CLI Tools That Make Your Life Easier: My Picks

Okay, so you know the feeling when you swear a tool is supposed to save time, but you spend two hours Googling how to use it? Yeah, me too. And that’s exactly why I’ve got an obsession with testing out CLI (command-line interface) tools. I mean, I don’t just try them—I live and breathe them, spreadsheet everything, and rant when they suck.

I’ve got favorite tools that make me feel like a wizard in the terminal, and others that left me yelling “WHY?” at my monitor. So today, I’m sharing the ones you’ve gotta check out if you want to speed things up, look cool, and not spend half your day reading Stack Overflow threads.

Why CLI Is Still King

I’ll be real with you: the CLI is my comfort zone. GUIs have their place, sure, but when you’re neck-deep in dev work or automation, nothing beats typing your way to mastery. Plus, it’s ridiculously fast once you get the hang of it. You can chain commands, script stuff, and avoid clicking through five menus just to tweak one setting.

Here’s the kicker, though: not all CLI tools are intuitive out of the box. Some are downright cryptic. That’s why I stick to tools that either make sense or offer killer documentation. For instance, Ripgrep (rg) is a godsend for searching files—it’s like grep but on steroids. The first time I used it, I cut my search time by 75%. It’s the kind of tool that makes you wonder why you tolerated slower methods for so long.

My Favorite CLI Tools Right Now

Alright, here’s the juicy part. Let me walk you through a few that I think are worth your attention:

• fd: This is like the cooler, faster sibling of find. It’s colorful, faster, and its default behavior just makes sense. I ran a test last month comparing fd to find on a directory with 50,000 files. fd spat out results in under 0.4 seconds. find? 2.3 seconds. That doesn’t sound like much, but trust me, you notice.
• bat: Imagine if cat could highlight syntax and show line numbers beautifully. That’s bat. I’m using it constantly—whether I’m previewing code snippets or quickly double-checking config files. Bonus: its Git integration highlights changes!
• tldr: Manuals are great, but sometimes you just want the TL;DR version. That’s literally what tldr does—it gives you example usage instead of drowning you in options. I probably save 10-15 minutes a week thanks to this.

These are just the tip of the iceberg, and I’ve got more in my spreadsheets, but these are the ones I’ve consistently gone back to each week.

How I Decide Which Tools Are Worth It

Not gonna lie—I’m picky. Testing CLI tools is practically my hobby, and my process is meticulous. Here’s how I decide if something makes the cut:

• Speed: If it’s slower than what I already use, it’s dead to me.
• Documentation: If I can’t figure it out in 10 minutes, I’m already annoyed. The docs have to be clear.
• Features: Extra bells and whistles are cool, but if the basics don’t work flawlessly, I’m out.
• Community: Tools with active communities and frequent updates are safer bets. If no one’s maintaining it, it’s only a matter of time before it breaks.

Take a tool like Zoxide, which is a smart alternative to cd. Not only is it faster and predictive, but the community around it has added great tips and tricks. I’ve been using it for over a year, and it’s still getting updates.

FAQ: CLI Tools Edition

What are the easiest CLI tools for beginners?

Start with tldr for understanding commands and bat for reading files. Both feel familiar and don’t require super technical knowledge.

Can I use CLI tools on Windows?

Absolutely! Tools like Ripgrep, fd, and bat have Windows versions. If you’re hardcore, you can install WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) and go wild with Linux tools.

How do I install CLI tools quickly?

Use a package manager like apt, brew (Mac), or choco (Windows). For example, to install fd on a Mac, you’d just type brew install fd.

Alright, go try a couple of these tools and let me know what you think. And hey, if you’ve got a favorite CLI tool I haven’t mentioned, drop me a line—I’m always hunting for the next big game-changer!

🕒 Published: May 12, 2026