msgpack has become a popular serialization tool, especially with common use
in the SaltStack suite of tools. As a developer, I frequently have a need to
look inside or even edit msgpack files. These are little tools that I have
developed in order to help me out.
The packcat command emulates the cat command, after translating the
file in question to a Python dictionary. The dictionary is displayed to the user
in JSON format.
The packedit command will read a msgpack-encoded file, convert it to
JSON, and open it for editing in the EDITOR that is defined in the
shell environment. If no EDITOR is set, vim is used by default.
The packdiff command will read two msgpack-encoded files, convert them
to JSON, and open them for editing in the DIFFTOOL that is defined in the
shell environment. If no DIFFTOOL is set, vimdiff is used by default.