These 5 terminal tools are all I need for work
For any job you can do on Linux or Windows, there are at least a dozen GUI applications that can do what you want. However, to minimize distractions, I use the terminal for most of my daily tasks and don’t lose any productivity.
I write most of the code with VIM
A full IDE is too much
When I start learning a new programming language, I tend to use the most comprehensive IDE available for that language. The debugging tools alone are invaluable, although the quality of these tools varies from IDE to IDE and language to language.
However, most of the time the extra features of the IDE don’t justify the overhead, especially if I’m writing something fairly simple. I’ve come to use Vim for most of the coding I do.
There are a few things that pushed me towards Vim.
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It is extremely lightweight and opens almost instantly, even on very low power systems.
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It is available for almost all Linux systems
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It can be easily customized using profiles.
Once you get used to using a modal editor with a lot of keyboard shortcuts, it’s actually a very efficient way to work. I never need to take my hands off my keyboard to run a script, edit a line, save, or perform any other action.
Screen renders multiple windows useless
Multitask without the clutter
When working with a graphical user interface, I invariably end up with a dozen windows scattered across three screens, each blinking every so often to try to get my attention.
Sometimes it’s unavoidable. However, if I don’t do it I have to deal with this, I use screen instead.
Screen is a terminal multiplexer that allows you to open multiple sessions in a single terminal window. You can place multiple sessions side by side for quick comparisons or move sessions to the foreground or background without interrupting a running process.
- Brand
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MSI
- Screen size
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24.5 inches
- Resolution
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1920×1080
- Refresh rate
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120Hz
- Display technology
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IPS
The MSI PRO MP251W E2 is a 24.5-inch 1920 x 1080p (FHD) IPS monitor. With a 120Hz refresh rate, it’s the perfect budget-friendly display for work and gaming.
Above all, nothing really depends on my terminal window remaining open. I can close my laptop window or log out of my headless server, and the processes I started will continue to run on their own.
Screen is one of my favorite apps, especially when working on a headless server. This takes multitasking from a multitude of distractions to a single, neat terminal window.
Git command line does everything I want
Git graphics is unnecessary noise
Git allows you to create and manage different versions of the code you write, and if you do a significant amount of coding, this is invaluable.
Git can can be used with a graphical user interface, but the command line interface is just as fast and reliable: you just need to learn a few commands first.
In many ways, I’ve found the command line version of Git to be simply more convenient. Most of my coding takes place in the terminal anyway, and switching to a GUI app is out of the question. Also, I don’t really make typos when working with Git in the command line; I make clicking errors relatively often.
SSH works on almost every system for every task
Remote management apps are usually overkill
There are a dozen different apps that let you connect to a remote server, but their usage is pretty much the same. You need to launch a dedicated application, log in or perform another form of authentication, then click on the PC interface on the other end.
Instead of dealing with this, I just use SSH from the command line. SSH behaves very consistently across multiple operating systems, has minimal overhead, and the only setup you need to worry about is installing the SSH server. Sometimes you need to open port 22, but not always. If you want to avoid manual logins, you can even configure SSH keys, which automate the authentication process behind the scenes.
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Are you using an SSH server? Use these tips to increase its safety.
SSH can also be used to transfer files securely using SCP or SFTP.
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve used something other than SSH for remote management over the last 15 years, and I can’t imagine changing that anytime soon.
Htop is as good as a GUI resource monitor
Why use more resources to check my resources?
Every Linux distribution with a GUI has some sort of resource monitor, although they vary in complexity and quality. However, whatever distro I use, I almost never use them: Htop is more than enough.
Htop is a system resource monitor that runs in the terminal. With it, you can keep an eye on which processes are using resources and then apply filters to isolate the most important information. If you notice that an app is freezing or using too many resources, you can terminate it with just a few button presses.
Htop works identically on all systems, consumes almost no resources or space and provides as much information as a graphical resource monitor.
After spending several years testing dozens, even hundreds of applications, I settled on one idea: the simplest tool is generally the best. There are fewer things to break, simple tools will almost always work on any PC, and your workflow is unlikely to be disrupted by a radical interface overhaul.
GUI apps have their place (I certainly wouldn’t want to browse the web in the terminal), but more often than not the simple command line utility does the job just as well.
