18 Fun Linux Commands to Wow Your Terminal

sl

Displays an animated train moving across the screen. Install with sudo apt-get install sl and run with sl. Options: -a (accident animation), -l (little train), -F (flying), -e (interruptible with Ctrl+C).

fortune

Prints a random quote, joke, or proverb. Install with sudo apt-get install fortune and display a message using fortune. A Chinese database can be added with sudo apt-get install fortune-zh.

cowsay

Outputs ASCII art of a cow (or other animals) saying a given text. Install with sudo apt-get install cowsay. Example: cowsay "I am not a cow, hahaha". List available figures with cowsay -l and select a figure, e.g., cowsay -f tux "example". Combine with fortune | cowsay for random sayings.

cmatrix

Shows a Matrix‑style falling‑character animation. Install with sudo apt-get install cmatrix and start it via cmatrix.

figlet & toilet

Generate large ASCII banners. Install with sudo apt-get install figlet toilet. Basic usage: figlet "Your Text" or toilet "Your Text". toilet supports color and font options, e.g., toilet -f mono12 -F gay "a girl".

oneko

Shows a cartoon cat that follows the mouse pointer and sleeps when idle. Install with sudo apt-get install oneko and launch via oneko. Stop with Ctrl+C.

xeyes

Displays a pair of eyes that track the mouse cursor. Install and run the same way as other packages.

yes

Continuously outputs a given string until interrupted (Ctrl+C). Example: yes "I am awesome".

cal 9 1752

Shows the calendar for September 1752, a historically irregular month due to calendar reform.

shred

Securely overwrites files to make data recovery difficult. Useful for destroying sensitive files.

factor

Performs prime factorization of integers. Example: factor 123456.

aptitude moo demo

Shows various verbosity levels of the aptitude moo Easter egg:

aptitude moo
aptitude -v moo
aptitude -vv moo
aptitude -vvv moo
aptitude -vvvv moo
aptitude -vvvvv moo
aptitude -vvvvvv moo
aptitude -vvvvvvv moo

blessed-contrib dashboard

Creates a terminal dashboard using Node.js. Install Node.js, clone the repository, install dependencies, and run the example:

sudo apt-get install nodejs-legacy
git clone https://github.com/yaronn/blessed-contrib.git
cd blessed-contrib
npm install
node ./examples/dashboard.js

hollywood

Displays a simulated hacking screen. Install via PPA and run:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:hollywood/ppa
sudo apt-get install hollywood
sudo apt-get install byobu
hollywood

boxes

Creates ASCII art frames around text. Install and use:

sudo apt-get install boxes
echo "Tongji University" | boxes
echo "Tongji University" | boxes -d dog
fortune | boxes -d cat | lolcat

aafire

Displays a fire animation in the terminal. Install and run:

sudo apt-get install libaa-bin
aafire

Image to ASCII

Convert images to ASCII art. Install required tools and run:

sudo apt-get install aview imagemagick
wget http://labfile.oss.aliyuncs.com/courses/1/Linus.png
asciiview Linus.png

Dangerous command: sudo rm -rf /*

Recursively deletes all files from the root directory. The command expands as follows:

sudo rm -rf /*
# sudo – obtain root privileges
# rm – remove files
# -r – recursive (delete subdirectories)
# -f – force (no confirmation)
# / – root directory
# * – all files

Warning: Executing this command on a production system will permanently erase data and render the system unusable.