A Nomad's Command Line

Last updated: 31 Jan 2021

Introduction

While I do have a strong preference for single a.out binaries without large dependency trees that do not require additional runtimes, I’m also a strong believer of using the right technology for the right job. Hence, I obviously prefer C/C++ and Rust programs, but I also don’t mind using Python-, Node.js-, Ruby- or Elixir/Erlang-based helpers to get a job done. For an example, I would definitely want a C/C++ or Rust alternative to ls – glad you’re asking, have exa please and thank you – over a Node.js version, simply because I want it to be instantly available and chew up as little CPU and memory as possible. Especially CPU usage is an important metric to me, as I’m heavily reliant on my MacBook’s battery life. That’s also one of the reasons I try to stay at least 6 feet apart from everything Electron-based and why I consistently keep anything that requires the JVM out of my life.

As mentioned before I try to install everything I use through brew, although I’d love to be able to use nix on macOS without all the trouble.

The Environment

As for the overall environment, I’m using Alacritty with a very minimalistic config and of course the Z shell with Oh My Zsh and a rather large .zshrc. I run tmux hence I don’t really mind Alacritty not supporting multiple windows (or tabs) – especially since I mapped the standard macOS shortcuts to create new windows/panes in tmux. My terminal font is the Nerd Fonts patched Fira Code. Unfortunately without ligatures, since Alacritty does not yet support that yet. My color schemes are kind-of based on Iceberg. Since I haven’t found a similar scheme for Sublime Text, I’m using the Gruvbox theme paired with x3-alpha as a color scheme. More info on that in my dotfiles.

The Collection

arduino-makefile

Makefile for Arduino sketches. It defines the workflows for compiling code, flashing it to Arduino and even communicating through Serial.

Installation

brew install arduino-mk

asciinema

asciinema [as-kee-nuh-muh] is a free and open source solution for recording terminal sessions and sharing them on the web.

Installation

brew install asciinema

bandwhich

Terminal bandwidth utilization tool.

Installation

brew install bandwhich

bat

A cat(1) clone with wings.

Installation

brew install bat

bettercap

The Swiss Army knife for 802.11, BLE and Ethernet networks reconnaissance and MITM attacks.

Installation

brew install bettercap

bingrep

Universal Command Line Interface for Amazon Web Services.

Installation

cargo install bingrep

bottom

A cross-platform graphical process/system monitor with a customizable interface and a multitude of features. Supports Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Installation

brew install clementtsang/bottom/bottom

browsh

A fully-modern text-based browser, rendering to TTY and browsers.

Installation

brew tap browsh-org/homebrew-browsh && brew install browsh

caddy

Fast, multi-platform web server with automatic HTTPS.

I found Caddy to be perfect for local development setups and test-purposes.

Installation

brew install caddy

caffeinate

Caffeinate prevents the system from sleeping on behalf of a utility.

Installation

Pre-installed on every macOS Mountain Lion or newer.

dark-mode

Control the macOS dark mode from the command-line.

Installation

brew install dark-mode

dust

du + rust = dust. Like du but more intuitive.

Installation

cargo install du-dust

eva

A calculator REPL, similar to bc(1).

Installation

cargo install eva

exa

A modern version of ‘ls’.

Installation

brew install exa

fd

A simple, fast and user-friendly alternative to ‘find’.

Installation

brew install fd

fzf

A command-line fuzzy finder.

Installation

brew install fzf

ghcal

See the GitHub contributions calendar of a user in the command line.

Installation

npm install -g ghcal

gifgen

Simple high quality GIF encoding.

Installation

brew install lukechilds/tap/gifgen

git-crypt

Transparent file encryption in git.

Installation

brew install git-crypt

git-flow

Git extensions to provide high-level repository operations for Vincent Driessen’s branching model.

Installation

brew install git-flow

git-journal

The Git Commit Message and Changelog Generation Framework.

Installation

cargo install git-journal

git-lfs

Git extension for versioning large files.

Installation

brew install git-lfs

gitui

Blazing fast terminal-ui for Git written in Rust.

Installation

brew install extrawurst/tap/gitui

gotty

Share your terminal as a web application.

Installation

brew install yudai/gotty/gotty

gron

Make JSON greppable!

Installation

brew install gron

hexyl

A command-line hex viewer.

Installation

brew install hexyl

httpie

Modern command line HTTP client – user-friendly curl alternative with intuitive UI, JSON support, syntax highlighting, wget-like downloads, extensions, etc.

Installation

brew install httpie

hyperfine

A command-line benchmarking tool.

Installation

brew install hyperfine

icdiff

Improved coloured diff.

Installation

brew install icdiff

imager

Automated image compression for efficiently distributing images on the web.

Installation

cargo install imager

irssi

The client of the future.

I use this IRC client in combination with ZNC.

Installation

brew install irssi

lnav

Log file navigator.

Installation

brew install lnav

mc

GNU Midnight Commander (also referred to as MC) is a user shell with text-mode full-screen interface.

Installation

brew install midnight-commander

mdcat

cat for markdown.

Installation

brew install mdcat

mosh

Mobile Shell.

Here is a good post on why Mosh makes sense.

Installation

brew install mosh

ncdu

Ncdu is a disk usage analyzer with an ncurses interface.

Installation

brew install ncdu

neomutt

NeoMutt was created when Richard Russon took all the old Mutt patches, sorted through them, fixed them up and documented them.

Installation

brew install neomutt

neovim

Vim-fork focused on extensibility and usability.

Installation

brew install neovim

picocom

Minimal dumb-terminal emulation program.

Installation

brew install picocom

procs

A modern replacement for ps written in Rust.

Installation

brew install procs

rainbowstream

A smart and nice Twitter client on terminal written in Python.

Installation

pip3 install rainbowstream

restic

Fast, secure, efficient backup program.

Installation

brew install restic

ripgrep

ripgrep recursively searches directories for a regex pattern.

Installation

brew install ripgrep

rsnapshot

A tool for backing up your data using rsync.

Installation

brew install rsnapshot

so

A terminal interface for StackOverflow written in Rust.

Installation

brew install so

socat

“netcat++” (extended design, new implementation).

Installation

brew install socat

speed-test

Test your internet connection speed and ping using speedtest.net from the CLI.

Installation

npm install -g speed-test

syncthing

Open Source Continuous File Synchronization.

I use this as an open source alternative to Resilio Sync in cases in which I only require system-to-system sync and hence don’t need mobile (iOS) support.

Installation

brew install syncthing

tealdeer

A very fast implementation of tldr in Rust.

Installation

brew install tealdeer

terminalizer

Record your terminal and generate animated gif images or share a web player.

Installation

npm install -g terminalizer

terraform

Terraform enables you to safely and predictably create, change, and improve infrastructure. It is an open source tool that codifies APIs into declarative configuration files that can be shared amongst team members, treated as code, edited, reviewed, and versioned.

Installation

brew install terraform

tig

Text-mode interface for git.

Installation

brew install tig

tor

Defend yourself against tracking and surveillance. Circumvent censorship.

Installation

brew install tor

transmission-cli

A Fast, Easy and Free BitTorrent Client.

Installation

brew install transmission-cli

tuir

Browse Reddit from your terminal.

Installation

pip3 install tuir

wikit

Wikipedia summaries from the command line.

Installation

npm install -g wikit

ytop

Another TUI based system monitor, this time in Rust.

Installation

brew tap cjbassi/ytop && brew install ytop

zenith

Sort of like top or htop but with zoom-able charts, network, and disk usage.

Installation

brew tap bvaisvil/zenith && brew install zenith