10 Fun Linux Commands Every IT Enthusiast Should Try

Linux provides many amusing command‑line utilities that are easy to experiment with. Below is a curated list of ten fun commands, each with installation instructions, a basic usage example, and a screenshot of the output.

1. rev

The rev command reverses each input line character by character. $ rev Example: shiyanlou Output (shown in the image):

2. asciiview

First install aview and imagemagick, then run asciiview to display images as ASCII art.

$ sudo apt-get install aview

$ sudo apt-get install imagemagick

$ asciiview shiyanlou.png -driver curses

Result is shown in the following screenshot:

3. sl

The sl command displays an animated train moving across the screen.

$ sudo apt-get install sl

$ sl

4. aafire

aafire

renders a fire effect directly in the terminal.

$ sudo apt-get install libaa-bin

$ aafire

5. cmatrix

cmatrix

creates a "Matrix"‑style falling characters animation.

$ sudo apt-get install cmatrix

$ cmatrix

Press Ctrl+C to stop.

6. factor

factor

performs prime factorization, useful for helping children with math problems.

$ factor 60

7. oneko

oneko

displays a small cat that follows the mouse cursor; it sleeps when idle.

$ sudo apt-get install oneko

$ oneko

Terminate with Ctrl+C.

8. boxes

boxes

draws ASCII art boxes around input text or code.

$ sudo apt-get install boxes

$ echo "shiyanlou.com" | boxes

Or use a specific style:

$ echo "shiyanlou.com" | boxes -d dog

9. xeyes

xeyes

opens a graphical program showing a pair of eyes that follow the mouse pointer.

$ sudo apt-get install xeyes

$ xeyes

10. pv

pv

visualizes data flow, allowing you to display text at a controlled rate, similar to subtitles appearing on a movie screen.

$ sudo apt-get install pv

$ echo "welcome to shiyanlou.com , you can learn IT by doing" | pv -qL 10

Feel free to share any other interesting Linux commands you know, and they can be added to the list.