10 Powerful Bash Tricks Every Beginner Should Know

Bash is a must-know tool for developers, but many only use basic commands. Here are 10 powerful Bash tricks to speed up your workflow and make you feel like a terminal ninja. 1. Use !! to Repeat the Last Command Typed a command but forgot sudo? Instead of retyping, just run: sudo !! This reruns the last command with sudo. 2. Use !$ to Reuse the Last Argument Instead of retyping the last argument, use !$: mkdir my_project cd !$ This changes into the newly created directory. 3. Find Large Files Quickly Need to free up space? Find large files with: find . -type f -size +100M This lists all files larger than 100MB in the current directory. 4. Extract Any Compressed File with One Command No need to remember different extract commands. Just use: extract() { if [ -f "$1" ]; then case "$1" in .tar.bz2) tar xjf "$1" ;; .tar.gz) tar xzf "$1" ;; .zip) unzip "$1" ;; .rar) unrar x "$1" ;; .7z) 7z x "$1" ;; ) echo "Unknown file format" ;; esac else echo "'$1' is not a valid file" fi } Save this in your .bashrc or .bash_profile and run extract filename.zip. 5. Monitor Real-Time File Changes To see live changes in a file, use: tail -f filename.log Great for monitoring logs or debugging. 6. Rename Multiple Files at Once Easily rename .txt files to .md using: for file in *.txt; do mv "$file" "${file%.txt}.md"; done This renames all .txt files to .md. 7. Kill a Process by Name Instead of finding and killing a process manually, run: pkill -f process_name This kills any process matching process_name. 8. Copy Files Over SSH Like a Pro Instead of scp every time, mount a remote folder using SSH: sshfs user@remote:/path/to/folder /local/mount Now, you can access remote files like they’re local! 9. Create a Quick and Simple HTTP Server Serve the current directory over HTTP with: python3 -m http.server 8000 Now, open http://localhost:8000 in your browser. 10. Make Your cd Command Smarter Tired of typing long paths? Add this to .bashrc: shopt -s autocd Now, typing a directory name alone will cd into it. Final Thoughts These Bash tricks will speed up your workflow and help you work like a pro. Got your own favorite Bash trick? Share it in the comments!

Apr 1, 2025 - 13:55

10 Powerful Bash Tricks Every Beginner Should Know

Bash is a must-know tool for developers, but many only use basic commands. Here are 10 powerful Bash tricks to speed up your workflow and make you feel like a terminal ninja.

1. Use `!!` to Repeat the Last Command

Typed a command but forgot sudo? Instead of retyping, just run:

sudo !!

This reruns the last command with sudo.

2. Use `!$` to Reuse the Last Argument

Instead of retyping the last argument, use !$:

mkdir my_project
cd !$

This changes into the newly created directory.

3. Find Large Files Quickly

Need to free up space? Find large files with:

find . -type f -size +100M

This lists all files larger than 100MB in the current directory.

4. Extract Any Compressed File with One Command

No need to remember different extract commands. Just use:

extract() {
  if [ -f "$1" ]; then
    case "$1" in
      *.tar.bz2) tar xjf "$1" ;;
      *.tar.gz) tar xzf "$1" ;;
      *.zip) unzip "$1" ;;
      *.rar) unrar x "$1" ;;
      *.7z) 7z x "$1" ;;
      *) echo "Unknown file format" ;;
    esac
  else
    echo "'$1' is not a valid file"
  fi
}

Save this in your .bashrc or .bash_profile and run extract filename.zip.

5. Monitor Real-Time File Changes

To see live changes in a file, use:

tail -f filename.log

Great for monitoring logs or debugging.

6. Rename Multiple Files at Once

Easily rename .txt files to .md using:

for file in *.txt; do mv "$file" "${file%.txt}.md"; done

This renames all .txt files to .md.

7. Kill a Process by Name

Instead of finding and killing a process manually, run:

pkill -f process_name

This kills any process matching process_name.

8. Copy Files Over SSH Like a Pro

Instead of scp every time, mount a remote folder using SSH:

sshfs user@remote:/path/to/folder /local/mount

Now, you can access remote files like they’re local!

9. Create a Quick and Simple HTTP Server

Serve the current directory over HTTP with:

python3 -m http.server 8000

Now, open http://localhost:8000 in your browser.

10. Make Your `cd` Command Smarter

Tired of typing long paths? Add this to .bashrc:

shopt -s autocd

Now, typing a directory name alone will cd into it.

Final Thoughts

These Bash tricks will speed up your workflow and help you work like a pro. Got your own favorite Bash trick? Share it in the comments!