Tim’s Tool Shed — Pt. 2
The terminal is fantastic, you’re able to build anything you want, and control your computer in ways that you want. You’re not limited by someone else’s design choices, you create the toolset that works best for you. I have no shortage of great tools to share with everyone, so here is part 2.
AE S T H E T I C
One of the things that drew me to Linux initially was the amount of character many of the programs have. Odd references to obscure media or hacker culture are hidden in places that typically tend to be cold and mechanical. Having a sense of wonder when using your machine is an important aspect of being a (sysadmin|programmer). There’s always something new to discover.
Randomly generated terminal bonsai trees
cbonsai was one of the first terminal art programs I ran into when I started using Linux. I knew I had to install it. Two and a half years later, I still find myself running it to give my screen some life.
Decrypting output like it’s 1992
The decryption scene from Sneakers has always been one of the fond memories of my childhood. Sneakers was one of the first “hacker” movies I watched. Having a little homage right in my terminal takes me back.
Utility
A text-based calendar and scheduling application
My goal has always been to use fewer GUI apps if I can help it. Rather than using Google calendar, I’ve been using calcurse for a few years, and it does what it needs to. The interface is intuitive, it has plenty of features, and its easy to modify.
Simple terminal UI for git commands
Lazygit hits that perfect medium of readability and usability. I’ll use it for my projects on another monitor to keep track of changes. When time is of the essence, rerunning git diff and git status is sometimes a context switch that I’m not willing to make.
Sleek typing tui with visualized results and historical logging
Anyone who knows me knows I love to type, I started out typing 20 wpm, and two years later, I’m typing at about 80 wpm comfortably (I’ll write about it eventually). The entire time I practiced, I was using websites for practice. That is until I found thokr. This rust tool is a fantastic MonkeyType simulator for the terminal. I use it every morning as part of my warmup routine before I start working.
