Modern CLI Tools Collection

Modern Rust-based and improved alternatives to classic Unix commands - faster, prettier, and more user-friendly.

Based on NetworkChuck's "37 INSANE Linux Commands" video.

File Navigation

exa / eza - Better ls

Better color coding, tree view, Git integration, icons.

bash
# Install
brew install eza  # exa is deprecated, use eza

# Basic usage (replaces ls)
eza

# With icons
eza --icons

# Tree view
eza --tree

# Git status integration
eza --git

# Long format with Git + icons
eza -l --git --icons

Alias:

bash
alias ls='eza --icons'
alias ll='eza -l --git --icons'
alias tree='eza --tree'

fd - Better find

Faster, better defaults, colored output.

bash
# Install
brew install fd

# Find files (case-insensitive by default)
fd pattern

# Find in specific directory
fd pattern /path/to/search

# Execute command on results
fd '\.txt$' -x cat {}

# Ignore hidden files (default), include with -H
fd -H pattern

zoxide - Smarter cd

Jump to frequently/recently used directories.

bash
# Install
brew install zoxide

# Add to shell (in ~/.zshrc)
eval "$(zoxide init zsh)"

# Usage
z downloads    # Jump to most frecent "downloads" directory
zi            # Interactive selection with fzf

Already in your workflow! Just use z more.

Ranger - TUI File Manager

Vim-like file browser in terminal.

bash
# Install
brew install ranger

# Launch
ranger

# Navigate: h/j/k/l (Vim keys)
# Preview files: i
# Bulk rename: :bulkrename

System Monitoring

procs - Better ps

Prettier process list with colors and tree view.

bash
# Install
brew install procs

# View all processes
procs

# Sort by CPU
procs --sortd cpu

# Tree view
procs --tree

# Search processes
procs nginx

glances - All-in-One Dashboard

System stats dashboard (CPU, RAM, disk, network).

bash
# Install
brew install glances

# Launch
glances

# Run as web server
glances -w
# Open http://localhost:61208

iotop - Disk I/O Monitor

See what's hammering your disk.

bash
# Install (Linux only)
sudo apt install iotop

# Run
sudo iotop

# Sort by I/O
sudo iotop -o

dstat - Combined Stats

CPU, RAM, disk, network in one timeline.

bash
# Install
brew install dstat

# Basic
dstat

# Top CPU processes
dstat --top-cpu

# Advanced
dstat -cdngy
# c=cpu, d=disk, n=network, g=page, y=system

Disk Usage

ncdu - Visual Disk Usage

Interactive disk usage analyzer - delete files right there.

bash
# Install
brew install ncdu

# Analyze current directory
ncdu

# Analyze specific path
ncdu /var/log

# Navigation:
# j/k - Move up/down
# Enter - Drill into directory
# d - Delete selected file/folder
# q - Quit

Much better than du -sh *

duf - Prettier df

Shows drive usage with color-coding.

bash
# Install
brew install duf

# Show all drives
duf

# Specific mount
duf /home

Network Tools

dog - Better dig

DNS lookups with color.

bash
# Install
brew install dog

# Basic query
dog example.com

# Specific record type
dog example.com MX

# DNS over TLS
dog example.com @1.1.1.1 --tls

# JSON output
dog example.com --json

mtr - Ping + Traceroute

Live latency/packet loss per hop.

bash
# Install
brew install mtr

# Run (requires sudo on macOS)
sudo mtr google.com

# Report mode (non-interactive)
mtr --report google.com

termshark - Wireshark in Terminal

TUI packet analyzer.

bash
# Install
brew install termshark

# Capture on interface
termshark -i en0

# Read pcap file
termshark -r capture.pcap

# Filter (like Wireshark)
# Press / to filter
# Example: dns, http, tcp.port==80

Mouse support - click around, expand packets.

File Transfer

wormhole - Magic File Transfer

P2P encrypted file transfer with one command.

bash
# Install
brew install magic-wormhole

# Send file
wormhole send file.zip
# Returns code: 7-guitarist-revenge

# Receive (on other machine)
wormhole receive 7-guitarist-revenge

Peer-to-peer or relay-based. Just works.

rsync - Smart Sync

Delta-only transfers, resume broken transfers.

bash
# Sync directories
rsync -avz source/ dest/

# Over SSH
rsync -avz -e ssh source/ user@server:/path/

# Resume broken transfer (automatic with -a)
rsync -avz --partial source/ dest/

# Dry run (show what would change)
rsync -avzn source/ dest/

Data Processing

jq - JSON Processor

Parse and transform JSON from CLI.

bash
# Install
brew install jq

# Pretty-print JSON
curl api.com/data | jq '.'

# Extract field
curl api.com/data | jq '.results[0].name'

# Filter array
jq '.[] | select(.status == "active")' data.json

# Transform structure
jq '.items | map({id, name})' data.json

ripgrep (rg) - Better grep

Already in your workflow! You use this.

bash
# Search recursively
rg pattern

# Case-insensitive
rg -i pattern

# File type filter
rg -t python 'def '

# Show context
rg -C 3 pattern

Utilities

fzf - Fuzzy Finder

Already integrated with Yazi!

bash
# Fuzzy find files
fzf

# Preview while searching
fzf --preview 'cat {}'

# Use in scripts
vim $(fzf)

# Search history
Ctrl-R (if fzf integrated)

unp - Universal Unpacker

Extract any archive type.

bash
# Install
brew install unp

# Auto-detect and extract
unp archive.tar.gz
unp file.zip
unp package.deb
unp anything.7z

No more remembering tar xzvf vs tar xjvf.

moreutils Collection

Useful utilities: ts, errno, vidir, vipe, ifdata.

bash
# Install
brew install moreutils

# Add timestamps to output
long-running-command | ts

# Edit directory names in text editor
vidir /path/to/dir

# Insert editor in pipeline
echo "data" | vipe | process

# Network interface stats (simpler than ifconfig)
ifdata -p eth0

Security

shred - Secure Delete

Overwrite files before deletion (thwart recovery).

bash
# Shred file (multiple passes)
shred -vfz -n 10 sensitive-file.txt

# Shred and remove
shred -vfzu sensitive-file.txt

Note: SSDs make this less effective (wear leveling).

Task Management

taskwarrior - CLI Task Manager

Full-featured task management from terminal.

bash
# Install
brew install task

# Add task
task add Write article about Linux commands

# List tasks
task list

# Complete task
task 1 done

# Filter by project
task project:midimaze list

# Due dates
task add Due article tomorrow due:tomorrow

System Analysis

lsof - List Open Files

Find what's using a port or file.

bash
# What's on port 8080?
lsof -i :8080

# What files is process using?
lsof -p 1234

# What's using /var/log?
lsof /var/log

systemd-analyze - Boot Analysis

Linux boot performance.

bash
# Boot time breakdown
systemd-analyze blame

# Critical path
systemd-analyze critical-chain

# Visualize (creates SVG)
systemd-analyze plot > boot.svg

ipcalc - Subnet Calculator

Quick subnet math.

bash
# Install
brew install ipcalc

# Calculate subnet
ipcalc 10.0.0.0/24

# Get range, broadcast, etc
ipcalc 192.168.1.0/24

Terminal Recording

asciinema - Record Terminal

See dedicated asciinema - Terminal Session Recording article.

bash
asciinema rec demo.cast
# Do stuff
# Ctrl-D to stop

asciinema play demo.cast

agg - Convert to GIF

Turn asciinema recordings into GIFs.

bash
cargo install --git https://github.com/asciinema/agg

agg demo.cast demo.gif

Docker Management

lazydocker - Docker TUI

See dedicated Lazy Docker article.

bash
lazydocker
# Visual container management
# Mouse support
# Real-time stats

Comparison Chart

Installation Quick Start

macOS (all at once):

bash
brew install eza fd zoxide ripgrep procs ncdu duf dog mtr \
  termshark magic-wormhole jq moreutils task lazydocker \
  asciinema

Update aliases:

bash
# In ~/.config/zsh/conf.d/10-aliases.zsh
alias ls='eza --icons'
alias ll='eza -l --git --icons'
alias cat='bat'  # Also install: brew install bat
alias find='fd'
alias grep='rg'

Links

NetworkChuck Video: 37 INSANE Linux Commands

• URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P-vjgPx9ww↗
• Summary: Comprehensive overview of modern CLI tools
• Related: asciinema - Terminal Session Recording, Lazy Docker, Mosh - Mobile Shell

Modern Unix (GitHub)

• URL: https://github.com/ibraheemdev/modern-unix↗
• Summary: Curated list of modern Unix tool replacements
• Related: All tools listed above