Dotfiles

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Modern CLI Tools ​

Better than the originals

Modern CLI tools reimagine classic Unix commands with better defaults, richer output, and features that should have been there all along. All written in Rust for performance and safety.

lsd (ls replacement) ​

lsd — LSDeluxe with icons and colors

Why lsd? ​

  • File type icons (requires Nerd Font)
  • Git status indicators
  • Tree view built-in
  • Color-coded by type
  • Human-readable sizes by default

Aliases ​

bash
ls → lsd
ll → lsd -l
la → lsd -la
lt → lsd --tree

Usage ​

bash
# Basic listing
ll

# Show all files (including hidden)
la

# Tree view (2 levels deep)
lt --depth 2

# Sort by time
ll --timesort

# Sort by size
ll --sizesort

# Long format with all info
ll --total-size

Configuration ​

Located at /Users/bliss/dev/dotfiles/lsd/config.yaml:

yaml
# Display settings
classic: false
blocks:
  - permission
  - user
  - group
  - size
  - date
  - name
date: relative
icons:
  when: always
  theme: fancy

bat (cat replacement) ​

bat — Cat with syntax highlighting

Why bat? ​

  • Syntax highlighting for 100+ languages
  • Git integration (shows changes in gutter)
  • Line numbers
  • Pager integration for long files
  • Non-printable character display

Usage ​

bash
# View file with highlighting
bat file.ts

# Plain mode (no decorations)
bat -p file.ts

# Show all characters (including whitespace)
bat -A file.ts

# View specific line range
bat file.ts --line-range 10:50

# Compare with git
bat --diff file.ts

Configuration ​

The SilkCircuit theme ships from ~/dev/silkcircuit/extras/bat/themes/ (installed by the SilkCircuit installer):

bash
# Set default theme
export BAT_THEME="SilkCircuit"

# Or use a different theme
bat --theme="Dracula" file.ts

# List available themes
bat --list-themes

As a Pager ​

bash
# Use bat as man pager
export MANPAGER="sh -c 'col -bx | bat -l man -p'"

# Use for git diff
# Already configured in gitconfig via delta

fd (find replacement) ​

fd — Fast, user-friendly find

Why fd? ​

  • 5x faster than find
  • Ignores .gitignore by default
  • Regex patterns by default
  • Smart case sensitivity
  • Colored output
  • Simpler syntax

Usage ​

bash
# Find files matching pattern
fd pattern

# Find specific file types
fd -e ts              # TypeScript files
fd -e js -e jsx       # JavaScript/JSX files

# Search in specific directory
fd pattern ~/projects

# Include hidden files
fd -H pattern

# Search directories only
fd -t d pattern

# Execute command on results
fd -e jpg -x convert {} {.}.png

Integration with FZF ​

Already configured in sh/fzf.sh:

bash
export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND="fd --type f --hidden --follow --exclude .git"
export FZF_ALT_C_COMMAND="fd --type d --hidden --follow --exclude .git"

ripgrep (grep replacement) ​

ripgrep — Blazingly fast search

Why ripgrep? ​

  • 10x faster than grep
  • Respects .gitignore automatically
  • Recursive by default
  • Smart case sensitivity
  • Colored output
  • Supports .ignore files

Usage ​

bash
# Search current directory
rg pattern

# Search specific file types
rg -t ts pattern          # TypeScript
rg -t js pattern          # JavaScript
rg -t py pattern          # Python

# Case insensitive
rg -i pattern

# Show context (3 lines before/after)
rg -C 3 pattern

# Search for whole words only
rg -w pattern

# Search hidden files
rg --hidden pattern

# Count matches
rg -c pattern

# List files with matches (no content)
rg -l pattern

# Invert match (files without pattern)
rg -v pattern

File Type Shortcuts ​

bash
rg --type-list          # Show all supported types

# Common types:
rg -t rust pattern      # Rust files
rg -t cpp pattern       # C++ files
rg -t md pattern        # Markdown files
rg -t json pattern      # JSON files

Advanced Usage ​

bash
# Search with regex
rg "function\s+\w+\("

# Search multiple patterns
rg -e pattern1 -e pattern2

# Search with replacements (dry-run)
rg pattern --replace replacement

# Search compressed files
rg -z pattern archive.gz

# Multiline search
rg -U "class\s+\w+\s+{" --multiline

zoxide (cd replacement) ​

zoxide — Smarter cd

Why zoxide? ​

  • Learns your habits (frecency algorithm)
  • Fuzzy matching
  • Works across shells
  • Minimal overhead
  • Cross-platform

Aliases ​

bash
z  → zoxide (jump to directory)
zi → zoxide interactive (fzf picker)

Usage ​

bash
# Jump to directory (frecency-based)
z project               # Jumps to ~/dev/projects
z doc                   # Jumps to ~/Documents

# Multiple query terms
z dev proj              # Matches ~/dev/projects

# Interactive selection
zi                      # Opens fzf to choose

# Add current directory to database
zoxide add .

# Remove directory from database
zoxide remove ~/old-project

# Query database
zoxide query project
zoxide query --list     # List all tracked dirs

How It Works ​

Zoxide scores directories based on:

  • Frequency — How often you visit
  • Recency — When you last visited

Higher score = more likely to match.

procs (ps replacement) ​

procs — Modern process viewer

Why procs? ​

  • Human-readable output
  • Color-coded columns
  • Docker container support
  • Tree view
  • Multi-column search
  • Pager integration

Usage ​

bash
# List all processes
procs

# Filter by name
procs node
procs python

# Show process tree
procs --tree

# Sort by memory
procs --sortd mem

# Sort by CPU
procs --sortd cpu

# Watch mode (like top)
procs --watch

# Show threads
procs --thread

# Docker container info
procs --docker

Configuration ​

~/.config/procs/config.toml is written by the SilkCircuit installer (extras/procs/ in that repo, one file per variant), not tracked here.

delta (diff replacement) ​

delta — Beautiful git diffs

Why delta? ​

  • Syntax highlighting in diffs
  • Word-level diff highlighting
  • Line numbers
  • Side-by-side mode
  • Git integration
  • Multiple themes

Usage ​

Delta is automatically used for git diffs (configured in gitconfig):

bash
# Normal git commands use delta automatically
git diff
git show
git log -p

# Manual delta usage
diff -u file1 file2 | delta

# Side-by-side view
git diff | delta --side-by-side

Configuration ​

In /Users/bliss/dev/dotfiles/gitconfig:

ini
[core]
    pager = delta

[interactive]
    diffFilter = delta --color-only

[delta]
    navigate = true
    light = false
    line-numbers = true
    syntax-theme = Dracula

[delta "interactive"]
    keep-plus-minus-markers = false

[delta "decorations"]
    commit-decoration-style = blue ol
    commit-style = raw
    file-style = omit
    hunk-header-decoration-style = blue box
    hunk-header-file-style = red
    hunk-header-line-number-style = "#067a00"
    hunk-header-style = file line-number syntax

Customization ​

bash
# Try different themes
git config delta.syntax-theme "Monokai Extended"

# Enable side-by-side
git config delta.side-by-side true

# Change line number colors
git config delta.line-numbers-left-style "#5c6370"
git config delta.line-numbers-right-style "#5c6370"

zoxide (cd replacement - Continued) ​

Integration with Shell ​

Automatically initialized in zshrc:

bash
# Zoxide is loaded via zinit
eval "$(zoxide init zsh)"

Tips ​

  1. Use it for a few days — It learns your habits
  2. Be specific initially — Full paths until zoxide learns
  3. Use zi when unsure — Interactive mode shows options
  4. Clean old entries — Remove unused directories periodically

Installation Reference ​

macOS (Homebrew) ​

bash
brew install lsd bat fd ripgrep zoxide procs git-delta htop

Linux (Cargo) ​

bash
cargo install lsd bat fd-find ripgrep zoxide procs git-delta

Verification ​

bash
lsd --version
bat --version
fd --version
rg --version
zoxide --version
procs --version
delta --version

Comparison Table ​

FeatureClassicModernSpeed Improvement
File listinglslsd~2x
File viewingcatbatSimilar (richer)
File findingfindfd~5x
Code searchgrepripgrep~10x
Directory jumpcdzoxideInstant
Process viewingpsprocsSimilar (better UX)
Diff viewingdiffdeltaSimilar (prettier)

Tips & Best Practices ​

  1. Let tools respect .gitignore — fd and rg do this by default
  2. Use --help liberally — Modern tools have excellent help
  3. Combine tools — fd | rg, rg | bat, etc.
  4. Create aliases — Save common flag combinations
  5. Explore themes — bat and delta support custom themes

Troubleshooting ​

Icons Not Showing (lsd) ​

Issue: Boxes instead of icons

Solution: Install a Nerd Font:

bash
brew install --cask font-jetbrains-mono-nerd-font
# Configure terminal to use it

Bat Theme Not Loading ​

Issue: Wrong colors or theme not found

Solution:

bash
# Rebuild cache
bat cache --build

# List themes
bat --list-themes

# Set specific theme
export BAT_THEME="Dracula"

Slow Performance (ripgrep) ​

Issue: rg is slow in huge directories

Solution:

bash
# Limit search depth
rg --max-depth 3 pattern

# Exclude specific directories
rg --glob '!node_modules' pattern

# Use type filters
rg -t ts pattern  # Only TypeScript files

Zoxide Not Learning ​

Issue: z doesn't jump to expected directory

Solution:

bash
# Manually add directory
zoxide add ~/important/path

# Check database
zoxide query --list

# Remove incorrect entry
zoxide remove ~/old/path

External Resources ​

Next Steps ​

Released under the MIT License

Copyright © Stefanie Jane