Some of the best terminal applications that I use every single day.
Using GNU/Linux distributions exclusively since about 2012 or so, I have become more dependent on some terminal applications than I have on some of their graphical counterparts. Not only do I use a lot of terminal applications written by others, I also use a good deal of my own terminal applications that I have made myself on almost a daily basis.
Why terminal apps?
Terminal apps are applications that run on the command line. They don't have a graphical user interface and can only be interacted with through the terminal. What makes them so much better (sometimes) than their graphical cousins is the fact that they are lightweight and generally meant to serve a single purpose.
I use terminal applications because they are quick and simple. When I need to do a quick task, I can run a simple command instead of traversing through menus in a GUI environment. Depending on the task I am trying to get done, this is often the best and quickest way to go about getting something done on my machine.
Here are a few of the terminal applications I use the most:
GNU nano - This is a terminal text editor that I use for writing code. The biggest majority of my software, as well as all of this website, have been written using nano.
lynx - Lynx is a terminal web browser that is quick and simple to navigate when you are looking to find a webpage and read its content without having to use a bloated web browser. There will be no picture or video support, but if you want to read a webpage in its text-only format with no ads, no scripts, and quick loading times, Lynx is the way to go.
man - You may not think this is an important terminal command, but when you deal with a lot of programs and need to know what they do like I often do, the man command can be a lifesaver. This is used to show you manual pages and documentation of different programs on your machine, showing you all of the program's capabilities.
Git - Anyone who has ever developed a program and managed the project using Git knows how important this technology is. Written by Linus Torvalds (the creator of the Linux kernel) back in 2005, Git has become an integral way for FOSS developers to manage code and collaborate on their software projects.
youtube-dl - This is a terminal script that you can use to download Youtube videos and audio. I use this frequently to grab videos I want to watch on the go if I think I am not going to be around my machine for awhile. You can even save entire Youtube playlists using this simple tool.
As you can see, there are some great free software out there for your terminal, and several of these tools such as nano and man will come built in with your Linux system. Learning how some of these work can not only make your workflow a lot more streamlined, but can make tasks like shell scripting a lot easier.
Here are some terminal applications I have written.
I have written a few of my own terminal applications and scripts that I use myself on an everyday basis. Here are a few of them:
GNUpdater - This is a terminal script that I wrote to quickly help users of Debian-based GNU/Linux systems to update and upgrade their systems easily with no further user interaction. I plan to add support for Arch-based distributions soon.
Terminal Finder - This is a terminal script I wrote that uses dmenu to quickly and easily find relevant files on your machine that you specify to search for.
Lister - This is a terminal script I wrote that helps me add domains to the blacklist on my Nightshade Barriers Chrome and Firefox extensions. Lister takes the domains fed to it, removes irrelevant data, and appends the domains to a JavaScript array of blocked domains.
You can see how to download and use each of these projects on your own machine by checking out my software page.
Using terminal apps for yourself.
If you use a GNU/Linux distribution and you don't use terminal applications and scripts regularly, you have no clue what you're missing out on! These terminal apps and scripts make my life and workflow a lot easier on my Linux machine, and with some research on how you can use these scripts to their fullest potential, you'll see just what all the hype is about when it comes to using these pieces of software.