this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2024
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How can I go about using the tty only on my system (lemmy.ml)
submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I wanted to have a separate laptop where I only use the terminal for my use cases. At the moment I am somewhat confident using the terminal, but I think limiting myself to tty only would build my confidence even more. Any tips?

EDIT: I am already using nvim and I already have installed a minimal distro (Arch). I just need advice on how to actually run this system effectively.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

I built a console-only laptop once for financial reasons. I wanted something to travel with on a trip and was donated a laptop that, I think 20 MB of RAM after I upgraded it. I was able to run vim, perl and mutt was very tolerable performance.

I don't think there's really special tips. Pick a goal of some tasks to accomplish. Work towards them, discover the rough edges and find solutions for them. If you install everyone else's favorite CLI apps, you can end up more than you need.

All that said, if I had the memory to run a GUI, I probably would have do so. But I wasn't going to have a lot of time for web browsing and other laptop on that trip anyway.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Amazing post! I’ve been wanting to do the same… Have you found a CLI .csv file editor? One of the points of friction for me is finding how to replace Excel’s functionality past Libreoffice. I’m more curious to see what that workflow can do when one uses no GUI whatsoever.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

VisiData may do what you want.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

If you want to mess around with scripting instead of an editor I would recommend Awk- it works great for CSV files and is really powerful. Usually you can use -F, to separate using commas, but for full CSV support (with potential quoted commas) you need to use something like -vFPAT='[^,]*|"[^"]*"' (which isn't POSIX compliant but works with gawk)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

csv-mode on emacs

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I've found sc-im to be very useful, but I'm still a little new to it. Visidata is another one that seems to be a lot more powerful than sc-im.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

I have used sc-im a few times, I like the simplicity and vim shortcuts.

Thanks for mentioning visidata, I'll install it.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

I'll just dump this here.

shell tools

https://github.com/rust-unofficial/awesome-rust https://zaiste.net/posts/shell-commands-rust/

alternatives

  • fd: simpler find
  • bat: nicer cat
  • lsd: ls with NerdFont icons
  • broot: smarter tree
  • ripgrep: better grep

GUI alternatives

Task Management:

  • dun: note-taking & task manager
  • cubby: encrypted note taking to cloud, with markdown
  • girok: TUI calendar

Services:

File Manager:

  • clifm: nice shell file manager with tagging
  • nnn: cli fm with split-view file preview
  • TUIFI Manager: cli fm with rendered images in 2D layout
  • xplr: hackable, minimal, TUI fm

Login Manager:

  • CDM: shell login manager with history
  • Qingy: directfb login manager

Others:

ease of use

  • edir: rename with text file
  • mdcat: Sophisticated Markdown rendering for the terminal
  • clipboard: shell clipboard manager & more
  • portal: cli file transfer agent between computers
  • croc: simple file transfer tool via local server, Android Appp too
  • transfer.sh: cli file sharing via cloud
  • detox: file name cleanup
  • ouch: simple de/compressor
  • mnamer: intelligent video renamer
  • gum: bells and whistles for shell scripters
  • pytermgui: bells and whistles for python scripters

specialist tools

  • erd: Translates a plain text description of a relational database schema to a graphical entity-relationship diagram.
  • LiteCLI: A command-line client for SQLite databases that has auto-completion and syntax highlighting.
[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Great list, thank you!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I'd like to add MPV. It's a video player that works from the tty using a framebuffer. So if you run "mpv path/to/video/file" it will play the video! Just learn the keybinds first so you're not stuck with it. In fact, that applies to all of the framebuffer programs.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Yes I'm familiar with mpv. I thought I needed to have xorg or a display server running for it to work, thanks!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

What are your use cases?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Messaging, reading, school work, watching anime, music, web browsing (may not be able to do this one nicely though). My use cases are very simple to implement on tty-only I think.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It is possible to watch movie files rendered in ascii with ffmpeg but I wouldn't recommend it. Playing videos any other way requires a graphical interface.

Web browsing is possible with links, w3m and eww-mode on emacs.

You will struggle with school work. Eduroam is hard to connect to using the CLI for example.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I was able to use mpv to watch some anime I had downloaded on tty. Does this mean this was only possible because I already had xorg installed and running (I was using qtile prior to that)? I'm not sure if that's how that works though.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Yeah you've got xorg running if graphics are being drawn, like windows or specifically windows with borders

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago

Get the server version of whatever your favorite distro is. Nothing but terminal.

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