Mercurial

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Comprehensive mercurial commands and workflows for system administration across all platforms.

Basic Commands

Command	Description
mercurial --version	Show mercurial version
mercurial --help	Display help information
mercurial init	Initialize mercurial in current directory
mercurial status	Check current status
mercurial list	List available options
mercurial info	Display system information
mercurial config	Show configuration settings
mercurial update	Update to latest version
mercurial start	Start mercurial service
mercurial stop	Stop mercurial service
mercurial restart	Restart mercurial service
mercurial reload	Reload configuration

Installation

Linux/Ubuntu

# Package manager installation
sudo apt update
sudo apt install mercurial

# Alternative installation
wget https://github.com/example/mercurial/releases/latest/download/mercurial-linux
chmod +x mercurial-linux
sudo mv mercurial-linux /usr/local/bin/mercurial

# Build from source
git clone https://github.com/example/mercurial.git
cd mercurial
make && sudo make install

macOS

# Homebrew installation
brew install mercurial

# MacPorts installation
sudo port install mercurial

# Manual installation
curl -L -o mercurial https://github.com/example/mercurial/releases/latest/download/mercurial-macos
chmod +x mercurial
sudo mv mercurial /usr/local/bin/

Windows

# Chocolatey installation
choco install mercurial

# Scoop installation
scoop install mercurial

# Winget installation
winget install mercurial

# Manual installation
# Download from https://github.com/example/mercurial/releases
# Extract and add to PATH

Configuration

Command	Description
mercurial config show	Display current configuration
mercurial config list	List all configuration options
mercurial config set <key> <value>	Set configuration value
mercurial config get <key>	Get configuration value
mercurial config unset <key>	Remove configuration value
mercurial config reset	Reset to default configuration
mercurial config validate	Validate configuration file
mercurial config export	Export configuration to file

Advanced Operations

File Operations

# Create new file/resource
mercurial create <name>

# Read file/resource
mercurial read <name>

# Update existing file/resource
mercurial update <name>

# Delete file/resource
mercurial delete <name>

# Copy file/resource
mercurial copy <source> <destination>

# Move file/resource
mercurial move <source> <destination>

# List all files/resources
mercurial list --all

# Search for files/resources
mercurial search <pattern>

Network Operations

# Connect to remote host
mercurial connect <host>:<port>

# Listen on specific port
mercurial listen --port <port>

# Send data to target
mercurial send --target <host> --data "<data>"

# Receive data from source
mercurial receive --source <host>

# Test connectivity
mercurial ping <host>

# Scan network range
mercurial scan <network>

# Monitor network traffic
mercurial monitor --interface <interface>

# Proxy connections
mercurial proxy --listen <port> --target <host>:<port>

Process Management

# Start background process
mercurial start --daemon

# Stop running process
mercurial stop --force

# Restart with new configuration
mercurial restart --config <file>

# Check process status
mercurial status --verbose

# Monitor process performance
mercurial monitor --metrics

# Kill all processes
mercurial killall

# Show running processes
mercurial ps

# Manage process priority
mercurial priority --pid <pid> --level <level>

Security Features

Authentication

# Login with username/password
mercurial login --user <username>

# Login with API key
mercurial login --api-key <key>

# Login with certificate
mercurial login --cert <cert_file>

# Logout current session
mercurial logout

# Change password
mercurial passwd

# Generate new API key
mercurial generate-key --name <key_name>

# List active sessions
mercurial sessions

# Revoke session
mercurial revoke --session <session_id>

Encryption

# Encrypt file
mercurial encrypt --input <file> --output <encrypted_file>

# Decrypt file
mercurial decrypt --input <encrypted_file> --output <file>

# Generate encryption key
mercurial keygen --type <type> --size <size>

# Sign file
mercurial sign --input <file> --key <private_key>

# Verify signature
mercurial verify --input <file> --signature <sig_file>

# Hash file
mercurial hash --algorithm <algo> --input <file>

# Generate certificate
mercurial cert generate --name <name> --days <days>

# Verify certificate
mercurial cert verify --cert <cert_file>

Monitoring and Logging

System Monitoring

# Monitor system resources
mercurial monitor --system

# Monitor specific process
mercurial monitor --pid <pid>

# Monitor network activity
mercurial monitor --network

# Monitor file changes
mercurial monitor --files <directory>

# Real-time monitoring
mercurial monitor --real-time --interval 1

# Generate monitoring report
mercurial report --type monitoring --output <file>

# Set monitoring alerts
mercurial alert --threshold <value> --action <action>

# View monitoring history
mercurial history --type monitoring

Logging

# View logs
mercurial logs

# View logs with filter
mercurial logs --filter <pattern>

# Follow logs in real-time
mercurial logs --follow

# Set log level
mercurial logs --level <level>

# Rotate logs
mercurial logs --rotate

# Export logs
mercurial logs --export <file>

# Clear logs
mercurial logs --clear

# Archive logs
mercurial logs --archive <archive_file>

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: Command not found

# Check if mercurial is installed
which mercurial
mercurial --version

# Check PATH variable
echo $PATH

# Reinstall if necessary
sudo apt reinstall mercurial
# or
brew reinstall mercurial

Issue: Permission denied

# Run with elevated privileges
sudo mercurial <command>

# Check file permissions
ls -la $(which mercurial)

# Fix permissions
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/mercurial

# Check ownership
sudo chown $USER:$USER /usr/local/bin/mercurial

Issue: Configuration errors

# Validate configuration
mercurial config validate

# Reset to default configuration
mercurial config reset

# Check configuration file location
mercurial config show --file

# Backup current configuration
mercurial config export > backup.conf

# Restore from backup
mercurial config import backup.conf

Issue: Service not starting

# Check service status
mercurial status --detailed

# Check system logs
journalctl -u mercurial

# Start in debug mode
mercurial start --debug

# Check port availability
netstat -tulpn|grep <port>

# Kill conflicting processes
mercurial killall --force

Debug Commands

Command	Description
mercurial --debug	Enable debug output
mercurial --verbose	Enable verbose logging
mercurial --trace	Enable trace logging
mercurial test	Run built-in tests
mercurial doctor	Run system health check
mercurial diagnose	Generate diagnostic report
mercurial benchmark	Run performance benchmarks
mercurial validate	Validate installation and configuration

Performance Optimization

Resource Management

# Set memory limit
mercurial --max-memory 1G <command>

# Set CPU limit
mercurial --max-cpu 2 <command>

# Enable caching
mercurial --cache-enabled <command>

# Set cache size
mercurial --cache-size 100M <command>

# Clear cache
mercurial cache clear

# Show cache statistics
mercurial cache stats

# Optimize performance
mercurial optimize --profile <profile>

# Show performance metrics
mercurial metrics

Parallel Processing

# Enable parallel processing
mercurial --parallel <command>

# Set number of workers
mercurial --workers 4 <command>

# Process in batches
mercurial --batch-size 100 <command>

# Queue management
mercurial queue add <item>
mercurial queue process
mercurial queue status
mercurial queue clear

Integration

Scripting

#!/bin/bash
# Example script using mercurial

set -euo pipefail

# Configuration
CONFIG_FILE="config.yaml"
LOG_FILE="mercurial.log"

# Check if mercurial is available
if ! command -v mercurial &> /dev/null; then
    echo "Error: mercurial is not installed" >&2
    exit 1
fi

# Function to log messages
log() \\\\{
    echo "$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') - $1"|tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
\\\\}

# Main operation
main() \\\\{
    log "Starting mercurial operation"

    if mercurial --config "$CONFIG_FILE" run; then
        log "Operation completed successfully"
        exit 0
    else
        log "Operation failed with exit code $?"
        exit 1
    fi
\\\\}

# Cleanup function
cleanup() \\\\{
    log "Cleaning up"
    mercurial cleanup
\\\\}

# Set trap for cleanup
trap cleanup EXIT

# Run main function
main "$@"

API Integration

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Python wrapper for the tool
"""

import subprocess
import json
import logging
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Dict, List, Optional

class ToolWrapper:
    def __init__(self, config_file: Optional[str] = None):
        self.config_file = config_file
        self.logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

    def run_command(self, args: List[str]) -> Dict:
        """Run command and return parsed output"""
        cmd = ['tool_name']

        if self.config_file:
            cmd.extend(['--config', self.config_file])

        cmd.extend(args)

        try:
            result = subprocess.run(
                cmd,
                capture_output=True,
                text=True,
                check=True
            )
            return \\\\{'stdout': result.stdout, 'stderr': result.stderr\\\\}
        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
            self.logger.error(f"Command failed: \\\\{e\\\\}")
            raise

    def status(self) -> Dict:
        """Get current status"""
        return self.run_command(['status'])

    def start(self) -> Dict:
        """Start service"""
        return self.run_command(['start'])

    def stop(self) -> Dict:
        """Stop service"""
        return self.run_command(['stop'])

# Example usage
if __name__ == "__main__":
    wrapper = ToolWrapper()
    status = wrapper.status()
    print(json.dumps(status, indent=2))

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
MERCURIAL_CONFIG	Configuration file path	~/.mercurial/config.yaml
MERCURIAL_HOME	Home directory	~/.mercurial
MERCURIAL_LOG_LEVEL	Logging level	INFO
MERCURIAL_LOG_FILE	Log file path	~/.mercurial/logs/mercurial.log
MERCURIAL_CACHE_DIR	Cache directory	~/.mercurial/cache
MERCURIAL_DATA_DIR	Data directory	~/.mercurial/data
MERCURIAL_TIMEOUT	Default timeout	30s
MERCURIAL_MAX_WORKERS	Maximum workers	4

Configuration File

# ~/.mercurial/config.yaml
version: "1.0"

# General settings
settings:
  debug: false
  verbose: false
  log_level: "INFO"
  log_file: "~/.mercurial/logs/mercurial.log"
  timeout: 30
  max_workers: 4

# Network configuration
network:
  host: "localhost"
  port: 8080
  ssl: true
  timeout: 30
  retries: 3

# Security settings
security:
  auth_required: true
  api_key: ""
  encryption: "AES256"
  verify_ssl: true

# Performance settings
performance:
  cache_enabled: true
  cache_size: "100M"
  cache_dir: "~/.mercurial/cache"
  max_memory: "1G"

# Monitoring settings
monitoring:
  enabled: true
  interval: 60
  metrics_enabled: true
  alerts_enabled: true

Examples

Basic Workflow

# 1. Initialize mercurial
mercurial init

# 2. Configure basic settings
mercurial config set host example.com
mercurial config set port 8080

# 3. Start service
mercurial start

# 4. Check status
mercurial status

# 5. Perform operations
mercurial run --target example.com

# 6. View results
mercurial results

# 7. Stop service
mercurial stop

Advanced Workflow

# Comprehensive operation with monitoring
mercurial run \
  --config production.yaml \
  --parallel \
  --workers 8 \
  --verbose \
  --timeout 300 \
  --output json \
  --log-file operation.log

# Monitor in real-time
mercurial monitor --real-time --interval 5

# Generate report
mercurial report --type comprehensive --output report.html

Automation Example

#!/bin/bash
# Automated mercurial workflow

# Configuration
TARGETS_FILE="targets.txt"
RESULTS_DIR="results/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)"
CONFIG_FILE="automation.yaml"

# Create results directory
mkdir -p "$RESULTS_DIR"

# Process each target
while IFS= read -r target; do
    echo "Processing $target..."

    mercurial \
        --config "$CONFIG_FILE" \
        --output json \
        --output-file "$RESULTS_DIR/$\\\\{target\\\\}.json" \
        run "$target"

done < "$TARGETS_FILE"

# Generate summary report
mercurial report summary \
    --input "$RESULTS_DIR/*.json" \
    --output "$RESULTS_DIR/summary.html"

Best Practices

Security

• Always verify checksums when downloading binaries
• Use strong authentication methods (API keys, certificates)
• Regularly update to the latest version
• Follow principle of least privilege
• Enable audit logging for compliance
• Use encrypted connections when possible
• Validate all inputs and configurations
• Implement proper access controls

Performance

• Use appropriate resource limits for your environment
• Monitor system performance regularly
• Optimize configuration for your use case
• Use parallel processing when beneficial
• Implement proper caching strategies
• Regular maintenance and cleanup
• Profile performance bottlenecks
• Use efficient algorithms and data structures

Operational

• Maintain comprehensive documentation
• Implement proper backup strategies
• Use version control for configurations
• Monitor and alert on critical metrics
• Implement proper error handling
• Use automation for repetitive tasks
• Regular security audits and updates
• Plan for disaster recovery

Development

• Follow coding standards and conventions
• Write comprehensive tests
• Use continuous integration/deployment
• Implement proper logging and monitoring
• Document APIs and interfaces
• Use version control effectively
• Review code regularly
• Maintain backward compatibility

Resources

Official Documentation

• Official Website
• Documentation
• API Reference
• Installation Guide
• Configuration Reference

Community Resources

• GitHub Repository
• Issue Tracker
• Community Forum
• Discord Server
• Reddit Community
• Stack Overflow

Learning Resources

• Getting Started Guide
• Tutorial Series
• Best Practices Guide
• Video Tutorials
• Training Courses
• Certification Program

Related Tools

• Git - Complementary functionality
• Docker - Alternative solution
• Kubernetes - Integration partner

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Last updated: 2025-07-06|Edit on GitHub