10 Fun Linux Commands to Spice Up Your Terminal Experience

1. rev command

Reverses the input string line by line.

Run: $ rev Example input: shiyanlou

shiyanlou

2. asciiview command

Install aview and ImageMagick, then view images in the terminal.

$ sudo apt-get install aview

$ sudo apt-get install imagemagick

$ asciiview shiyanlou.png -driver curses

3. sl command

Displays an animated train moving across the screen.

$ sudo apt-get install sl

$ sl

4. aafire command

Shows a fire effect in the terminal.

$ sudo apt-get install libaa-bin

$ aafire

5. cmatrix command

Creates the "Matrix" style falling characters animation.

$ sudo apt-get install cmatrix

$ cmatrix

Press Ctrl+C to stop.

6. factor command

Factors numbers, useful for elementary math practice.

$ factor 60

7. oneko command

Displays a cat that follows the mouse cursor.

$ sudo apt-get install oneko

$ oneko

Press Ctrl+C to exit.

8. boxes command

Wraps text or code in various ASCII art boxes.

$ sudo apt-get install boxes

$ echo "shiyanlou.com" | boxes

Or use a specific design:

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

9. xeyes command

Shows a pair of eyes that follow the mouse pointer.

$ sudo apt-get install xeyes

$ xeyes

10. pv command

Displays data transfer progress, useful for creating typewriter‑like effects.

$ sudo apt-get install pv

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

Try the commands yourself to see the effects.