Boost Your Linux Productivity with 4 Powerful Command‑Line Tricks

Linux has become the most popular operating system among developers, and this article introduces four highly useful tricks to improve work efficiency and comfort on Linux.

1. Elegant and Smooth Directory Switching

1.1 bd command

The bd command lets you quickly jump to a specific parent directory without typing long cd ../../.. sequences. Example: bd python You can also type a few letters to match the nearest directory: bd p Installation:

sudo wget --no-check-certificate -O /usr/bin/bd https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vigneshwaranr/bd/master/bd
sudo chmod +rx /usr/bin/bd
echo 'alias bd=". bd -si"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

1.2 Common cd shortcuts

Running cd without arguments returns to the home directory ( cd ~). cd - returns to the previous directory.

1.3 Custom commands for frequent directories

Define an alias such as cl to jump directly to a frequently used path by adding it to ~/.bashrc:

echo 'alias cl="cd /home/radia/work/linux/linux-3.16.6"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

2. Multi‑Terminal Operations

Split the terminal screen into multiple windows to reduce mouse usage. Terminator is recommended.

Installation: sudo apt-get install terminator Key shortcuts include CTRL+SHIFT+↑ ↓ ← → for resizing panes, CTRL+SHIFT+T for new tabs, and ALT+↑ ↓ ← → for switching between panes.

3. File Editing

3.1 Markdown editor recommendation

Typora provides a beautiful, powerful Markdown editing experience.

wget -qO - https://typora.io/linux/public-key.asc | sudo apt-key add -
sudo add-apt-repository 'deb https://typora.io/linux ./'
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install typora

3.2 Vim configuration

A ready‑made Vim configuration can be installed with:

sudo apt-get install vim
wget https://pan.baidu.com/s/1opcy7owSzThNmF04aMF3Ow -O vim-config.tar.gz
tar -xvf vim-config.tar -C ~/
source ~/.vimrc

Key Vim features demonstrated include file and function lists, pane navigation with CTRL+W, and jumping to definitions using ctags:

ctags -R *
# or for specific languages
ctags --languages=c,c++,java -R

3.3 Disabling mouse support in Vim

vim ~/.vimrc
" set mouse=a   # comment out this line

4. Custom Shell Commands

4.1 Implementing the cl command

Add an alias to ~/.bashrc as shown above.

4.2 Creating a more complex env_switch command

Place the following script in /home/radia/cmd/env_switch.sh and make it executable:

#!/bin/bash
function env_switch(){
    if [ "$1" = "A" ]; then
        echo "A1,A2,A3"
        if [ "$2" = "start" ]; then
            echo "will be opened"
        elif [ "$2" = "stop" ]; then
            echo "will be closed"
        fi
    elif [ "$1" = "B" ]; then
        echo "B1,B2,B3"
        if [ "$2" = "start" ]; then
            echo "will be opened"
        elif [ "$2" = "stop" ]; then
            echo "will be closed"
        fi
    fi
}

Make it executable and source it from ~/.bashrc:

chmod +x env_switch.sh
echo 'source /home/radia/cmd/env_switch.sh' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

4.3 Revisiting the bd command

The bd command is a small script (~50 lines) that can be customized further to automate repetitive tasks.

5. Conclusion

If these tips improve your workflow, the author hopes you find them useful. Thank you for reading!