Master cheat.sh: Your Ultimate Command‑Line Cheat Sheet for 58 Languages

cheat.sh Introduction

cheat.sh is a lightweight command‑line cheat sheet that provides quick access to documentation for 58 programming languages, many DBMS, and over 1000 common Unix/Linux commands.

Basic usage

Query the service with curl cht.sh. For example: curl cht.sh/tar The response is concise, syntax‑highlighted, and easy to read. curl cht.sh/tr You can also search by keyword using the ~Keyword syntax, e.g.: curl cht.sh/~snapshot To hide comments in the output, append ?Q to the query:

curl cht.sh/java/lambda+group?Q

CLI client

Install the command‑line client with the following commands:

# Ensure ~/bin is in your PATH
mkdir -p ~/bin/
curl https://cht.sh/:cht.sh > ~/bin/cht.sh
chmod +x ~/bin/cht.sh

For shell mode support, install rlwrap (e.g., brew install rlwrap or sudo apt install rlwrap).

Using the client

Run queries directly: cht.sh --shell Enter a language directory for faster searches, e.g. cht.sh --shell java. The client also offers a stealth mode that hides the query window; activate it with stealth Q.

Editor integration

cheat.sh integrates with many editors such as Emacs, Vim, Sublime, VSCode, IntelliJ IDEA, and QtCreator. Vim has the most complete integration, while VSCode and IDEA can use dedicated plugins ( vscode‑snippet and idea‑cheatsh‑plugin respectively).

Running your own server

To host a private instance, edit ~/.cht.sh/cht.sh.conf and set CHTSH_URL to your server URL, then start the service:

git clone https://github.com/chubin/cheat.sh.git
cd cheat.sh
docker-compose up

Access the server at http://localhost:8002.

Conclusion

cheat.sh offers a fast, portable way to look up language syntax, command options, and code snippets without leaving the terminal, and its extensible client and editor plugins make it a valuable tool for everyday programming.