The Linux terminal is incredibly powerful, but using it can seem like a chore, especially if you’re new to Linux. You must remember too many commands, type long strings with absolute precision, and parse dense text-only results. But that friction is just the default experience. With the right tools, you can make the terminal Much more intuitive and visually useful.l. To help you out, here are three must-try Linux terminal apps to try this weekend.
navigation
Stop Googling the same command for the umpteenth time
navigation It is best understood as a smarter, more interactive replacement for manual search command syntax. Normally, when you forget how a command works in Linux, you rely on memory, search the web, or open the man page using he man domain. This works, but is often slow and overwhelming. Man pages are comprehensive, but not always practical when you just need the exact syntax for a specific task.
This is where Navi changes the workflow. Instead of reading extensive documentation, Navi gives you searchable cheat sheets with examples of commands ready to run. Think of it as a command palette for your terminal.
For example, let’s say you want to compress a folder into a .tar.gz file. Typically, you may need to remember something like:
tar -czvf archive.tar.gz folder/
But if you can’t remember, you can just run. ship to search for something like compress folder, and Navi will show you the correct command instantly. This makes it especially useful for commands that you use occasionally but never memorize, such as ffmpeg, rsync, docker, git, etc.
But that’s not all. Navi also supports parameterized commands. For example, instead of a static cheat sheet entry like:
git checkout branch-name
Navi can rotate branch-name into an editable placeholder, allowing you to complete it before running it.
Then the workflow becomes:
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Search for the command.
-
Fill in the variables.
-
Execute.
That makes it much faster than googling syntax or using man pages.
Now you can install Navi on Ubuntu, using Homebrew:
brew install navi
If you don’t already have Homebrew installed on your system, you can follow this guide.
8/10
- Operating system
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Kubuntu 24.04LTS
- UPC
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Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (2.7 GHz up to 5.4 GHz)
This laptop is designed specifically for developers and professionals who want a portable workstation and gaming platform powered by Kubuntu Linux. It features an Intel processor capable of reaching 5.4 GHz and integrated graphics and a dedicated NVIDIA 5070 Ti GPU for when you need extra power for machine learning or gaming.
Zoxide
Why write the entire route when one word is enough?
Zoxide works like a smarter and faster version of the cd command (change directory) on linux. Normally, if you want to go to a directory in the terminal, you have to type its full (or relative) path. For example, if I wanted to open the directory where I keep all my Geek How-to articles, I would type something like:
cd ~/Documents/HowToGeek/Articles
As you can see, this can make navigation in the terminal seem unnecessarily cumbersome. However, with Zoxide I can simply write:
z articles
and it will take me directly to the directory of my articles.
That said, what if you have similar directory names across multiple projects? let’s say you have ~/Customers/Customer1/Items and ~/Customers/Customer2/Items. In that case, you can limit the search with a command like this:
z client1 articles
either:
z client2 articles
This eliminates the need to type full paths, slashes, or remember exact folder structures.
Now, I should mention that it usually takes a few days of regular use before Zoxide has enough track record to become really useful. You see, by default, Zoxide doesn’t have a complete record of all your directories. It’s only when you visit a directory using CDwhich records that location and creates an internal index based on frequency and recency. As that index grows, your ability to predict where you want to go improves.
However, you can simplify that process by manually adding those routes with this command: add zoxide
Alternatively, you can preindex all your existing directories with this command:
find ~ -type d -not -path '*/.*' -not -path '*/node_modules/*' -not -path '*/.git/*' | while read -r dir; do zoxide add "$dir"; done
This scans your home directory and adds your folders to Zoxide immediately, skipping hidden folders and common clutter like Git repositories and node_modules.
Now to install Zoxide, run the following command:
curl -sSfL | sh
Then initialize it by adding this line to your shell configuration file:
eval "$(zoxide init bash)"
Once configured, Zoxide converts directory navigation from a path-based process to a memory-based one, making terminal movement much faster. It is an essential tool if you want to have more fluidity in the terminal.
Below
System monitoring that doesn’t look like the ’90s
Below It is a modern replacement for traditional Linux system monitoring tools. Typically, if you want to monitor what’s happening on your system in real time, such as CPU usage, RAM consumption, running processes, or disk activity, you’ll need to wear above either above. These tools work well, but can seem dense, outdated, or limited depending on what you’re trying to monitor.
Bottom gives you a cleaner image while making it more data-rich. Instead of simply displaying raw process lists, it features multiple live dashboards for CPU, memory, network, disk usage, temperatures, and processes, all in one terminal window. You get live graphs showing usage trends over time, making it easy to detect spikes and sustained load.
This is especially useful when troubleshooting. For example, if your system feels slow, Bottom allows you to quickly identify which process is consuming CPU, how much RAM is being used, if swap is full, disk reads/writes are saturated, or network traffic is unusually high.
It also includes process filtering. This means that instead of manually scanning a list of potentially hundreds of processes, you can simply press “/” and search for something specific like Firefox, Docker, or Python. This makes isolating problematic processes much faster. Bottom also supports mouse navigation, making moving between panels more convenient for people who aren’t yet comfortable with keyboard-only tools.
To install Bottom on Ubuntu:
sudo snap install bottom
Or via Cargo:
cargo install bottom
The Linux terminal can be much more intuitive
The terminal often has a reputation for being intimidating, but tools like these show that it can be as accessible as any GUI. The more you lean into it, the more powerful your workflow becomes. So try them on the weekend; You may find yourself searching for the terminal more often than you expected.
