In this article, we will talk about more fun and modern alternatives to the classic Linux commands.
Bat: alternative to the cat command
We know that the cat command is used to display the contents of text files. The bat command, on the other hand, has additional features such as syntax highlighting and Git integration apart from the cat command.
ncdu: alternative to du command
We know that the du command is used in Linux to find out the size of a directory. It's not a very clear command and the default command output doesn't look very good either. In comparison, the ncdu command gives a more detailed, beautiful and understandable output at first glance.
htop: alternative to top command
The top command works like a task manager in the Linux terminal. It is a nice tool to monitor running processes and resource expenditure. But understanding and using the top command can be a bit complicated. On the other hand, the htop command has a more understandable interface with colored outputs compared to the top command. You can terminate the processes that appear on the htop screen output directly from htop.
fd: alternative to find command
The find command is one of the most used Linux commands. It's almost impossible for a sysadmin to survive without using the find command. The fd command is a faster and better alternative to the find command.
exa: alternative to ls command
The exa cli tool has added a few features while listing the contents of the directory. In its default output it uses different colors to separate metadata and file types. It can also see the directory structure using the tree view.
tldr: alternative to man command
One of the most basic discourses in Linux is "there is no alternative to man pages". But man pages can be very complex sometimes.
If the man pages are too hard to read, tldr simplifies the man page with practical command examples.
