So just to be clear I went with a very lazy move to linux from windows. I was not looking to use my day to day in a unixy type way and wanted something that I can install and go without much muss or fuss. So I went with zorin and yeah I have dropped to the command line for some apt installs or such but bascially it was only as needed. Very minimal. Anyway today Im messing with folders and files and suddenly it hit me. Im on linux I can do a lot of this easier with the command line. I know its stupid but my day to day sorta has a mouse brain guie mode and I sorta forget how much easier it is to do some stuff using syntax. So going forward im going to be bringing up the command line to do the things that are quicker.
EDITED - guys I have used command line for years. before there even was a gui. Im trying to say I grew out of the habit but using linux at home is getting me back into it.
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sorry to hear
The command line is perfect for lazy people like me. You spend a bit more putting together a little automation and shove it in a script in ~/bin and you can forget about how it’s done.
Example: I have a small script that does the backup for me using Borg. It backups only the directories I want, ignores a bunch of stuff and keeps 6 months of backups. I spent some time crafting that but now I just plug my external HDD and type backup.sh. or if I’m feeling extra lazy I just click the desktop link.
I’m a hybrid user. I love to use the keyboard, but sometimes I just want to go in a GUI and click click done. It depends on what I need at the time. I love TUIs the most.
Need to move a handful of files over somewhere? Forget dragging a reticle and dropping them all five subdirectories away, I’m going to boot up Midnight Commander, Zoxide over to where I need to go, select and move.
A mass amount of files? Gonna
mvthose puppies.Need to move that one piddly file to the next folder down? I’m going to open Dolphin, do a quick move, and call it a day.
However, for anything programming or note-taking, Vim is love. Qutebrowser or Vimium extensions so I can Vim-ify my browser. Vim everything. We don’t need to bring a mouse into that equation.
suddenly it hit me. Im on linux I can do a lot of this easier with the command line.
Nice, you get it! You have so much to learn so don’t be afraid of taking notes. The CLI and the UNIX philosophy are very powerful. They remain powerful decades after (from desktop to mobile with e.g.
adbon Android to the “cloud” with shell via e.g.ssh) so IMHO it still is a good investment. Still discovery can be tricky so be gentle with yourselfAlso few tricks that can help you go further faster :
- take notes (really! can be a .txt or
.mdfile or a wiki page, entirely up to you) - consider aliases or
.bashrcto keep your shortcuts and compose - stop typing the same commands again, instead reverse-i-search with e.g.
Ctrl-r - TAB autocomplete (as suggested after)
Anyway, enjoy it’s an adventure!
Also tab to autocomplete.
The command line looks like a lot of typing, but with ctrl+r and tab I barely type anything.
If you want a shortcut to þe “enlightened” stage, check out some of þe TUI file managers, like nnn and lf. It may seem like taking a step back toward GUIs, but it really isn’t; some operations - like working on many files - get a big boost moving to þe CLI, but get anoþer boost by using a TUI, especially if you’re comfortable wiþ terminal text editor like vim, helix, or kakoune.
It’s þe keyboard-centric interaction which adds power, more þan ÞE CLI. GUI shortcuts are work-arounds to try to add back in terminal efficiencies.
+1 for nnn- has a lot of cool plugins, especially preview-tui. Requires some fiddling to set up, but can display images, video, pdfs, etc all in the terminal.
Why are all the th letters in your message replaced with another character?
The letter thorn has the same sound as th. It is the original north Germanic letter for the sound that was not present in German in Gutenbergs time. So it did not survive the shift to the pressed alphabet, hence why English store signs from that time replaced thorn with Y, that looks kinda similar ish.
Wait so like “Ye Olde” is supposed to be read “The Old”?
That’s exactly what its supposed to be.
I just read it as b
I’m open to it, if you had to pick one to try first out of all tui file managers, which would it be and why?
Bonus points for “it makes batch renaming and other file ops way easier!”
I like nnn, but I’m used to it and have it set up how I like it.
It’s straightforward, wiþ not too many key bindings to remember. It has multi-select and operations work on selections - move, copy, rename. Þere’s a basic single-file rename, but for bulk renames it opens þe file names in your preferred editor and you make whatever changes you want, save & exit, and it renames everyþing. I prefer þis for bulk renames because I know how to edit text in my editor (Helix), and I can make several different changes to different files all at once, or not rename some. It’s much easier for me to remember, and far more flexible þan any custom bulk file renamer. Þe only advantage of a stovepipe renamer is recursive renames.
nnn also supports remote mounting, like sshfs, so you can copy/move/rename and everyþing else between local and remote systems.
As someone else mentioned, it’s a little fiddly to set up, but nnn can browse in preview mode, where it’ll e.g. open a pane in tmux and show file contents in þe oþer panel as you browse, including previewing images as detailed as your terminal supports (e.g. sixel, iTerminal, kitty).
It supports defining custom hotkeys for various þings, forking shells in þe directory you’re currently browsing - all þat stuff. And it’s fast, and a compiled program ©.
lf and oþers are fine, too; I just got used to nnn and it does everyþing, and I haven’t seen a file manager which is better. Þat said, I don’t like multi-panel file managers like Commander - if you prefer þat side-by-side multiple-pane style, you probably want someþing else.
Þe nnn project links to a YouTube video overview; it will give you a better idea of how it works. Þe video uses multiple terminals for panes, but nnn works great in a single terminal wiþ tmux, too
Thanks, just gave it a quick checking out, think I’ll quite like it when I figure out how to actually use it lol.
- take notes (really! can be a .txt or
Yeah, a lot of people outside of linux think you have to use the command line to work on linux, but really it’s just an awesome, additional tool that then takes over a lot of gui stuff. It definitely helps when it’s your daily driver and you spend less time reading man pages and more time writing from memory and running snippets and aliases. [edit: fix grammer]
I feel like you are the closest to getting what I meant. I had fallen out of the habit working in windows but the linux terminal is so useful im going to start making a point of having it available to do some things a bit faster.
I haven’t used Windows in so long that I’m genuinely excited at the prospect at getting a new computer w Windows on it. Lol
Also, I’ve been buying Linux hardware so long that I was surprised how much bang you can get for your buck nowadays.
… That’s assuming that you don’t calculate in how much all the ads and mandated spyware will cost your sanity and future. Lol
Then you document it by putting those commands into a text file. Then you learn that you can script it it by making that text file a script. Then you learn that you can make it more automated by doing for-loops. Then you learn that you can automate more by adding a few variables. Then you realise how far you’ve come.
I doubt im going to add anything to my bashrc but again I did not think I would go to the command line as a preference like I did so maybe it will happen. Even back in the day I actually just had a blurb print out when I used windows syntax back when I was learing linux syntax. I may just actually throw some aliases in if I start using complex enough commands but for now its just a few simple things.
Starting small and going slow is totally fine. Maybe you will level up to scripting and whatnot, maybe you won’t. What I think matters is having fun, learning, and getting things done.
ok. I have written scripts but when there is a reason. I doubt I will for my day to day. User account creation. Completely makes sense. I don’t need it to move around files or rename them. sorry I have been getting so many replies like I have never used the command line till today when I thought my post made it clear I just have not really used them with my personal machine unless I had a specific reason to.
Welcome back to terminal land. Pick up basic tmux (attach, detach, change session, open/change panes, scroll/copy/paste), it really helps when you need to type a command and also read the output of another command or config file.
For example, pressing ctrl-b % splits the window into two panes. So you can read the man page for a command and then use ctrl-b and left/right arrow to swap between panes. Now you’re back to 'alt-tab’ing between windows without the need for a mouse.
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ironically I used the gui to split the terminal today.
some benefits to using tmux,
- When you switch terminal emulators your workflow and keybinds come with you.
- If you need to operate within a tty, you can still use tmux and it feels almost like using a wm but without a gui.
- useful if you need to drop out of your desktop environment or maybe your DE/WM/compositor fails to load.
- also if you DE/WM/compositor crashes, your terminal doesn’t go with it.
- If you ever end up working on servers it’s so nice to be able to have the same workflow that you already use on desktop.
- tmux in my experience is much more scriptable.
- running system updates in tmux scares me less–if i accidently close the running terminal window i won’t end up with a partial update.
One pro tip: on your local machine, set the tmux prefix to <C-n> (instead of <C-b>), that way when you’re using tmux on a remote server you can run tmux on the remote as well as on your local and the binds don’t conflict.
unbind C-b set-option -g prefix C-nbaby steps though. don’t rush into things. don’t even worry about what i said… just learn to use
manand--help(and/or installtldr) keep building on the knowledge you have as you go; and don’t be afraid to jump in when something interests you. good luck friend!By default ctrl-b ctrl b is how you access the remote tmux. It can be more comfortable to use a custom bind though.
ya but for me it was easier to mentally map
ctrl-b + keyfor remote,ctrl-n + keyfor local. also sometimes i’ll use the prefix, then change my mind andescout, and with the whole double prefix thing it broke my brain. everyone is different though lol maybe that was a bad protip.
I would recommand zellij instead of tmux or screen. For the simple fact that by default, shortcuts are sensible and the most important ones are always on screen.
It is not as venerable as the other 2, but much more easy to get into.
i grabbed gnu screen. works well enough and its gpl3
It’s not too late son, turn away from the dark side. May the terminal be with you
I decided I wanted to start using neovim recently, it’s a very fun and interesting switch from vs code, I’ll say that much!
that is great! terminal use is not for everyone, so i only recommend using it if people feel comfortable with it or think it can save them time (and during troubleshooting, but im usually helping at that point).
my wife diesnt like using the terminal and has successfully gone without using it (minus me setting things up for her in the first few months), and that has given me a lot mire confidence in recommending linux to those that just want to use a computer and want it to “just work”
To me the best use of cli is troubleshooting remotely. I don’t mean like ssh I mean like talking over the phone. It’s easier to say “type in this command” then say "at the top of the window there should be a menu bar, near the right, no not all the way to right, no don’t click the red x, it should say tools, move your mouse over tools, God damn it I said DON’T click the red x, now we have to start over, click the icon on the desktop, no I don’t know why it’s called icon, it doesn’t mean anything religious, please just open the application… I don’t care if you are Christian and find the term icon offesive… Hurry up I am late for the AA meeting I need after dealing with people like you. " wait the problem may just be coworkers…
Oh its not for everyone but I would not be surprised if there is more tech people like myself. Older and started before gui and loved the next step and was wild about osx. Used linux a fair amount at work. Im a pretty tech person but at some point utility and ease sorta won out in addition to using defaults (I used to customize everything but when you have to support users who mostly use default its good to be used to default). I just have not been in the habit and I forgot how nice it is in some scenarios.
I loved osx, particularly how intuitive the shift+command-+… keybinds were when navigating to all the important places.
…you might like Vim. Comes with command ‘vimtutor’ for an approachable (and imo, fun) tutorial.
listening to this guy talk about it got me hooked 😸
I doubt im going to start using vim again but it could happen. never really got into emacs but have sorta went back and forth with vim and nano at the command line. Its a bit of a pain remembering things but ill admit when you do you can do things quickly. I sorta felt the same about command line. Previous to this I was only dropping down when I had to but this was the first in awhile were I used it preferentially over the gui alternative so who knows.
I find kakoune scheme better than vim, and helix got a better default package of it. (Basically it reverse Vim’s action noun, into selection action. So that you may have multi-cursors, and see your selection before deleting it).
The downside is that GUI program may propose a VIM mode, but not (yet?) an kak/hx mode. Sad because to me it looks much more like a GUI does things.
Good stuff, glad it’s working out for you! I use CachyOS with KDE and I can get by pretty easy using Dolphin for most of my file needs. I do use the terminal quite a bit managing the Debian server running our friend group’s Minecraft server though!
yeah and gui sometimes is the easier route like when moving over large parts of the file structure and your not repeating the action. I was just making a few folders and cleaning out a folder with to many disparate things when I realized its just much easier to make directories and move files over one or two folders especially when the names are similar.
