Print a markdown-formatted bullet point with a link to the URL in your clipboard.

The script will also do some smart things to simplify "fancy" urls. More info in the Fanciness Section.

I have markdown files with links. Things like stories I should read, ones I'd like read later, ones I might recommend to a friend, etc...

Typing them out by hand is boring.

• Python >= 3.3
• BeautifulSoup4
• Firefox
  • Not an actual requirement, but it will run faster if you use FF.

My usual pattern is, while reading a story I want to save, copy the url from Firefox, then use vim to open the file I want to add the link to, hit ,k, and the link appears in the line above the cursor.

For example, if I have the following URL in my copy-buffer,

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3488603/how-do-i-use-tilde-in-the-context-of-paths

then the following line will be added to the file:

  * [How do I use '~' (tilde) in the context of paths? [stackoverflow.com]](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3488603/how-do-i-use-tilde-in-the-context-of-paths)

The title was too fancy for my liking, so link_extractor changed it from

How do I use '~' (tilde) in the context of paths? - Stack Overflow

to

How do I use '~' (tilde) in the context of paths? [stackoverflow.com]

No more of those pesky dashes!

Another example:

Before defancifying:

Annoyance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And after:

Annoyance [en.wikipedia.org]

Here is the relevant .vimrc line:

nmap ,k O<esc>:.!link_extractor<CR>