGER: A tag to watch for. Can be:
  • A regular tag name: notify matches bookmarks with tag #notify
  • An action tag: @archivebox matches bookmarks with action tag @archivebox
• PATTERN: A regex to match against the bookmark’s title or URL
• COMMAND: Shell command to execute (e.g., notify-send, curl)

2. Syntax Rules

2.1. Trigger

• Must be a single word (no spaces)
• Case-sensitive (e.g., notify ≠ Notify)

2.2. Pattern

• POSIX-compliant regex (no delimiters)
• Matches against:
  • Bookmark title (Title)
  • Bookmark URL (URL)

2.3. Command

• Executed in a shell (sh -c)

2.4. Action Tags

Action tags (prefixed with @, e.g., @archivebox) are a special trigger type. When a rule fires, action tags are excluded from the GOSUKI_TAGS environment variable:

• A rule trigger @archivebox matches bookmarks containing the action tag @archivebox
• But $GOSUKI_TAGS will NOT include @archivebox — only non-action tags are included

This means if a bookmark has @archivebox and notify tags, the command receives $GOSUKI_TAGS=notify.

3. Example Rules

3.1. Basic Notification

notify .* notify-send "New Bookmark" "Added: $GOSUKI_TITLE"

This sends a desktop notification for any bookmark with the notify tag.

3.2. URL Shortener Integration

shorten https://example.com 'curl -X POST -d "url=$GOSUKI_URL" https://api.shortener.com | xclip -selection clipboard' 

Shortens bookmarks tagged with #shorten and matching https://example.com using an external API.

3.3. Archive Old Bookmarks

@archivebox \.foo\.domain$ archive_box.sh

Archives bookmarks tagged with the action tag @archivebox and ending in .foo.domain with a custom script that uses archive box

4. Environment Variables

Marktab actions have access to these variables:

5. Troubleshooting

5.1. Common Errors

• Invalid regex: Ensure patterns use proper POSIX syntax
• Command not found: Verify shell commands exist in the environment

5.2. Debugging

Enable debug logs with:

GOSUKI_LOG_LEVEL=debug gosuki