Chaining commands

Using the pipe to pass a set from one verb to the next.

A pipe (|) passes the matched set from one verb into the next. This is what turns the command bar from a search box into something that does work.

How it reads

find part where category is null | set category = 'mechanical'

Find every part with no category, then set one on all of them. Two operations, one preview, one confirmation.

Longer chains

find part where number like '%EF89484%' | checkout | set number = replace(number,'EF89484','BLD')

Find the parts on an old numbering scheme, lock them so nobody edits mid-operation, then rewrite the numbers. This is a migration that would otherwise be a week of careful clicking.

What carries through

Each stage receives exactly the records the previous stage matched or acted on successfully. If a part fails at the checkout stage because somebody else holds it, it doesn't reach the rename stage — and it's named in the result so you know what to come back to.