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8 tips for the Linux command line

Take advantage of all of the powers the almighty Linux
command line has to offer.
12 Jan 2021 | Jim Hall (Correspondent) (/users/jim-hall) | 41

Image credits :
iradaturrahmat (https://pixabay.com/en/users/iradaturrahmat-3964359/)via Pixabay
(https://pixabay.com/en/ubuntu-computer-program-interface-3145957/), CC0

The Linux command line provides a great deal of flexibility. Whether you are
managing a server or launching a terminal window on a desktop system, the
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command line brings with it an extensive toolkit to update files, tweak system
performance, and manage processes. The command line is where it's at.

Testifying to the command line's popularity, Opensource.com publishes many

excellent articles about how to get the most out of your system. The following
were some of Opensource.com's most-read articles about Linux commands in
2020:

Make Bash history more useful with these tips

(https://opensource.com/article/20/6/bash-history-control)

Bash is the default command line shell on most Linux systems. Seth Kenlon
wrote this guide to help you with your Bash history. Manipulating history is
usually less dangerous than it sounds, especially when you're curating it with a
purpose in mind. Tell Bash what you want it to remember—or even rewrite
history by deleting entries you don't want or need. Use your history sessions as
required, and exercise your power over history wisely.

How I balance features and performance in my Linux

terminal (https://opensource.com/article/20/7/performance-linux-terminal)

More Great Content

Free online course: RHEL technical overview
(https://www.redhat.com/en/services/training/rh024-red-hat-linux-technical-
overview?intcmp=7016000000127cYAAQ)
Learn Advanced Linux Commands (https://developers.redhat.com/cheat-
sheets/advanced-linux-commands/?intcmp=7016000000127cYAAQ)
Download Cheat Sheets (https://opensource.com/downloads/cheat-sheets?
intcmp=7016000000127cYAAQ)
Find an Open Source Alternative (https://opensource.com/alternatives?
intcmp=7016000000127cYAAQ)
Read Top Linux Content (https://opensource.com/tags/linux?
intcmp=7016000000127cYAAQ)
Check out open source resources (https://opensource.com/resources?
intcmp=7016000000127cYAAQ)

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Ricardo Gerardi is a big fan of command line applications and spends a lot of his
time working in a terminal. Ricardo invested some time to make the command
line a pleasant environment to work in. Learn how to customize terminal apps,
themes, and the prompt to create a feature-rich terminal that's easy on system
resources.

Drop Bash for the fish shell to get beautiful defaults

(https://opensource.com/article/20/3/fish-shell)

Matt Broberg recently let go of the default command line interpreter, Bash, in
favor of fish, which proudly markets itself as "a command line shell for the '90s."
The fish-themed "friendly interactive shell" creates a more enjoyable experience
on the command line. Read Matt's article to learn more about how to get the
most out of fish. If you're looking to move away from tinkering with your terminal,
focus more on code, and have a more beautiful default shell, give fish a try.

10 ways to analyze binary files on Linux

(https://opensource.com/article/20/4/linux-binary-analysis)

We work with binaries daily, yet we understand so little about them. Linux
provides a rich set of tools that makes analyzing binaries a breeze! These simple
commands and tools can help you sail through the task of analyzing binary files.
Whatever your job role, knowing the basics about these tools will help you
understand your Linux system better. Gaurav Kamathe covers some of the most
popular Linux tools and commands to manage binaries, including file, nm,
strings, and hexdump.

4 Markdown tools for the Linux command line

(https://opensource.com/article/20/3/markdown-apps-linux-command-line)

When it comes to working with files formatted with Markdown, command line
tools rule the roost. They're light, fast, powerful, and flexible, and most of them
follow the Unix philosophy of doing one thing well. Scott Nesbitt reviews four
command line utilities that can help you work more efficiently with Markdown
files.

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Improve Linux system performance with noatime

(https://opensource.com/article/20/6/linux-noatime)

Whenever I upgrade Linux on my home computer, I have a list of tasks I usually

do. They've become habits over the years: I back up my files, wipe the system,
reinstall from scratch, restore my files, then reinstall my favorite extra
applications. I also make a few system tweaks. One tweak is atime, which is one
of the three timestamps on every file on Linux. Turning off atime is a small but
effective way to improve system performance. Here's what it is and why it
matters.

Extend the life of your SSD drive with fstrim

(https://opensource.com/article/20/2/trim-solid-state-storage-linux)

Over the past decade, solid-state drives (SSD) have brought about a new way of
managing storage. SSDs have benefits like silent and cooler operation and a
faster interface spec, compared to their elder spinning ancestors. Of course, new
technology brings with it new methods of maintenance and management. Alan
Formy-Duval wrote about a new systemd service to make your life easier when
managing SSDs.

5 modern alternatives to essential Linux command

line tools (https://opensource.com/article/20/6/modern-linux-command-line-
tools)

In our daily use of Linux/Unix systems, we use many command line tools to
complete our work, and to help us understand and manage our systems better.
Over the years, these tools have been modernized and ported to different
systems. However, in general, they still follow their original idea, look, and feel. In
recent years, the open source community has developed alternative tools that
offer additional benefits. Ricardo Gerardi shows us how to gain new benefits by
improving old command line tools with these five updated alternatives.

Wrap up

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Use these articles as a springboard to finding your own tips and tricks for the
command line. Is there something missing from this list? Comment below, or
better yet, submit an article of your own!

Topics : Linux (/tags/linux) Command line (/tags/command-line)

About the author

Jim Hall - Jim Hall is an open source software advocate and developer, best
known for usability testing in GNOME (https://www.gnome.org/) and as the
founder + project coordinator of FreeDOS (https://www.freedos.org/). At
(/users/jim- work, Jim is CEO of Hallmentum (https://hallmentum.com/), an IT
hall) executive consulting company that provides hands-on IT Leadership training,
workshops, and coaching.

• More about me (/users/jim-hall)

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