8 fun Linux utilities

We've put together a few fun Linux utilities, try them out for yourself.

Read on and you’ll get greeted by a cow in your console, you’ll become Neo and dive into the matrix, and your console will light up in flames.

cmatrix

The matrix, straight out of the eponymous movie, will appear in your terminal. To install it on Ubuntu, run: sudo apt-get install cmatrix
Then, type cmatrix in the terminal.

apt-get easter egg

A cow will appear and ask you, “have you mooed today?” Just run apt-get moo

aafire

A fire will light up your console. To install it on Ubuntu, run: sudo apt install libaa-bin
Then, type aafire in the terminal.

sl

Want to see a train drive through your console? To install it on Ubuntu, run sudo apt install sl, and then type sl in the terminal.

fortune

Fortune is a random joke and quote generator. It displays random messages, which can be funny or wise, depending on your luck. To install it on Ubuntu, run: sudo apt install fortune Then, type fortune in the terminal.

figlet

Creates stylized ASCII art text banners. To install it on Ubuntu, run: sudo apt install figlet
Then, type fortune and then the text you want in the terminal.

nyancat

Plays an animated version of the Nyan Cat meme in the terminal.
To install it on Ubuntu, run: sudo apt install nyancat

pipes.sh

The pipes.sh command is a terminal-based emulator of the game "Pipe Mania." It draws random lines that create interesting, random patterns.

To install it on Ubuntu, run: sudo apt install pipes-sh
Then, type pipes-sh in the terminal.

What other amusing Linux utilities do you know of?

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Comments

[Igor Gubaidullin]

The “yes” command helps you to loop an automated response until you terminate the command. This command will print the exact same thing indefinitely. If you want to produce huge amounts of junk text fast, then this command will work like a charm.
Just try something like:
# yes "Hello World!"

[ispmanager.com]

And there is also a command pi - it will show the first 50 digits of the number π after the decimal point =)

[Marek Wywiał]

similar for ls -> sl is git -> gti

[Ben Sinclair]

The cow from the apt command is reproducible with the cowsay command.

Figlet has alternatives - I use toilet these days, but banner is simpler and probably already installed on older systems.

lolcat takes anything you pipe through it - toilet for example - and makes it use pretty colours.

[Ernane Ferreira]

I was thrilled to discover that you can watch Star Wars in the terminal with just one command using Telnet:

telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl

You’ll need Telnet installed on your system, but it’s definitely worth it! lol

                    8888888888  888    88888
                   88     88   88 88   88  88
                    8888  88  88   88  88888
                       88 88 888888888 88   88
                88888888  88 88     88 88    888888

                88  88  88   888    88888    888888
                88  88  88  88 88   88  88  88
                88 8888 88 88   88  88888    8888
                 888  888 888888888 88   88     88
                  88  88  88     88 88    8888888

[Syed Mehdi]

This has to be the coolest things I've ever seen on a terminal! Thanks!

[Jeffrey Davis]

You mention figlet, but not toilet. How can you do toilet --gay Happy Pride ?

[ispmanager.com]

Lots of teams not included here - everyone has their favorites =)

[Cédric]

useless therefore essential
:D

[Joe]

If you still use sudo, try adding the line
Defaults insults
near the top of /etc/sudoers (using visudo).

It's quite versatile. ;)
(It won't break anything except perhaps a bad mood.)

[Karthik Sakthivel]

Very interesting... 💯👏

[DevOps Pass AI]

Where is bb and libcaca?! devopspass-ai.com/post/friday-devo...

[weiqipeng]

that's cool

[ispmanager.com]

glad you like it