Let’s talk CLI/TUI and Developer Workflows!

I’m looking to refresh my local toolkit and I’m curious: what are the absolute “must-have” CLI or TUI programs in your current rotation?

Whether it’s a specialized utility for a specific language, a terminal-based interface for a common service, or a workflow-changing alias, I want to hear about it. I’m especially interested in tools that prioritize keyboard-driven navigation and accessibility.

My Current Favorites:

To get the ball rolling, here are a few tools I’ve been leaning on lately:

  • uv — Fast, reliable Python package and project management.
  • fzf & ripgrep — The classic duo for fuzzy finding and searching.
  • tmux — For session management and persistent terminal workspaces.
  • jq / yq — Essential for wrangling JSON and YAML without leaving the prompt.

What about you?

  1. What is one tool you’ve discovered recently that you can’t live without?
  2. Are there any TUI-based clients for web services (like Mastodon, GitHub, or RSS) that you recommend?
  3. Do you have a favorite “hidden gem” script or small utility?

Mentions & Groups

@programming
@linux @terminal_u_i@lemmy.ml @selfhosted

Hashtags

#CLI #TUI #Terminal #OpenSource #FOSS #Programming #DevTools #Linux #SysAdmin #Workflow #Python #Backend #ArchLinux #KeyboardDriven #Accessibility #SoftwareDevelopment #TechTalk

  • Novi Sad@feddit.org
    7·
    3 days ago

    • tldr (aka tealdeer) for quick command usage examples

    • bat (aka batcat) for most uses of less/more/cat

    • difft (aka difftastic) which I’ve just learnt about here/here. Use in git diff by running $ git config --global diff.external difft

    • btm (aka bottom) for viewing processes & system status

    • This code in my .bashrc for colored man output:

    Spoiler 
    # Colors for Manpages
function _colorman() {
  env \
    LESS_TERMCAP_mb=$'\e[1;35m' \
    LESS_TERMCAP_md=$'\e[1;34m' \
    LESS_TERMCAP_me=$'\e[0m' \
    LESS_TERMCAP_se=$'\e[0m' \
    LESS_TERMCAP_so=$'\e[7;40m' \
    LESS_TERMCAP_ue=$'\e[0m' \
    LESS_TERMCAP_us=$'\e[1;33m' \
    LESS_TERMCAP_mr=$(tput rev) \
    LESS_TERMCAP_mh=$(tput dim) \
    LESS_TERMCAP_ZN=$(tput ssubm) \
    LESS_TERMCAP_ZV=$(tput rsubm) \
    LESS_TERMCAP_ZO=$(tput ssupm) \
    LESS_TERMCAP_ZW=$(tput rsupm) \
    GROFF_NO_SGR=1 \
      "$@"
}
alias man="LANG=C _colorman man"
function perldoc() { command perldoc -n less "$@" |man -l -; }

    (Not by me, but I forgot from whom I got it.)