Master Linux Commands Quickly with tldr: Installation and Usage Guide

What is tldr?

tldr (Too Long; Don’t Read) is an open‑source collection of concise, example‑driven pages for common command‑line tools, aimed at Linux and macOS users who need quick reference instead of full man pages. Project repository: https://github.com/tldr-pages/tldr

Installation

Clients are available for many languages and platforms. Install the desired client with the corresponding package manager:

C++ client (Homebrew) : brew install tldr-pages/tldr/tldr Crystal client (Homebrew) : brew install porras/tap/tlcr Go client : go get github.com/pranavraja/tldr (or download pre‑built binaries)

Node.js client : npm install -g tldr Perl5 client : cpanm App::tldr Python client : pip install tldr (or pip install tldr.py)

Ruby client : gem install tldrb Bash client : https://github.com/raylee/tldr

Web client : https://ostera.github.io/tldr.jsx

For a complete list of clients, see the main repository.

Basic usage

The command syntax is:

tldr [-h] [-o {linux,osx,sunos}] command [command ...]

-h

, --help: display help -o, --os: override the detected operating system (linux, osx, sunos)

Example: ssh

tldr ssh

Typical snippets returned by tldr ssh include:

Connect to a remote host: ssh username@remote_host Use a specific identity file: ssh -i /path/to/key_file username@remote_host Specify a non‑default port: ssh username@remote_host -p 2222 Run a remote command: ssh remote_host command -with -flags Dynamic port forwarding (SOCKS proxy): ssh -D 9999 -C username@remote_host Local port forwarding: ssh -L 9999:example.com:80 username@remote_host Enable agent forwarding:

ssh -A username@remote_host

Example: curl

tldr curl

Typical snippets returned by tldr curl include:

Download a URL to a file: curl "URL" -o filename Send form‑encoded data: curl --data name=bob http://localhost/form Send JSON payload:

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"name":"bob"}' http://localhost/login

Specify HTTP method: curl -X DELETE http://localhost/item/123 Make a HEAD request: curl --head http://localhost Add extra header: curl -H "X-MyHeader: 123" http://localhost Basic authentication:

curl -u user:pass http://localhost