Discover Hidden Linux Gems: ASCII Screensavers, Pipe Viewer, and Custom Calendars

Explore three lesser‑known yet powerful Linux command‑line tools: termsaver , an ASCII screensaver; pv , a pipe viewer that monitors data throughput; and calendar , a flexible date‑display utility.

Tool 1: termsaver – Terminal Screensaver

Even without a graphical desktop you can enjoy fun screensavers by installing termsaver . It offers animations such as Matrix, clocks, Star Wars, and several NSFW options. Install it from Debian/Ubuntu package managers or download from termsaver.brunobraga.net for other distributions. Run termsaver -h to list available screensavers, e.g., randtxt, starwars, urlfetcher, quotes4all, rssfeed, matrix, clock, rfc, jokes4all, asciiartfarts, programmer, sysmon. Use termsaver <screenname> to start a screensaver and Ctrl‑c to stop.

Tool 2: pv – Pipe Viewer

The pv command is a small but handy utility for monitoring data copying, such as during rsync transfers or when creating tar archives. Its default options include:

-p : progress -t : elapsed time -e : estimated time of completion -r : rate (throughput) -b : byte count

Example of an rsync pipeline:

$ rsync -av /home/carla/ /media/carla/backup/ | pv

Example of creating a tar archive with pv:

$ tar -czf - /file/path | pv > backup.tgz

pv

can also monitor processes, e.g., web browser activity, and can be used to echo input at a controlled speed:

$ echo "typing random stuff to pipe through pv" | pv -qL 8 typing random stuff to pipe through pv

Read the full manual with man pv for additional formatting and output options.

Tool 3: calendar – Custom Calendars

The /usr/bin/calendar program on Debian/Ubuntu is a BSD‑derived calendar utility that supports multiple calendars such as calendar.computer, calendar.discordian, calendar.music, and calendar.lotr. You can display the next 60 days of the Lord of the Rings calendar with:

$ calendar -f /usr/share/calendar/calendar.lotr -A 60

Since calendar files are plain text, you can create your own by copying an existing file and editing its format. Consult man calendar for detailed guidance.