_..._ .-'''-. | |
.-'_..._''. ' _ \ | |
.' .' '.\ . .--. _..._ / /` '. \ | |
/ .' .'| |__| .' '. . | \ ' _.. | |
. ' < | .--.. .-. . | ' | '.' .. | |
| | | | __ | || ' ' | \ \ / / | ' | |
| | | | .'''-. .:--.'. | || | | | `. ` ..' /__| |__ | |
. ' | |/.'''. \ / | \ || || | | | '-...-'`|__ __ | |
\ '. .| / | | `" __ | || || | | | | | | |
'. `._____.-'/| | | | .'.''| ||__|| | | | | | | |
`-.______ / | | | | / / | |_ | | | | | | | |
` | '. | '.\ \._,\ '/ | | | | | | | |
'---' '---'`--' `" '--' '--' |_| | |
___ | |
( ) | |
.--. .--. ___ .-. .-. ___ .-. .-. .---. ___ .-. .-.| | | |
/ \ / \ ( ) ' \ ( ) ' \ / .-, \ ( ) \ / \ | | |
| .-. ; | .-. ; | .-. .-. ; | .-. .-. ; (__) ; | | .-. ; | .-. | | |
| |(___) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | .'` | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | / .'| | | | | | | | | | | |
| | ___ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | / | | | | | | | | | | | |
| '( ) | ' | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ; | ; | | | | | | ' | | | |
' `-' | ' `-' / | | | | | | | | | | | | ' `-' | | | | | ' `-' / | |
`.__,' `.__.' (___)(___)(___)(___)(___)(___)`.__.'_. (___)(___) `.__,' | |
C h a i n -o f- C O M M A N D | |
No GUI? No problem; there's the TUI (terminal user interface). | |
Also known in hushed wisphers as the ~scary~ command line. | |
But don't let that blinking evil-eye cursor staring you down get | |
to you. There are many things to do given the right COMMAND. | |
So take control of the console to be at the top of the chain. | |
Following are many tasks listed that are possible, with hints given. | |
▶ Collapse All ▼ Expand All | |
▶ But first a word from the sponser... | |
Just kidding! | |
No souless corporate backing here. But it is probably good to know the | |
syntax used throughout. First it is assumed that the shell is 'bash', | |
unless explicitly stated otherwise. | |
Many commands allow user interaction or navigation by mapping the press of | |
keyboard key(s) to different actions, collectively known as command keys. | |
Entries between '[ ]' (brackets) denote which key on the physical keyboard t | |
Any letter indicated is CASE sensitive. | |
Examples: | |
[a] indicates the letter 'a' key pressed down a single time | |
[Esc], [Ctrl], [Shift], [F1], etc. are the special labeled keys on the keyb | |
[Enter] is also the same as [Return] key (different vendor labeling) | |
[|^], [|v], [] are the ARROW labled keys which are UP, DOWN, LEFT, | |
and RIGHT respectively | |
Multiple key combinations are tied with the '+' (plus) sign like this: | |
[Ctrl]+[c] -press BOTH [Ctrl] and [c] at the same time once | |
Being CASE sensitive, means [A] is really shorthand for [Shift]+[a] | |
Next on the agenda to highlight are these bordered areas scattered throughou | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ Terminal: example commands to type in your own black box. │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
This box represents a shell window, whether that be a gnome-terminal or a | |
putty window, etc. Statements within the borders can be typed exactly as | |
shown into your own command prompt, except for some items explained below. | |
Comments are prefaced by a '#' (hash) character. These statements are | |
not meant to be run, and are just extra info or explanations of the | |
highlighted command. | |
As used within the context of this document, any word beginning with | |
a '$' (dollar) sign are place holders that need to be replaced with a | |
valid user-provided value when actually typing the command out. It is | |
up to a user to know whether to substitute with a value, or if valid to | |
type the example command verbatim including the dollar sign '$WORD', | |
depending on if '$WORD' exists as a pre-defined variable or not. | |
(Hint type 'set' at the command line to get a full listing) | |
For example $USER can be the personal username ID that was typed to log | |
into the system, the shell variable as is, or replaced with the ID of | |
another valid user on the system. | |
Values between two '# #' (hash) character are optional parameters | |
' (less-than, greater-than) sign are optional parameters --> | |
Now onwards to the important task of conquering the command line! | |
(or just skip to the fun stuff). | |
____________________________________________________________ | |
▶ Browse the World Wide Web | |
Access sites, in the awesomeness of pure text! (yes it is possible) | |
Read articles or complete your search from the comfort of your console. | |
Some functions like banking may be a stretch too far... | |
⏺ w3m -more recent browser with usual interface of arrow/letter keys but e | |
Able to better render more complex HTML structure like frames, tables & divs | |
Supports some javascript, as well as display images inline when w3m-img | |
extension is installed . | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: press [q] key to QUIT; [Shift]+[h] to display help) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ w3m https://tilde.town │ | |
│ w3m https://ubuntu.com │ | |
│ w3m https://www.nerd-boy.net │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
⏺ lynx -one of the first text based browser; navigate via arrow & letter k | |
Being around for a longer period, program is stable with many backend | |
options and widely installed by default. Can still talk Gopher, WAIS, | |
and NNTP as well, unlike its GUI-laden brethen (ahem, Mozilla and IE) | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: press [q] key to QUIT; [h] to bring up help files) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ lynx https://tilde.town │ | |
│ lynx https://debian.org │ | |
│ lynx https://svzanten.home.xs4all.nl/ascii/line_art/index.html │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
⏺ elinks -menu driven with console mouse, alongside arrow/letter keys; spo | |
Fork of the older links browser with additions for a modern web. Highly | |
customizable UI via configuration file. Correct frame and table rendering. | |
Additional support for BitTorrent, finger, Gopher, SMB and NNTP. | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: press [q] key to QUIT -or- mouse click on File menu at top; | |
[Alt]+[h] to activate help menu, then press [k] for Keys) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ elinks https://tilde.town │ | |
│ elinks https://duckduckgo.com │ | |
│ elinks https://www.angelfire.com/art/lorriesascii/index3.html │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
⏺ links -older; mainly menu driven using the mouse, with a few command key | |
Still around! Developed as a novice friendly alternative to lynx, by | |
adding a mouse supported menu system to mimic a GUI-based browser. Now | |
mostly replaced by elinks but may be the only option depending on the | |
system logged into. | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: press [q] key to QUIT -or- mouse click File menu at top; | |
[Alt]+[h] to activate help menu) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ links https://tilde.town │ | |
│ links https://kernel.org │ | |
│ links http://www.segerman.org/asciiart.html │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
▶ Go Gopher hunting | |
No not the rodents out back digging into and dining on your vegatable garden | |
-the virtual kind out in Gopherspace. There is a whole new (old) world out | |
there to burrow into for the back-to-the-basics mindset. | |
⏺ gopher -the OG master Gopher helps browse gopher holes via arrow & lette | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: press [q] key to QUIT; [?] to display help) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ gopher gopher://tilde.town │ | |
│ gopher gopher://bitreich.org/1/lawn │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
⏺ bombadillo -a newer client meant to be fast by using key bindings to nav | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: press [q] key to QUIT) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ bombadillo gopher://tilde.town │ | |
│ bombadillo gopher://gopher.icu/1/gutenberg │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
⏺ sacc -basic client using both arrow & user-definable single key "shortcu | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: press [q] key to QUIT) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ sacc gopher://tilde.town │ | |
│ sacc gopher://gopher.floodgap.com/1/v2/vs │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
▶ Launch into a space capsule with Gemini | |
A budding new universe ready to be explored by the adventurous. | |
Gemni sites harken back to the good old days before the internet universe | |
got sucked into a black hole of corporate influence and AD-ridden pages | |
(as the Geminauts are want to say). | |
⏺ bombadillo -a newer client meant to be fast by using key bindings to nav | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: press [q] key to QUIT) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ bombadillo gemini://tilde.town │ | |
│ bombadillo gemini://geminiprotocol.net │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
▶ Get chatty, on IRC | |
Long before there were tweets, zoomin' or instant messaging, real-time | |
communication and online conferencing in chat rooms could already be had wit | |
Internet Relay Chat. Even through much behind the scenes changes and the | |
arrival of other fancy new tech IRC continues to prove its usefulness. Still | |
the backbone for discussion and collaboration with many open source projects | |
⏺ weechat -the kitchen sink of IRC clients; command line driven & some com | |
256 colors; customizable bars; horizontal & vertical window splits; smart | |
filtering; proxy support; multi-server connections even within one app | |
instance; remote control of a currently running instance; extensible via | |
any of 8 suported scripting languages! What can it NOT do? | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: to QUIT, type: /quit then [Enter]; | |
get help, type: /help then [Enter]) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ weechat irc://$USER@localhost/#tildetown │ | |
│ weechat irc://[email protected]:6697/#town │ | |
│ weechat irc://[email protected]:6697/#worldchat │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
⏺ irssi -completely command line driven recall back to the origins of IRC; | |
Supports color, themeing and scripts to extend the featureset. Broad set | |
of commands for adding & arranging custom windows is a feature to give | |
other IRC clients a run for their money. Has many extra built-in commands | |
as shortcuts for various tasks, provides multi-tab support, and connections | |
to multiple servers within an instance is possible. | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: to QUIT, type: /quit then [Enter]; | |
get help, type: /help then [Enter]) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ irssi -n $USER -c localhost │ | |
│ irssi -n $USER -c ca.undernet.org -p 6667 │ | |
│ irssi -n $USER -c irc.tilde.chat -p 6697 │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
⏺ catgirl -simple UI; operate mainly by typing commands but some command k | |
For those overwhelmed by the dizzying options of other clients and have | |
less demanding needs such as: only using official core IRC commands, log | |
into a single server at a time, join less than a handful of channels, etc. | |
This fits the bill with a primary interface of a single command line for | |
user input. Still, there is color highlighting, tab-completion, emacs-style | |
key bindings when typing messages, message filtering startup options, split | |
scrolling, and switching between virtual windows. One caveat is that with a | |
focus on security as one of the design principle, there is no support for | |
plain-text connections (normally port 6667). | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: to QUIT, type: /quit then [Enter]; | |
get help, type: /help then [Enter]) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ catgirl -n $USER -h irc.tilde.chat -j '#town' │ | |
│ catgirl -n $USER -h irc.oftc.net -p 6697 -j '#linux' │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
▶ Access personal inbox | |
"Why should I write this down, that’s riveted, Screw’d to my memory?" | |
~William Shakespeare | |
Follow the Great Bard's advice: send self-reminders, quick notes, and | |
ideas to that magnificent West End revival for later review - without | |
ever leaving the terminal. | |
⏺ mutt -navigation and message management via arrow & letter keys | |
Supports advanced features like OpenPGP, MIME, and sort by thread. | |
Pseudo address book function through use of 'alias' & 'group' option. | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: press [q] key to QUIT; [?] to display help) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ mutt # invoking the command with no options opens mail for reading │ | |
│ │ | |
│ echo "My reminder message." | mutt -s "Msg Subject" -- [email protected] │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
⏺ alpine -geared toward the novice user; UI is mix of arrow and function k | |
Multi-function email & news client. Supports personal address book as well | |
as searching a central LDAP server. | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: press [q] key to QUIT; [?] to access help) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ alpine # invoking the command with no options opens mail for reading │ | |
│ │ | |
│ alpine [email protected] │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
⏺ mail -no frills email frontend using only typed command keys, but fast | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: press [q] key to QUIT; [?] to list command options) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ mail # invoking the command with no options opens mail for reading │ | |
│ │ | |
│ echo "My reminder message." | mail -s "Msg Subject" [email protected] │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
▶ Read News groups | |
Get the latest headlines. | |
⏺ tin -navigation and message management via arrow & letter keys | |
Full-screen easy to use Usenet newsreader, dedicated to providing every news | |
-related feature possible under the sun even if no one asked. Birthed near | |
the beginnings of the internet, and still chugging along decades later. | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: press [Shift]+[q] to force QUIT; [h] to display help) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ tin -r -Q -g news.tildeverse.org tilde.art.ascii │ | |
│ tin -r -Q -g news.eternal-september.org eternal-september.talk │ | |
│ │ | |
│ tin -r -g news.tildeverse.org │ | |
│ # press [Shift]+[s] for 'sub pattern' │ | |
│ # type: tilde.* then [Enter] │ | |
│ # use arrow keys and [Enter] to go into a newsgroup │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
⏺ alpine -geared toward the novice user; UI is mix of arrow and function k | |
Multi-function email & news client. Supports personal address book as well | |
as searching a central LDAP server. | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: press [q] key to QUIT; [?] to access help) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ alpine -nntp-server=news.tildeverse.org │ | |
│ alpine -nntp-server=news.eternal-september.org │ | |
│ │ | |
│ # press [l] -or- use arrow keys to select Folder List, then [Enter] │ | |
│ # select News and press [Enter] │ | |
│ # press [a] to Add │ | |
│ # press [Ctrl]+[t] to show list for selection │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |
▶ Jabber away with XMPP instant messaging | |
Already have a "buddy" list to keep in touch with? IM came about to allow | |
a more decentralized and personal chat option. Instead of requiring every- | |
one to log into the same server and fight for unique names to communicate, | |
it became much simpler for people to form their own virtual private chat | |
groups just by knowing the email-like ID of other users. These IDs stay | |
the same across the fediverse (& with no worries about nick hi-jacking). | |
⏺ profanity -operate mainly by typing commands but some command keys; offe | |
Straightforward client with a single command line for input. Supports | |
chat list and group aliases. Will only connect to one account per | |
instance, but allows creating and switching among multiple windows, | |
each with different lists for the ability to have virtual rooms. | |
📄 Go to Man page | |
🖼 View screenshot | |
Some examples: | |
(note: to QUIT, type: /quit then [Enter]; | |
get help, type: /help then [Enter]) | |
╒═════════════════════════�… | |
│ │ | |
│ profanity -a [email protected] │ | |
│ profanity -a [email protected] │ | |
│ │ | |
╘═════════════════════════�… | |