Rivalwatch

Rivalwatch v2.0.0 is a utility toolkit for tracking, analyzing, and managing competitive intelligence data. It provides a comprehensive CLI with timestamped logging, multi-format data export, and full activity history tracking for competitor analysis workflows.

Commands

All commands accept optional <input> arguments. When called without arguments, they display the 20 most recent entries from their respective logs. When called with input, they record a new timestamped entry.

| Command | Usage | Description | |---------|-------|-------------| | run | rivalwatch run [input] | Run a competitive analysis task and log the result | | check | rivalwatch check [input] | Check a competitor's status or validate data | | convert | rivalwatch convert [input] | Convert competitive data between formats | | analyze | rivalwatch analyze [input] | Analyze competitive positioning or market data | | generate | rivalwatch generate [input] | Generate competitive intelligence reports | | preview | rivalwatch preview [input] | Preview analysis output before finalizing | | batch | rivalwatch batch [input] | Process multiple competitors in batch mode | | compare | rivalwatch compare [input] | Compare two or more competitors side by side | | export | rivalwatch export [input] | Log an export operation | | config | rivalwatch config [input] | Manage analysis configuration settings | | status | rivalwatch status [input] | Log or view status entries | | report | rivalwatch report [input] | Generate or log competitive reports |

Utility Commands

| Command | Usage | Description | |---------|-------|-------------| | stats | rivalwatch stats | Show summary statistics across all log files | | export <fmt> | rivalwatch export json\|csv\|txt | Export all data in JSON, CSV, or plain text format | | search <term> | rivalwatch search <term> | Search across all log entries (case-insensitive) | | recent | rivalwatch recent | Show the 20 most recent activity entries | | status | rivalwatch status | Health check — version, data dir, entry count, disk usage | | help | rivalwatch help | Show full command reference | | version | rivalwatch version | Print version string (rivalwatch v2.0.0) |

Data Storage

All data is stored locally in ~/.local/share/rivalwatch/:

history.log — Master activity log with timestamps for every operation
run.log, check.log, analyze.log, etc. — Per-command log files storing timestamp|input entries
export.json, export.csv, export.txt — Generated export files

Each entry is stored in pipe-delimited format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM|value. The data directory is created automatically on first use.

Requirements

Bash 4.0+ (uses set -euo pipefail, local variables)
Standard Unix tools: date, wc, du, tail, grep, sed, basename, cat
No external dependencies, API keys, or network access required
Works on Linux, macOS, and WSL

When to Use

Tracking competitor product changes — Use run and check to log competitor updates, feature launches, or pricing changes over time
Comparing market positioning — Use compare to track how two or more competitors position themselves on features, pricing, or messaging
Generating SWOT-style analysis — Use analyze followed by report to build structured competitive intelligence documents
Batch monitoring multiple competitors — Use batch to queue and process data on several competitors in a single pass
Exporting competitive data for presentations — Use export json or export csv to produce structured data for dashboards or stakeholder reports

Examples

# Log a competitor product update
rivalwatch run "Competitor X launched feature Y at $29/mo"

# Check competitor pricing
rivalwatch check "Competitor Z pricing page updated"

# Analyze market positioning
rivalwatch analyze "SaaS CRM market Q1 2025"

# Compare two competitors
rivalwatch compare "Slack vs Teams - enterprise features"

# Batch process multiple competitor entries
rivalwatch batch "CompA launch" "CompB pivot" "CompC funding"

# Export all competitive intel as JSON
rivalwatch export json

# Search for past entries mentioning a competitor
rivalwatch search "Competitor X"

# View summary statistics
rivalwatch stats

Output

All commands output structured text to stdout. Use standard shell redirection to capture output:

rivalwatch stats > summary.txt
rivalwatch export json  # writes to ~/.local/share/rivalwatch/export.json