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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Which Linux tool or command is surprisingly simple, powerful, and yet underrated?" (lemmy.ml)

submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Which Linux command or utility is simple, powerful, and surprisingly unknown to many people or used less often?

This could be a command or a piece of software or an application.

For example I'm surprised to find that many people are unaware of Caddy, a very simple web server that can make setting up a reverse proxy incredibly easy.

Another example is fzf. Many people overlook this, a fast command-line fuzzy finder. It’s versatile for searching files, directories, or even shell history with minimal effort.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 days ago (5 children)

It's for people to memorize hundreds of arcane shortcuts and shit so they can feel like a smug hacker and gloat over the rest of us using other editors and getting just as much done as they are.

Also for graybeards that haven't realized it's not 1985 anymore.

[–] Dran_Arcana 29 points 5 days ago (1 children)

For the average user you're definitely right, but I will say for the sysadmin of headless systems, having a powerful cli editor is a godsend. While it may seem arcane and unnecessary, learning vim is easier than managing remote x or sshfs or copying files to and from a system.

I didn't learn vim to be a contrarian; I learned it because it seemed (and still seems to be) the path of least resistance for many workflows.

[–] KnightontheSun 5 points 5 days ago

I learned vi so I would not have to use ed or emacs!

[–] KnightontheSun 13 points 5 days ago

Wait until you meet an emacs user! ;p

[–] Karmmah 8 points 5 days ago

It's for people that don't want a big bulky IDE and are willing to put a little work in to get used to it. I do all my coding in the terminal with vim and tmux and I like the simplicity and that with two dotfiles I can migrate my whole development environment to whatever PC, server or RaspberryPi that I need.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I've used Vim for some pretty non-nerdy stuff. Like ripping my DVD collection, when I got to the TV section I had a lot of file names to modify in bulk, and Vim let me do that. Also guitar tablature, the ability to edit plaintext both horizontally and vertically is surprisingly handy. Just having a macro to be able to add a bar line saves a shocking amount of time.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

It was mostly a joke. I was just trying to mess with people 😉

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

Which I'll use as a lighthearted excuse to mention things like the block edit mode.