7 Amazing CLI Tools You Won't Be Able To Live Without

Open a Terminal Window

Open a terminal window on your macOS or Linux machine. I’m using Alacritty on macOS with the zsh shell.

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Install Homebrew

Run the following command to install Homebrew:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

If prompted, enter your password and press Enter. If you haven’t installed the XCode Command Line Tools, Homebrew will handle the installation for you.

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Add Homebrew to Path (Apple Silicon Macs)

After installation, add Homebrew to your path:

echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zprofile
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

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fzf

fzf is a powerful fuzzy finder for the command line.

Installation

brew install fzf

Configuration

1. Open ~/.zshrc with your preferred editor:

nvim ~/.zshrc

2. Add the following at the bottom:

# fzf configuration
eval "$(fzf --zsh)"

3. Reload zsh:

source ~/.zshrc

Keybindings

Keybind	Action
Ctrl + t	File/directory search
Ctrl + r	Command history search
Tab	Mark result
Shift + Tab	Unmark result
Ctrl + j	Next result
Ctrl + k	Previous result
Enter	Select result

fd

fd is a faster alternative to find.

Installation

brew install fd

Configuration

1. Open ~/.zshrc:

nvim ~/.zshrc

2. Add:

export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND="fd --hidden --strip-cwd-prefix --exclude .git"
export FZF_CTRL_T_COMMAND="$FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND"
export FZF_ALT_C_COMMAND="fd --type=d --hidden --strip-cwd-prefix --exclude .git"

_fzf_compgen_path() {
  fd --hidden --exclude .git . "$1"
}

_fzf_compgen_dir() {
  fd --type=d --hidden --exclude .git . "$1"
}

3. Reload zsh:

source ~/.zshrc

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fzf-git

fzf-git integrates fzf with Git.

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/junegunn/fzf-git.sh.git

2. Add to ~/.zshrc:

source ~/fzf-git.sh/fzf-git.sh

3. Reload zsh:

source ~/.zshrc

Keybindings

Keybind	Action
Ctrl + g f	Git files search
Ctrl + g b	Git branches search
Ctrl + g t	Git tags search

bat

bat is a cat alternative with syntax highlighting.

Installation

brew install bat

Usage

bat filename.txt

Theme Setup

1. Create themes directory:

mkdir -p "$(bat --config-dir)/themes"

2. Download a theme (e.g., Tokyo Night):

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/folke/tokyonight.nvim/main/extras/sublime/tokyonight_night.tmTheme

3. Add to ~/.zshrc:

export BAT_THEME=tokyonight_night

4. Reload zsh:

source ~/.zshrc

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delta

delta enhances git diff.

Installation

brew install git-delta

Configuration

1. Open ~/.gitconfig:

nvim ~/.gitconfig

2. Add:

[core]
    pager = delta

[interactive]
    diffFilter = delta --color-only

[delta]
    navigate = true
    side-by-side = true

[merge]
    conflictstyle = diff3

[diff]
    colorMoved = default

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eza

eza is a modern ls alternative.

Installation

brew install eza

Configuration

Add to ~/.zshrc:

alias ls="eza --color=always --long --git --no-filesize --icons=always --no-time --no-user --no-permissions"

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tldr

tldr provides concise man pages.

Installation

brew install tlrc

Usage

tldr eza

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thefuck

thefuck corrects command typos.

Installation

brew install thefuck

Configuration

Add to ~/.zshrc:

eval "$(thefuck --alias)"

Usage

After a typo:

fuck

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zoxide

zoxide is a smarter cd.

Installation

brew install zoxide

Configuration

Add to ~/.zshrc:

eval "$(zoxide init zsh)"

Usage

z

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Conclusion

These tools will significantly enhance your CLI experience. Each one solves specific pain points, making your workflow more efficient. Explore and configure them to suit your needs for a more productive development environment.