Top 3 Essential Linux Apps to Explore This Weekend (June 26-28)

The Linux terminal is a robust tool, yet it can seem daunting, particularly for those new to the system. Users often find themselves trying to memorize numerous commands, typing lengthy strings with precision, and sifting through complex text outputs. However, this daunting experience can be transformed with the right utilities. Here are three essential Linux terminal applications worth exploring this weekend.

Navi

No More Repeated Searches for Commands

Navi serves as a more intelligent and interactive alternative to traditional command syntax searches. Typically, when a command escapees your memory, you might attempt to recall it, search online, or refer to the manual pages using the man command. While functional, exploring man pages can be slow and overwhelming. They are thorough, but not always practical when you just need a specific command syntax.

Navi streamlines this process. Instead of diving into lengthy documentation, it provides searchable cheat sheets filled with ready-to-use command examples—similar to a command palette for your terminal.

For instance, if you want to compress a folder into a .tar.gz file, you might otherwise need to recall the command:

tar -czvf archive.tar.gz folder/

If the command slips your mind, simply run navi and type in something like compress folder, and Navi will instantly display the proper command. This feature proves particularly handy for less frequent commands you might not have memorized, such as those for ffmpeg, rsync, docker, and git.

Moreover, Navi supports parameterized commands. Instead of a fixed cheat sheet entry like:

git checkout branch-name

Navi allows you to edit branch-name, letting you input your desired branch before executing the command.

This creates an efficient workflow:

1. Search for the command.
2. Fill in the variables.
3. Execute.

This approach is significantly faster than searching for command syntax or flipping through man pages.

To install Navi on Ubuntu, use Homebrew:

brew install navi

If Homebrew is not on your system, you can follow its installation guide.

Zoxide

Streamlining Directory Navigation

Zoxide acts as a smarter and quicker variant of the cd (change directory) command in Linux. When navigating to a directory, users typically need to type out its complete path. For example, accessing the directory where you store articles might require:

cd ~/Documents/HowToGeek/Articles

This process can be tedious. With Zoxide, you could simply enter:

z articles

If you have similar directory names across various projects, Zoxide allows you to specify further. For example, to navigate to directories like ~/Clients/Client1/Articles or ~/Clients/Client2/Articles, you can use:

z client1 articles

or

z client2 articles

This method reduces the need for full paths and helps you avoid stressing over folder structures.

However, note that Zoxide may take a few days of typical use to become truly efficient. By default, it maintains a record of directories you’ve used, building an internal index based on your navigation frequency and recency. As this index grows, it gets better at predicting your navigation requests.

To expedite this process, you can manually add any desired paths with:

zoxide add 

Alternatively, you can index all existing directories using:

find ~ -type d -not -path '*/.*' -not -path '*/node_modules/*' -not -path '*/.git/*' | while read -r dir; do zoxide add "$dir"; done

This method scans your home directory and adds folders to Zoxide instantly, bypassing hidden folders and common directories.

To install Zoxide, use this command:

curl -sSfL  | sh

After that, add this line to your shell config file:

eval "$(zoxide init bash)"

Once configured, Zoxide redefines directory navigation from a path-based approach to a memory-oriented one, expediting terminal movement. It’s an essential tool for anyone looking to enhance their terminal fluency.

Bottom

A Modern Approach to System Monitoring

Bottom serves as a contemporary alternative to conventional Linux system monitoring utilities. Traditionally, if you wanted to observe system metrics in real-time—like CPU usage, memory consumption, active processes, or disk activity—you’d typically use tools like top or htop. While effective, these can come across as dated or insufficient depending on the information you need.

Bottom offers a clearer visual representation while being more data-rich. It does not merely display raw process lists; instead, it features multiple live panels showing CPU, memory, network, disk usage, temperatures, and processes—all within a single terminal window. The live graphs allow for tracking usage trends over time, making it simpler to identify spikes and sustained loads.

This capability proves handy during troubleshooting. For instance, if your system operates sluggishly, Bottom allows you to swiftly identify CPU usage, RAM consumption, swap activity, disk reads/writes, or unusually high network traffic.

Additionally, process filtering is available, letting you search for specific processes, like Firefox, Docker, or Python, with a simple press of “/.” This expedites the identification of problematic processes. Bottom also supports mouse navigation for those less comfortable with keyboard-only tools.

To install Bottom on Ubuntu:

sudo snap install bottom

Or through Cargo:

cargo install bottom

Making the Linux Terminal More Accessible

The Linux terminal is often viewed as intimidating, yet tools like these illustrate that it can be just as user-friendly as graphical interfaces. The more you engage with it, the more efficient your workflow may become. Consider giving these tools a trial run this weekend—you may find yourself using the terminal more frequently than anticipated.