How to Automate Your Workflow with Little Known Command Line Tools

Are you tired of repeating the same tedious tasks over and over again? Do you want to save time and increase your productivity? The good news is, you can automate your workflow using little known command line tools. In this article, we will explore some of these tools and how you can use them to simplify your work.

Why Use Command Line Tools?

Command line tools are often overlooked in favor of GUI-based applications. However, there are several advantages to using command line tools for automation:

• Efficiency: Command line tools are generally faster than GUI-based applications.
• Reproducibility: Commands can be easily saved and reused, ensuring consistency across your workflow.
• Flexibility: Command line tools can be combined with other tools and scripts to create powerful workflows.

Now, let's dive into some little known command line tools that can help you automate your workflow.

fd

The first tool we will explore is fd. fd is a simple, fast and user-friendly alternative to find. It is designed to be easy to use and easy to read.

For example, if you want to find all the files with the .txt extension in your current directory and its subdirectories, you can use the following command:

$ fd -e txt

This will display a list of all the files with the .txt extension.

But the real power of fd comes from its integration with other command line tools. For example, you can use fd with xargs to perform actions on the files that fd finds. For example, if you want to delete all the files with the .txt extension, you can use the following command:

$ fd -e txt | xargs rm

This will find all the files with the .txt extension and pass their paths to rm (the command for removing files).

fzf

The next tool we will explore is fzf. fzf is a fuzzy finder that allows you to quickly search for files, directories, and other items on your system.

For example, if you want to quickly locate a file in your system, you can use the following command:

$ fzf

This will open a fuzzy finder window where you can type in the name of the file you are looking for. fzf will dynamically filter the files in real-time and display the most relevant results at the top of the list.

But fzf can do much more than just file search. You can also use it to search for processes, bookmarks, and even perform shell history searches. The possibilities are endless.

ripgrep

ripgrep (or rg for short) is a blazing-fast search tool that allows you to search for text in your files and directories. It is designed to be easy to use, fast, and efficient.

For example, if you want to search for the word "automate" in all the files in your current directory and its subdirectories, you can use the following command:

$ rg automate

This will display a list of all the lines that contain the word "automate".

But ripgrep can do much more than just text search. It also supports searching for regular expressions, ignoring files that match a certain pattern, and even previewing search results in real-time.

bat

bat is a command line tool that allows you to view and navigate through your files with ease. It is designed to be a replacement for the cat command, with the added benefit of syntax highlighting and line numbering.

For example, if you want to quickly view the contents of a file in your terminal, you can use the following command:

$ bat filename.txt

This will display the contents of the file with syntax highlighting and line numbering.

But bat can do much more than just file viewing. You can also use it to compare files, display Git diffs, and even display man pages with syntax highlighting.

autojump

autojump is a command line tool that allows you to navigate your file system with ease. It works by keeping track of the directories you frequent and allowing you to quickly jump to them using a simple command.

For example, if you frequently visit the directory ~/Documents/Work/Projects, you can use the following command to jump to it:

$ j projects

This will quickly jump you to the directory ~/Documents/Work/Projects.

But autojump can do much more than just directory jumping. You can also use it to list the directories you frequent, delete directories from the list, and even purge the entire list.

Conclusion

In this article, we explored some little known command line tools that can help you automate your workflow. We looked at fd for searching files, fzf for fuzzy searching, ripgrep for search text, bat for viewing files, and autojump for navigating your file system with ease.

By using these tools, you can simplify your workflow and save time by automating repetitive tasks. So why not give them a try and see how they can improve your workflow?

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