using patched tiagomeol/go-clipboard/clipboard, fixes #37

.github/workflows/release.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+name: build-and-test
+on:
+  push:
+    tags:
+      - "*"
+
+jobs:
+  release:
+    name: Build Release Assets
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v2
+
+      - name: Set up Go
+        uses: actions/setup-go@v1
+        with:
+          go-version: 1.22.11
+
+      - name: Build the executables
+        run: ./mkrel.sh tablizer ${{ github.ref_name}}
+
+      - name: List the executables
+        run: ls -l ./releases
+
+      - name: Upload the binaries
+        uses: svenstaro/upload-release-action@v2
+        with:
+          repo_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          tag: ${{ github.ref_name }}
+          file: ./releases/*
+          file_glob: true

Makefile

@@ -53,8 +53,7 @@ buildlocal:
 	go build -ldflags "-X 'github.com/tlinden/tablizer/cfg.VERSION=$(VERSION)'"
 
 release:
-	./mkrel.sh $(tool) $(version)
-	gh release create $(version) --generate-notes releases/*
+	gh release create $(version) --generate-notes
 
 install: buildlocal
 	install -d -o $(UID) -g $(GID) $(PREFIX)/bin
@@ -70,7 +69,7 @@ test:
 
 singletest:
 	@echo "Call like this: 'make singletest TEST=TestPrepareColumns MOD=lib'"
-	go test -run $(TEST) github.com/tlinden/tablizer/$(MOD)
+	go test -run $(TEST) github.com/tlinden/tablizer/$(MOD) $(OPTS)
 
 cover-report:
 	go test ./... -cover -coverprofile=coverage.out

README.md

@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ Output Flags (mutually exclusive):
   -C, --csv                         Enable CSV output
   -A, --ascii                       Default output mode, ascii tabular
   -L, --hightlight-lines            Use alternating background colors for tables
+  -y, --yank-columns                Yank specified columns (separated by ,) to clipboard,
+                                    space separated
 
 Sort Mode Flags (mutually exclusive):
   -a, --sort-age                    sort according to age (duration) string

cfg/config.go

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 const DefaultSeparator string = `(\s\s+|\t)`
-const Version string = "v1.3.0"
+const Version string = "v1.3.1"
 const MAXPARTS = 2
 
 var DefaultConfigfile = os.Getenv("HOME") + "/.config/tablizer/config"
@@ -59,6 +59,8 @@ type Config struct {
 	NoHeaders      bool
 	Columns        string
 	UseColumns     []int
+	YankColumns    string
+	UseYankColumns []int
 	Separator      string
 	OutputMode     int
 	InvertMatch    bool
@@ -67,9 +69,10 @@ type Config struct {
 	UseFuzzySearch bool
 	UseHighlight   bool
 
-	SortMode       string
-	SortDescending bool
-	SortByColumn   int
+	SortMode        string
+	SortDescending  bool
+	SortByColumn    string // 1,2
+	UseSortByColumn []int  // []int{1,2}
 
 	TransposeColumns    string       // 1,2
 	UseTransposeColumns []int        // []int{1,2}

cmd/root.go

@@ -147,11 +147,13 @@ func Execute() {
 		"Custom field separator")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&conf.Columns, "columns", "c", "",
 		"Only show the speficied columns (separated by ,)")
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&conf.YankColumns, "yank-columns", "y", "",
+		"Yank the speficied columns (separated by ,) to the clipboard")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&conf.TransposeColumns, "transpose-columns", "T", "",
 		"Transpose the speficied columns (separated by ,)")
 
 	// sort options
-	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().IntVarP(&conf.SortByColumn, "sort-by", "k", 0,
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&conf.SortByColumn, "sort-by", "k", "",
 		"Sort by column (default: 1)")
 
 	// sort mode, only 1 allowed

cmd/tablizer.go

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
           -N, --no-color                    Disable pattern highlighting
           -H, --no-headers                  Disable headers display
           -s, --separator string            Custom field separator
-          -k, --sort-by int                 Sort by column (default: 1)
+          -k, --sort-by int|name            Sort by column (default: 1)
           -z, --fuzzy                       Use fuzzy search [experimental]
           -F, --filter field=reg            Filter given field with regex, can be used multiple times
           -T, --transpose-columns string    Transpose the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ SYNOPSIS
           -C, --csv                         Enable CSV output
           -A, --ascii                       Default output mode, ascii tabular
           -L, --hightlight-lines            Use alternating background colors for tables
+          -y, --yank-columns                Yank specified columns (separated by ,) to clipboard,
+                                            space separated
 
         Sort Mode Flags (mutually exclusive):
           -a, --sort-age                    sort according to age (duration) string
@@ -103,10 +105,19 @@ DESCRIPTION
     highlighted. You can disable this behavior with the -N option.
 
     Use the -k option to specify by which column to sort the tabular data
-    (as in GNU sort(1)). The default sort column is the first one. To
-    disable sorting at all, supply 0 (Zero) to -k. The default sort order is
-    ascending. You can change this to descending order using the option -D.
-    The default sort order is by string, but there are other sort modes:
+    (as in GNU sort(1)). The default sort column is the first one. You can
+    specify column numbers or names. Column numbers start with 1, names are
+    case insensitive. You can specify multiple columns separated by comma to
+    sort, but the type must be the same. For example if you want to sort
+    numerically, all columns must be numbers. If you use column numbers,
+    then be aware, that these are the numbers before column extraction. For
+    example if you have a table with 4 columns and specify "-c4", then only
+    1 column (the fourth) will be printed, however if you want to sort by
+    this column, you'll have to specify "-k4".
+
+    The default sort order is ascending. You can change this to descending
+    order using the option -D. The default sort order is by alphanumeric
+    string, but there are other sort modes:
 
     -a --sort-age
         Sorts duration strings like "1d4h32m51s".
@@ -258,6 +269,18 @@ DESCRIPTION
     markdown which prints a Markdown table, yaml, which prints yaml encoding
     and CSV mode, which prints a comma separated value file.
 
+  PUT FIELDS TO CLIPBOARD
+    You can let tablizer put fields to the clipboard using the option "-y".
+    This best fits the use-case when the result of your filtering yields
+    just one row. For example:
+
+        cloudctl cluster ls | tablizer -yid matchbox
+
+    If "matchbox" matches one cluster, you can immediately use the id of
+    that cluster somewhere else and paste it. Of course, if there are
+    multiple matches, then all id's will be put into the clipboard separated
+    by one space.
+
   ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
     tablizer supports certain environment variables which use can use to
     influence program behavior. Commandline flags have always precedence
@@ -392,7 +415,7 @@ Operational Flags:
   -N, --no-color                    Disable pattern highlighting
   -H, --no-headers                  Disable headers display
   -s, --separator string            Custom field separator
-  -k, --sort-by int                 Sort by column (default: 1)
+  -k, --sort-by int|name            Sort by column (default: 1)
   -z, --fuzzy                       Use fuzzy search [experimental]
   -F, --filter field=reg            Filter given field with regex, can be used multiple times
   -T, --transpose-columns string    Transpose the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -407,6 +430,8 @@ Output Flags (mutually exclusive):
   -C, --csv                         Enable CSV output
   -A, --ascii                       Default output mode, ascii tabular
   -L, --hightlight-lines            Use alternating background colors for tables
+  -y, --yank-columns                Yank specified columns (separated by ,) to clipboard,
+                                    space separated
 
 Sort Mode Flags (mutually exclusive):
   -a, --sort-age                    sort according to age (duration) string

go.mod

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ go 1.22
 require (
 	github.com/alecthomas/repr v0.4.0
 	github.com/araddon/dateparse v0.0.0-20210429162001-6b43995a97de
+	github.com/atotto/clipboard v0.1.4
 	github.com/gookit/color v1.5.4
 	github.com/hashicorp/hcl/v2 v2.23.0
 	github.com/lithammer/fuzzysearch v1.1.8
@@ -22,8 +23,10 @@ require (
 	github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/mattn/go-runewidth v0.0.16 // indirect
 	github.com/mitchellh/go-wordwrap v0.0.0-20150314170334-ad45545899c7 // indirect
+	github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1 // indirect
 	github.com/rivo/uniseg v0.2.0 // indirect
 	github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.5 // indirect
+	github.com/tiagomelo/go-clipboard v0.1.2-0.20250126153310-fcc1f95408cf // indirect
 	github.com/xo/terminfo v0.0.0-20220910002029-abceb7e1c41e // indirect
 	github.com/zclconf/go-cty v1.13.3 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/mod v0.18.0 // indirect

go.sum

@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ github.com/apparentlymart/go-textseg/v15 v15.0.0 h1:uYvfpb3DyLSCGWnctWKGj857c6ew
 github.com/apparentlymart/go-textseg/v15 v15.0.0/go.mod h1:K8XmNZdhEBkdlyDdvbmmsvpAG721bKi0joRfFdHIWJ4=
 github.com/araddon/dateparse v0.0.0-20210429162001-6b43995a97de h1:FxWPpzIjnTlhPwqqXc4/vE0f7GvRjuAsbW+HOIe8KnA=
 github.com/araddon/dateparse v0.0.0-20210429162001-6b43995a97de/go.mod h1:DCaWoUhZrYW9p1lxo/cm8EmUOOzAPSEZNGF2DK1dJgw=
+github.com/atotto/clipboard v0.1.4 h1:EH0zSVneZPSuFR11BlR9YppQTVDbh5+16AmcJi4g1z4=
+github.com/atotto/clipboard v0.1.4/go.mod h1:ZY9tmq7sm5xIbd9bOK4onWV4S6X0u6GY7Vn0Yu86PYI=
 github.com/cpuguy83/go-md2man/v2 v2.0.4/go.mod h1:tgQtvFlXSQOSOSIRvRPT7W67SCa46tRHOmNcaadrF8o=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.0/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c=
@@ -32,6 +34,8 @@ github.com/mitchellh/go-wordwrap v0.0.0-20150314170334-ad45545899c7 h1:DpOJ2HYzC
 github.com/mitchellh/go-wordwrap v0.0.0-20150314170334-ad45545899c7/go.mod h1:ZXFpozHsX6DPmq2I0TCekCxypsnAUbP2oI0UX1GXzOo=
 github.com/olekukonko/tablewriter v0.0.5 h1:P2Ga83D34wi1o9J6Wh1mRuqd4mF/x/lgBS7N7AbDhec=
 github.com/olekukonko/tablewriter v0.0.5/go.mod h1:hPp6KlRPjbx+hW8ykQs1w3UBbZlj6HuIJcUGPhkA7kY=
+github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1 h1:FEBLx1zS214owpjy7qsBeixbURkuhQAwrK5UwLGTwt4=
+github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1/go.mod h1:bwawxfHBFNV+L2hUp1rHADufV3IMtnDRdf1r5NINEl0=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 h1:4DBwDE0NGyQoBHbLQYPwSUPoCMWR5BEzIk/f1lZbAQM=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
 github.com/rivo/uniseg v0.1.0/go.mod h1:J6wj4VEh+S6ZtnVlnTBMWIodfgj8LQOQFoIToxlJtxc=
@@ -49,6 +53,10 @@ github.com/stretchr/objx v0.1.0/go.mod h1:HFkY916IF+rwdDfMAkV7OtwuqBVzrE8GR6GFx+
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.0/go.mod h1:6Fq8oRcR53rry900zMqJjRRixrwX3KX962/h/Wwjteg=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4 h1:CcVxjf3Q8PM0mHUKJCdn+eZZtm5yQwehR5yeSVQQcUk=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4/go.mod h1:sz/lmYIOXD/1dqDmKjjqLyZ2RngseejIcXlSw2iwfAo=
+github.com/tiagomelo/go-clipboard v0.1.1 h1:nddQ5DsEnKW0KdzTILhbLpSq3e9y2dkJXEOtsMs6H7A=
+github.com/tiagomelo/go-clipboard v0.1.1/go.mod h1:kXtjJBIMimZaGbxmcKZ8+JqK+acSNf5tAJiChlZBOr8=
+github.com/tiagomelo/go-clipboard v0.1.2-0.20250126153310-fcc1f95408cf h1:csb/+rmJBAtOP6OP+9soTnwJVuhlUpedjb5dPlNZasY=
+github.com/tiagomelo/go-clipboard v0.1.2-0.20250126153310-fcc1f95408cf/go.mod h1:kXtjJBIMimZaGbxmcKZ8+JqK+acSNf5tAJiChlZBOr8=
 github.com/xo/terminfo v0.0.0-20220910002029-abceb7e1c41e h1:JVG44RsyaB9T2KIHavMF/ppJZNG9ZpyihvCd0w101no=
 github.com/xo/terminfo v0.0.0-20220910002029-abceb7e1c41e/go.mod h1:RbqR21r5mrJuqunuUZ/Dhy/avygyECGrLceyNeo4LiM=
 github.com/yuin/goldmark v1.4.13/go.mod h1:6yULJ656Px+3vBD8DxQVa3kxgyrAnzto9xy5taEt/CY=

lib/helpers.go

@@ -77,6 +77,14 @@ func PrepareColumns(conf *cfg.Config, data *Tabdata) error {
 
 	conf.UseColumns = usecolumns
 
+	// -y columns
+	useyankcolumns, err := PrepareColumnVars(conf.YankColumns, data)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	conf.UseYankColumns = useyankcolumns
+
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -99,6 +107,19 @@ func PrepareTransposerColumns(conf *cfg.Config, data *Tabdata) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// output option, prepare -k1,2 sort fields
+func PrepareSortColumns(conf *cfg.Config, data *Tabdata) error {
+	// -c columns
+	usecolumns, err := PrepareColumnVars(conf.SortByColumn, data)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	conf.UseSortByColumn = usecolumns
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 func PrepareColumnVars(columns string, data *Tabdata) ([]int, error) {
 	if columns == "" {
 		return nil, nil

lib/io.go

@@ -48,6 +48,11 @@ func ProcessFiles(conf *cfg.Config, args []string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	err = PrepareSortColumns(conf, &data)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	err = PrepareColumns(conf, &data)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err

lib/printer.go

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
-Copyright © 2022 Thomas von Dein
+Copyright © 2022-2025 Thomas von Dein
 
 This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
 it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
@@ -33,15 +33,20 @@ import (
 )
 
 func printData(writer io.Writer, conf cfg.Config, data *Tabdata) {
-	// add numbers to headers and remove this we're not interested in
+	//  Sort   the  data  first,  before   headers+entries  are  being
+	// reduced. That way the user can specify any valid column to sort
+	// by, independently if it's being used for display or not.
+	sortTable(conf, data)
+
+	// put one or more columns into clipboard
+	yankColumns(conf, data)
+
+	// add numbers to headers and remove those we're not interested in
 	numberizeAndReduceHeaders(conf, data)
 
 	// remove unwanted columns, if any
 	reduceColumns(conf, data)
 
-	// sort the data
-	sortTable(conf, data)
-
 	switch conf.OutputMode {
 	case cfg.Extended:
 		printExtendedData(writer, conf, data)

lib/printer_test.go

@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ var tests = []struct {
 	name string // so we can identify which one fails, can be the same
 	// for multiple tests, because flags will be appended to the name
 	sortby    string // empty == default
-	column    int    // sort by this column, 0 == default first or NO Sort
+	column    int    // sort by this column (numbers start by 1)
 	desc      bool   // sort in descending order, default == ascending
 	nonum     bool   // hide numbering
 	mode      int    // shell, orgtbl, etc. empty == default: ascii
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ DURATION(2): 33d12h
 
 	//------------------------ SORT TESTS
 	{
-		name:   "sortbycolumn",
+		name:   "sortbycolumn3",
 		column: 3,
 		sortby: "numeric",
 		desc:   false,
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ beta   	1d10h5m1s  	33      	3/1/2014
 alpha  	4h35m      	170     	2013-Feb-03`,
 	},
 	{
-		name:   "sortbycolumn",
+		name:   "sortbycolumn4",
 		column: 4,
 		sortby: "time",
 		desc:   false,
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ alpha  	4h35m      	170     	2013-Feb-03
 beta   	1d10h5m1s  	33      	3/1/2014`,
 	},
 	{
-		name:   "sortbycolumn",
+		name:   "sortbycolumn2",
 		column: 2,
 		sortby: "duration",
 		desc:   false,
@@ -251,15 +251,14 @@ DURATION(2)	WHEN(4)
 
 func TestPrinter(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, testdata := range tests {
-		testname := fmt.Sprintf("print-sortcol-%d-desc-%t-sortby-%s-mode-%d-usecolumns-%s",
-			testdata.column, testdata.desc, testdata.sortby, testdata.mode, testdata.usecolstr)
+		testname := fmt.Sprintf("print-%s-%d-desc-%t-sortby-%s-mode-%d-usecolumns-%s",
+			testdata.name, testdata.column, testdata.desc, testdata.sortby, testdata.mode, testdata.usecolstr)
 		t.Run(testname, func(t *testing.T) {
 			// replaces os.Stdout, but we ignore it
 			var writer bytes.Buffer
 
 			// cmd flags
 			conf := cfg.Config{
-				SortByColumn:   testdata.column,
 				SortDescending: testdata.desc,
 				SortMode:       testdata.sortby,
 				OutputMode:     testdata.mode,
@@ -268,6 +267,10 @@ func TestPrinter(t *testing.T) {
 				NoColor:        true,
 			}
 
+			if testdata.column > 0 {
+				conf.UseSortByColumn = []int{testdata.column}
+			}
+
 			conf.ApplyDefaults()
 
 			// the test checks the len!

lib/sort.go

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 package lib
 
 import (
+	"cmp"
 	"regexp"
 	"sort"
 	"strconv"
@@ -27,34 +28,41 @@ import (
 )
 
 func sortTable(conf cfg.Config, data *Tabdata) {
-	if conf.SortByColumn <= 0 {
+	if len(conf.UseSortByColumn) == 0 {
 		// no sorting wanted
 		return
 	}
 
-	// slightly modified here to match internal array indicies
-	col := conf.SortByColumn
-
-	col-- // ui starts counting by 1, but use 0 internally
-
 	// sanity checks
 	if len(data.entries) == 0 {
 		return
 	}
 
-	if col >= len(data.headers) {
-		// fall back to default column
-		col = 0
-	}
-
 	// actual sorting
 	sort.SliceStable(data.entries, func(i, j int) bool {
-		return compare(&conf, data.entries[i][col], data.entries[j][col])
+		// holds the result of a sort of one column
+		comparators := []int{}
+
+		// iterate over all columns to be sorted, conf.SortMode must be identical!
+		for _, column := range conf.UseSortByColumn {
+			comparators = append(comparators, compare(&conf, data.entries[i][column-1], data.entries[j][column-1]))
+		}
+
+		// return the combined result
+		res := cmp.Or(comparators...)
+
+		switch res {
+		case 0:
+			return true
+		default:
+			return false
+		}
+
 	})
 }
 
 // config is not modified here, but it would be inefficient to copy it every loop
-func compare(conf *cfg.Config, left string, right string) bool {
+func compare(conf *cfg.Config, left string, right string) int {
 	var comp bool
 
 	switch conf.SortMode {
@@ -88,7 +96,12 @@ func compare(conf *cfg.Config, left string, right string) bool {
 		comp = !comp
 	}
 
-	return comp
+	switch comp {
+	case true:
+		return 0
+	default:
+		return 1
+	}
 }
 
 /*

lib/sort_test.go

@@ -53,18 +53,18 @@ func TestCompare(t *testing.T) {
 		mode string
 		a    string
 		b    string
-		want bool
+		want int
 		desc bool
 	}{
 		// ascending
-		{"numeric", "10", "20", true, false},
-		{"duration", "2d4h5m", "45m", false, false},
-		{"time", "12/24/2022", "1/1/1970", false, false},
+		{"numeric", "10", "20", 0, false},
+		{"duration", "2d4h5m", "45m", 1, false},
+		{"time", "12/24/2022", "1/1/1970", 1, false},
 
 		// descending
-		{"numeric", "10", "20", false, true},
-		{"duration", "2d4h5m", "45m", true, true},
-		{"time", "12/24/2022", "1/1/1970", true, true},
+		{"numeric", "10", "20", 1, true},
+		{"duration", "2d4h5m", "45m", 0, true},
+		{"time", "12/24/2022", "1/1/1970", 0, true},
 	}
 
 	for _, testdata := range tests {
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ func TestCompare(t *testing.T) {
 			c := cfg.Config{SortMode: testdata.mode, SortDescending: testdata.desc}
 			got := compare(&c, testdata.a, testdata.b)
 			if got != testdata.want {
-				t.Errorf("got %t, want %t", got, testdata.want)
+				t.Errorf("got %d, want %d", got, testdata.want)
 			}
 		})
 	}

lib/yank.go

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+/*
+Copyright © 2022-2025 Thomas von Dein
+
+This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+(at your option) any later version.
+
+This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+package lib
+
+import (
+	"log"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/tiagomelo/go-clipboard/clipboard"
+	"github.com/tlinden/tablizer/cfg"
+)
+
+func yankColumns(conf cfg.Config, data *Tabdata) {
+	var yank []string
+
+	if len(data.entries) == 0 || len(conf.UseYankColumns) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+
+	for _, row := range data.entries {
+		for i, field := range row {
+			for _, idx := range conf.UseYankColumns {
+				if i == idx-1 {
+					yank = append(yank, field)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	if len(yank) > 0 {
+		cb := clipboard.New(clipboard.ClipboardOptions{Primary: true})
+		if err := cb.CopyText(strings.Join(yank, " ")); err != nil {
+			log.Fatalln("error writing string to clipboard:", err)
+		}
+	}
+}

lib/yank_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+/*
+Copyright © 2025 Thomas von Dein
+
+This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+(at your option) any later version.
+
+This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+*/
+
+package lib
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"fmt"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/tiagomelo/go-clipboard/clipboard"
+	"github.com/tlinden/tablizer/cfg"
+)
+
+var yanktests = []struct {
+	name   string
+	yank   []int // -y$colum,$column... after processing
+	filter string
+	expect string
+}{
+	{
+		name:   "one",
+		yank:   []int{1},
+		filter: "beta",
+	},
+}
+
+func DISABLED_TestYankColumns(t *testing.T) {
+	cb := clipboard.New()
+
+	for _, testdata := range yanktests {
+		testname := fmt.Sprintf("yank-%s-filter-%s",
+			testdata.name, testdata.filter)
+		t.Run(testname, func(t *testing.T) {
+			conf := cfg.Config{
+				OutputMode:     cfg.ASCII,
+				UseYankColumns: testdata.yank,
+				NoColor:        true,
+			}
+
+			conf.ApplyDefaults()
+			data := newData() // defined in printer_test.go, reused here
+
+			var writer bytes.Buffer
+			printData(&writer, conf, &data)
+
+			got, err := cb.PasteText()
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Errorf("failed to fetch yanked text from clipboard")
+			}
+
+			if got != testdata.expect {
+				t.Errorf("not yanked correctly:\n+++ got:\n%s\n+++ want:\n%s",
+					got, testdata.expect)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}

t/testtable3

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+NAME                                                 READY   STATUS    STARTS      AGE
+alertmanager-kube-prometheus-alertmanager-0          2/2     Running   35          11d
+kube-prometheus-blackbox-exporter-5d85b5d8f4-tskh7   1/1     Running   17          1h44m
+grafana-fcc54cbc9-bk7s8                              1/1     Running   17          1d
+kube-prometheus-kube-state-metrics-b4cd9487-75p7f    1/1     Running   20          45m
+kube-prometheus-node-exporter-bfzpl                  1/1     Running   17          54s

t/testtable4

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+ONE  TWO
+1    4
+3    1
+5    2

tablizer.1

@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@
 .\" ========================================================================
 .\"
 .IX Title "TABLIZER 1"
-.TH TABLIZER 1 "2025-01-14" "1" "User Commands"
+.TH TABLIZER 1 "2025-01-23" "1" "User Commands"
 .\" For nroff, turn off justification.  Always turn off hyphenation; it makes
 .\" way too many mistakes in technical documents.
 .if n .ad l
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ tablizer \- Manipulate tabular output of other programs
 \&      \-N, \-\-no\-color                    Disable pattern highlighting
 \&      \-H, \-\-no\-headers                  Disable headers display
 \&      \-s, \-\-separator string            Custom field separator
-\&      \-k, \-\-sort\-by int                 Sort by column (default: 1)
+\&      \-k, \-\-sort\-by int|name            Sort by column (default: 1)
 \&      \-z, \-\-fuzzy                       Use fuzzy search [experimental]
 \&      \-F, \-\-filter field=reg            Filter given field with regex, can be used multiple times
 \&      \-T, \-\-transpose\-columns string    Transpose the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -168,6 +168,8 @@ tablizer \- Manipulate tabular output of other programs
 \&      \-C, \-\-csv                         Enable CSV output
 \&      \-A, \-\-ascii                       Default output mode, ascii tabular
 \&      \-L, \-\-hightlight\-lines            Use alternating background colors for tables
+\&      \-y, \-\-yank\-columns                Yank specified columns (separated by ,) to clipboard,
+\&                                        space separated
 \&
 \&    Sort Mode Flags (mutually exclusive):
 \&      \-a, \-\-sort\-age                    sort according to age (duration) string
@@ -250,11 +252,20 @@ By  default, if  a  \fBpattern\fR  has been  speficied,  matches will  be
 highlighted. You can disable this behavior with the \fB\-N\fR option.
 .PP
 Use the  \fB\-k\fR option to specify  by which column to  sort the tabular
-data (as in \s-1GNU\s0 \fBsort\fR\|(1)). The default sort column is the first one. To
-disable sorting at all, supply 0  (Zero) to \-k. The default sort order
-is ascending. You can change this to descending order using the option
-\&\fB\-D\fR. The default  sort order is by string, but  there are other sort
-modes:
+data  (as in  \s-1GNU\s0  \fBsort\fR\|(1)).  The default  sort  column  is the  first
+one. You can specify column numbers or names. Column numbers start
+with 1, names are case insensitive. You can specify multiple columns
+separated by comma to sort, but the type must be the same. For example
+if you want to sort numerically, all columns must be numbers. If you
+use column numbers, then be aware, that these are the numbers before
+column extraction. For example if you have a table with 4 columns and
+specify \f(CW\*(C`\-c4\*(C'\fR, then only 1 column (the fourth) will be printed,
+however if you want to sort by this column, you'll have to specify
+\&\f(CW\*(C`\-k4\*(C'\fR.
+.PP
+The default  sort order  is ascending.  You can  change this  to
+descending order using the option \fB\-D\fR.  The default sort order is by
+alphanumeric string, but there are other sort modes:
 .IP "\fB\-a \-\-sort\-age\fR" 4
 .IX Item "-a --sort-age"
 Sorts duration strings like \*(L"1d4h32m51s\*(R".
@@ -433,6 +444,20 @@ more output modes available: \fBorgtbl\fR  which prints an Emacs org-mode
 table and  \fBmarkdown\fR which prints  a Markdown table,  \fByaml\fR, which
 prints  yaml encoding  and \s-1CSV\s0  mode, which  prints a  comma separated
 value file.
+.SS "\s-1PUT FIELDS TO CLIPBOARD\s0"
+.IX Subsection "PUT FIELDS TO CLIPBOARD"
+You can let tablizer put fields to the clipboard using the option
+\&\f(CW\*(C`\-y\*(C'\fR. This best fits the use-case when the result of your filtering
+yields just one row. For example:
+.PP
+.Vb 1
+\&    cloudctl cluster ls | tablizer \-yid matchbox
+.Ve
+.PP
+If \*(L"matchbox\*(R" matches one cluster, you can immediately use the id of
+that cluster somewhere else and paste it. Of course, if there are
+multiple matches, then all id's will be put into the clipboard
+separated by one space.
 .SS "\s-1ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES\s0"
 .IX Subsection "ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES"
 \&\fBtablizer\fR supports  certain environment variables which  use can use

tablizer.pod

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ tablizer - Manipulate tabular output of other programs
       -N, --no-color                    Disable pattern highlighting
       -H, --no-headers                  Disable headers display
       -s, --separator string            Custom field separator
-      -k, --sort-by int                 Sort by column (default: 1)
+      -k, --sort-by int|name            Sort by column (default: 1)
       -z, --fuzzy                       Use fuzzy search [experimental]
       -F, --filter field=reg            Filter given field with regex, can be used multiple times
       -T, --transpose-columns string    Transpose the speficied columns (separated by ,)
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ tablizer - Manipulate tabular output of other programs
       -C, --csv                         Enable CSV output
       -A, --ascii                       Default output mode, ascii tabular
       -L, --hightlight-lines            Use alternating background colors for tables
+      -y, --yank-columns                Yank specified columns (separated by ,) to clipboard,
+                                        space separated
 
     Sort Mode Flags (mutually exclusive):
       -a, --sort-age                    sort according to age (duration) string
@@ -106,11 +108,20 @@ By  default, if  a  B<pattern>  has been  speficied,  matches will  be
 highlighted. You can disable this behavior with the B<-N> option.
 
 Use the  B<-k> option to specify  by which column to  sort the tabular
-data (as in GNU sort(1)). The default sort column is the first one. To
-disable sorting at all, supply 0  (Zero) to -k. The default sort order
-is ascending. You can change this to descending order using the option
-B<-D>. The default  sort order is by string, but  there are other sort
-modes:
+data  (as in  GNU  sort(1)).  The default  sort  column  is the  first
+one. You can specify column numbers or names. Column numbers start
+with 1, names are case insensitive. You can specify multiple columns
+separated by comma to sort, but the type must be the same. For example
+if you want to sort numerically, all columns must be numbers. If you
+use column numbers, then be aware, that these are the numbers before
+column extraction. For example if you have a table with 4 columns and
+specify C<-c4>, then only 1 column (the fourth) will be printed,
+however if you want to sort by this column, you'll have to specify
+C<-k4>.
+
+The default  sort order  is ascending.  You can  change this  to
+descending order using the option B<-D>.  The default sort order is by
+alphanumeric string, but there are other sort modes:
 
 =over
 
@@ -281,6 +292,19 @@ table and  B<markdown> which prints  a Markdown table,  B<yaml>, which
 prints  yaml encoding  and CSV  mode, which  prints a  comma separated
 value file.
 
+=head2 PUT FIELDS TO CLIPBOARD
+
+You can let tablizer put fields to the clipboard using the option
+C<-y>. This best fits the use-case when the result of your filtering
+yields just one row. For example:
+
+    cloudctl cluster ls | tablizer -yid matchbox
+
+If "matchbox" matches one cluster, you can immediately use the id of
+that cluster somewhere else and paste it. Of course, if there are
+multiple matches, then all id's will be put into the clipboard
+separated by one space.
+
 =head2 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
 
 B<tablizer> supports  certain environment variables which  use can use