Tools¶

Essential command-line tools for text processing, file finding, and system management. This section covers both classic Unix tools and their modern replacements.

Topics¶

Text Processing ¶

The Unix text processing toolkit: grep, sed, awk, cut, sort, uniq, and tr. These commands form the backbone of shell data manipulation.

Finding Files ¶

Locating files with find and modern alternatives like fd. Pattern matching, filtering, and executing commands on results.

Modern Replacements ¶

Better alternatives to classic tools: eza for ls, bat for cat, ripgrep for grep, fd for find, fzf for fuzzy finding, and btop for system monitoring.

JSON Processing ¶

Working with JSON data using jq. Extracting, filtering, and transforming JSON from APIs and configuration files.

Process Management ¶

Monitoring and controlling processes: ps, top/btop, kill, jobs, background processes, and system resource monitoring.

Networking ¶

Network tools: curl, wget, ssh, nc (netcat). Making HTTP requests, downloading files, and network diagnostics.

Archives ¶

Working with compressed files and archives: tar, gzip, bzip2, xz, zip, and unzip.

Git ¶

Comprehensive Git guide covering configuration, workflows, branching strategies, LFS, hooks, and delta integration.

tmux ¶

Terminal multiplexer for managing multiple terminal sessions, windows, and panes. Essential for remote work.

uv ¶

Extremely fast Python package installer and resolver written in Rust. Drop-in replacement for pip.

Node.js ¶

Node.js runtime with nvm version management, npm/pnpm package managers, and project configuration.

Deno ¶

Secure JavaScript/TypeScript runtime with built-in tooling, permissions system, and modern APIs.

Bun ¶

All-in-one JavaScript runtime, bundler, and package manager. Fast alternative to Node.js.

Tool Philosophy¶

Unix tools follow key principles:

Do one thing well - Each tool has a focused purpose
Text as interface - Tools communicate via text streams
Composability - Tools combine via pipes and redirection

# Classic Unix pipeline
cat access.log | grep "404" | cut -d' ' -f7 | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -10

Classic vs Modern¶

Classic	Modern	Benefits
`ls`	`eza`	Colors, git integration, icons
`cat`	`bat`	Syntax highlighting, git diff
`grep`	`ripgrep (rg)`	Faster, respects .gitignore
`find`	`fd`	Simpler syntax, faster
`top`	`btop`	Better visualization
`cd`	`zoxide`	Smart directory jumping

Modern tools are optional but improve daily workflow. Classic tools are always available and essential for scripts.

Installation¶

Install modern tools on macOS:

brew install eza bat ripgrep fd fzf btop zoxide jq

On Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):

# Most available via apt
sudo apt install bat ripgrep fd-find fzf jq

# Some may need manual installation or cargo
cargo install eza

Quick Reference¶

Text Processing¶

grep "pattern" file           # Search for pattern
sed 's/old/new/g' file        # Replace text
awk '{print $1}' file         # Extract columns
cut -d',' -f1,3 file          # Cut fields
sort file                     # Sort lines
uniq                          # Remove duplicates
tr 'a-z' 'A-Z'               # Translate characters

Finding Files¶

find . -name "*.txt"          # Find by name
find . -type f -mtime -7      # Modified in last 7 days
fd "pattern"                  # Modern find

Process Management¶

ps aux                        # List processes
top                           # Interactive monitor
kill PID                      # Terminate process
jobs                          # List background jobs

Networking¶

curl https://api.example.com  # HTTP request
wget https://example.com/file # Download file
ssh user@host                 # Remote shell

Archives¶

tar -czf archive.tar.gz dir/  # Create archive
tar -xzf archive.tar.gz       # Extract archive
zip -r archive.zip dir/       # Create zip
unzip archive.zip             # Extract zip

Learning Approach¶

For each tool, learn:

Basic usage - The 20% you'll use 80% of the time
Common options - Frequently used flags
Combination patterns - How it works with other tools
When to use alternatives - Modern tools vs classic