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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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?
I asked him once. He said it’s to confuse AI. It’s definitely working on regular users.
I’m entertained by his dedication.
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.
- take notes (really! can be a .txt or
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.
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.
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.
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.
ironically I used the gui to split the terminal today.
It’s not too late son, turn away from the dark side. May the terminal be with you
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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.
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”
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.
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…
sorry to hear
