getting an error with ack trying to associate a file to javascript

Question

in my ~/.ackrc I have this line:

--type-add=javascript=.pkg

Now when I try to run ack foo I get an error:

$ ack foo
ack: --type-add: Type "javascript" does not exist, creating with ".pkg" ...

What does this mean? and how do I fix it.

Answer 1

--type-add means "Add .pkg to the list of known javascript extensions". The "add" here refers to the extension, not the type. You have the warning because there is no type called "javascript".

If you want to create a new file type called "javascript" then use --type-set=javascript=.pkg.

If you want to add .pkg to the list of extensions recognized by the existing js type, use --type-add=js=.pkg.

Answer 2

It needs to be 'js' not 'javascript' no wonder i couldn't find it anywhere in their docs:

--type-add=js=.pkg

Answer 3

Your problem is that --type-add is for extending existing types; in order to create a new type, you have to use --type-set, like so:

--type-set=javascript=.pkg