We've all heard of the usual suspects: Git, VS Code, Docker. Great tools, but there's also a second layer of tiny open-source tools operating behind the scenes to speed up development, reduce friction, and minimize the day's annoyance. Seven of these are listed below, why you'll find them useful, how to install them in seconds, and a tiny sample to get you productive right away.
1) fzf - the terminal fuzzy finder that actually changes how you navigate
What it is: an interactive Fuzzy Finder for the terminal. Use it to quickly jump between files, command history, git commits, process lists, etc. It’s insanely flexible and integrates with shell workflows and editors.
Why it helps: instead of remembering exact paths or typing find/ls pipelines, you type a few fuzzy characters and fzf finds the result, saves time and cognitive load.
Install (macOS / Linux / Windows with WSL):
# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install fzf
# Ubuntu
sudo apt install fzf
# Or use the installer to enable shell integration
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/junegunn/fzf.git ~/.fzf
~/.fzf/install
Quick example: find a file and open it with your $EDITOR:
$ vim $(fzf)
When to use: navigation, interactive filters, quick-selection UIs in scripts. Great with fd, rg, or git commands.
2) bat - a way-better cat with syntax highlighting and Git awareness
What it is: a cat clone that adds syntax highlighting, line numbers and Git modification markers. It makes reading files in the terminal pleasant.
Why it helps: quickly skimming a file in terminal becomes readable; useful in code reviews or when exploring unfamiliar repos.
Install:
# macOS
brew install bat
# Ubuntu (example)
sudo apt install bat
Quick example:
# show file with syntax highlighting and paging
bat src/main.py
Note: some distros name the binary batcat to avoid conflicts - check your package manager. Use in pipelines like bat file | less if you prefer a pager.
3) tldr - documentation that doesn’t make you cry
What it is*: community-driven, simplified examples for common CLI tools. If the man page is a novel, tldr gives you short, copy-paste examples.
Why it helps: ideal when you only need a few common usage examples for a tool (e.g., tar, rsync, openssl) instead of parsing the whole man page.
Install (one of many clients):
# Node-based client
npm install -g tldr
# Or on many systems:
brew install tldr
Quick example:
tldr tar
# -> shows short examples like 'tar -xzf archive.tar.gz' and similar
Tip: there are fast Rust clients (e.g., tealdeer) if you want speed.
4) Glances - one tool to monitor CPU, RAM, disk, network and more
What it is: cross-platform system monitoring tool (top/htop alternative) that consolidates system stats into one dashboard. Useful for dev servers and local performance checks.
Why it helps: when debugging slow builds, flaky containers, or noisy background processes, Glances gives an at-a-glance status without opening multiple tools.
Install (Python-based):
pip install glances
# or use package manager (apt/brew) for system packages
Quick example:
glances
# opens an ncurses dashboard with CPU, memory, disk, network, processes
Pro tip: Glances can run as a web server or export stats to InfluxDB if you want long-term monitoring.
5) HTTPie - an HTTP client that reads like prose (and is great for APIs)
What it is: a human-friendly command-line HTTP client for testing APIs. It formats requests/responses nicely and has intuitively readable syntax. Perfect for quick API testing.
Why it helps: much easier than remembering curl flags when making JSON requests, sending auth headers, or debugging endpoints.
Install:
pip install httpie
# or use your package manager
Quick example:
# GET
http https://api.example.com/users
# POST JSON
http POST api.example.com/users name="Tawhid" email="you@example.com"
6) delta - readable, GitHub-like diffs in your terminal
What it is: a syntax-highlighting pager for git diff/ git show that renders diffs so they’re easier to read (side-by-side, with intra-line highlighting). If you spend time reading diffs, delta pays back minutes every day.
Why it helps: default diffs are hard to parse; delta brings color, clearer context and optional side-by-side rendering.
Install:
# macOS
brew install git-delta
# Or download prebuilt binaries from the releases page
Quick example (config git to use delta):
git config --global core.pager "delta --dark"
git config --global interactive.diffFilter "delta --color-only"
When not to use: if you need raw diffs for scripts, keep the raw output; delta is for human consumption.
7) ripgrep (rg) - the grep replacement that actually respects your repo
What it is: a fast, line-oriented search tool that recursively searches directories while respecting .gitignore. It combines speed with usability for codebases.
Why it helps: faster than many alternatives in realistic developer workflows, and by default ignores binary and hidden files - so your search results are relevant.
Install:
# macOS
brew install ripgrep
# Ubuntu
sudo apt install ripgrep
# Or cargo install ripgrep
Quick example:
# search for function name across project
rg "calculateScore" src/
Notes: ripgrep is not always faster than grep in every single scenario (depends on I/O patterns and arguments), but it’s optimized for common codebase searches.
Big frameworks and IDEs are awesome, but a lot of day-to-day developer productivity comes from small friction reductions: faster search, readable diffs, understandable examples, and clean terminals. These open-source tools aren’t flashy, they’re practical. Invest a few minutes setting one up and you’ll feel the payoff in every subsequent hour of work.
Want a one-line starter pack? Try installing fzf, ripgrep, and bat, you’ll notice the difference the same day. (And if you want, I can generate a dotfiles snippet to wire these together in your shell.)
Top comments (1)
"This list feels like the secret menu of developer productivity. Everyone flexes Docker and Git, but the real glow-up is when you casually drop fzf or ripgrep into your workflow and people think you’re a wizard.