An Illustrated Guide to Useful Command Line Tools (wezm.net)

Article summary

The article presents a list of useful command line tools that the author uses, with a focus on fast tools without large runtime dependencies. The tools are mostly portable to various operating systems, including Linux, macOS, and Windows. The list includes tools for tasks such as file management, system monitoring, and password management. The article also mentions the author's preferred command line environment and tools for tasks like syntax highlighting and fuzzy finding.

Main themes

• command line tools
• productivity
• software development
• operating systems
• portability

What commenters say

• Using cat to print a single file to the terminal is not necessarily a misuse, despite some tools like bat being designed to handle this task with additional features like syntax highlighting. The choice of programming language for command line tools is influenced by factors like ease of distribution, minimal footguns, and good dependency management. Some command line tools are written in languages like Rust and Go, which offer advantages like self-contained executables and fast startup times. The use of cat can potentially interpret escape codes in files, which can have unintended consequences. Less and other tools can filter or escape these codes to prevent issues. Fuzzy finding tools like Skim and fzf have similar functionality, but may differ in their matching algorithms and configuration options. The author's preference for certain tools is not necessarily a criticism of alternative tools, but rather a reflection of their personal workflow and needs.