techWebsite/content/posts/clirenaissance.md

+++
title = "A modern CLI renaissance?"
date = 2024-03-04T12:20:02-06:00
draft = true
+++
<!--
tool,link,year,language
ls,,1961,c
cat,,1971,c
cd,,1971,c
cp,,1971,c
man,,1971,c
rm,,1971,c
grep,,1973,c
diff,,1974,c
sed,,1974,c
bc,,1975,c
make,,1976,c
vi,,1976,c
awk,,1985,c
screen,,1987,c
vim,https://www.vim.org/,1991,c
midnight commander,,1994,c
ssh,,1995,c
fossil,https://fossil-scm.org/home/doc/trunk/www/index.wiki,2006,c
tmux,https://github.com/tmux/tmux,2007,c
git,https://git-scm.com/,2008,c
go 1.0,https://go.dev/,2012,go
fzf,https://github.com/junegunn/fzf,2013,go
eza/exa,https://github.com/eza-community/eza,2014,rust
neovim,https://neovim.io/,2015,c
pueue,https://github.com/Nukesor/pueue,2015,rust
rust 1.0,https://www.rust-lang.org/,2015,rust
just,https://github.com/casey/just,2016,rust
micro,https://micro-editor.github.io/,2016,go
nnn,https://github.com/jarun/nnn,2016,c
ripgrep,https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep,2016,rust
fd,https://github.com/sharkdp/fd,2017,rust
bat,https://github.com/sharkdp/bat,2018,rust
broot,https://dystroy.org/broot/,2018,rust
difftastic,https://difftastic.wilfred.me.uk/,2018,rust
hyperfine,https://github.com/sharkdp/hyperfine,2018,rust
lazygit,https://github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit,2018,go
lsd,https://github.com/lsd-rs/lsd,2018,rust
nushell,https://www.nushell.sh/,2018,rust
scc,https://github.com/boyter/scc,2018,go
sd,https://github.com/chmln/sd,2018,rust
git-delta,https://github.com/dandavison/delta,2019,rust
grex,https://github.com/pemistahl/grex,2019,rust
starship,https://starship.rs/,2019,rust
tre,https://github.com/dduan/tre,2019,rust
typst,https://typst.app/,2019,rust
diskonaut,https://github.com/imsnif/diskonaut,2020,rust
helix,https://helix-editor.com/,2020,rust
pijul,https://pijul.org/,2020,rust
zellij,https://zellij.dev/,2020,rust
zoxide,https://github.com/ajeetdsouza/zoxide,2020,rust
btop,https://github.com/aristocratos/btop,2021,c++
ast-grep,https://github.com/ast-grep/ast-grep,2022,rust
yazi,https://github.com/sxyazi/yazi,2024,rust
-->

<!--
open tmp.csv |
sort-by year tool |
update tool {|i| if ($i.link != "") {$"[($i.tool)]\(($i.link)\)"} else {$i.tool}} |
select tool year language |
to md |
xsel -bi
-->

<!--
ls specifically can trace its history to 1961 
-->

Take a look at this [table](#appendix-the-tools) at the bottom of the page. Ill
wait. Notice the relative scarcity between ~1995 and ~2015? Id like to talk
about a trend Ive seen these past few years, where people are rewriting and
rethinking staples of the CLI, why I think this trend is a good thing, and why I
think this trend might be happening.

## History

The terminal has been a staple of computer user interfaces since before computer monitors were available,
with some of the first computers offering an interactive mode in the late 1950's.
The 'modern' Linux terminal traces its linage to the very first version of Unix, in 1971.
Many utilities that a Linux user interacts with every day,
commands like `rm`, `cat`, `cd`, `cp`, `man` and a host of other core commands trace their initial versions to this first version of Unix.
Other tools are a bit newer, such as `sed` (1974), `diff` (1974) `bc` (1975), `make` (1976) or `vi` (1976).
There were a few more tools introduced in the 90's, such as `vim` (1991) and `ssh`, (1995), but you get the picture.
The majority of the foundational CLI tools on a Linux pc, even one installed yesterday, are older than Linux itself is.

## Ok, so?

Now, theres nothing wrong with this, the tools work fine still, but,
in the half-century since they were first written,
Terminals and the broader Linux ecosystem have all changed.
Terminals now have capacity to display more colours, Unicode symbols, and even inline images.
Terminal programs now coexist with graphical user interfaces,
and only a small subset of computer users even know they exist,
wheras in the past, terminals were the only way one interacted with the computer.

Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, our knowledge has expanded,
our knowledge of user interfaces,
of what works and what doesnt,
of what usecases are common and what usecases are niche,
the way that error messages can teach,
the value of a good out of the box experience,
and the value of documentation that is easy to find and digest.

## Exploration of the solution space

These changes to the environment surrounding CLI apps has in recent years,
led to a resurgence in development of command line utilities.
Instead of just developing completely new tools,
Ive noticed that people are rethinking and reinventing tools that have existed since the early days of Unix.

## The lessons learned from the past

A large amount of the innovation in the area, I think, can be attributed to
lessons that have been learned in 50 years of using software; sharp edges we
have repeatedly cut ourselves on, unintuitive interfaces that repeatedly trip us
up, and growing frustration at the limitations that maintaining decades of
backwards compatibility imposes on our tools.

These lessons have been gathering in the collective conciousness, through
cheatsheets, guides, and FAQs; resources to guide us through esoteric error
messages, complex configurations, and dozens upon dozens of flags.

Id like to go over a couple of the more prominent lessons that I feel terminal
tools have learned in the past several decades.

### A good out of the box experience

While configurability is great, one should not need to learn a new configuration
language and dozens or hundreds of options to get a usable piece of software.
Configuration should be for customization, not setup.

One of the earliest examples of this principle may be the fish shell.
Both zsh and 
<!-- look at helix compared to (neo)vim-->
<!-- look at zsh compared to fish?-->

### Friendly error messages

<!-- look at nushells error messages-->

### Concise and discoverable documentation

<!-- look at zellij and helix and their built in keymap cheatsheets-->

### Common usecases should be easy

<!-- look at sd, rg, and fd-->

## Shedding historical baggage

<!-- look at just command runner, simplifying the common use case of make-->

## The trendsetter

<!-- did neovim kick this all off?-->

## The languages

<!-- most of the new tools are written in rust and go.-->

<!-- rusts clap and gos cobra-->

## Appendix: the tools

This is an extremely unscientific table of command line tools that I have tried,
have used, or currently use. It is assuredly incomplete, but *should* be broadly
representative. The date data has been gathered from the first git commit where
available, wikipedia otherwise, and sorting is by year first, then alphabetical.

|tool|year|language|
|-|-|-|
|ls|1961|c|
|cat|1971|c|
|cd|1971|c|
|cp|1971|c|
|man|1971|c|
|rm|1971|c|
|grep|1973|c|
|diff|1974|c|
|sed|1974|c|
|bc|1975|c|
|make|1976|c|
|vi|1976|c|
|awk|1985|c|
|screen|1987|c|
|[vim](https://www.vim.org/)|1991|c|
|midnight commander|1994|c|
|ssh|1995|c|
|[fossil](https://fossil-scm.org/home/doc/trunk/www/index.wiki)|2006|c|
|[tmux](https://github.com/tmux/tmux)|2007|c|
|[git](https://git-scm.com/)|2008|c|
|[go 1.0](https://go.dev/)|2012|go|
|[fzf](https://github.com/junegunn/fzf)|2013|go|
|[eza/exa](https://github.com/eza-community/eza)|2014|rust|
|[neovim](https://neovim.io/)|2015|c|
|[pueue](https://github.com/Nukesor/pueue)|2015|rust|
|[rust 1.0](https://www.rust-lang.org/)|2015|rust|
|[just](https://github.com/casey/just)|2016|rust|
|[micro](https://micro-editor.github.io/)|2016|go|
|[nnn](https://github.com/jarun/nnn)|2016|c|
|[ripgrep](https://github.com/BurntSushi/ripgrep)|2016|rust|
|[fd](https://github.com/sharkdp/fd)|2017|rust|
|[bat](https://github.com/sharkdp/bat)|2018|rust|
|[broot](https://dystroy.org/broot/)|2018|rust|
|[difftastic](https://difftastic.wilfred.me.uk/)|2018|rust|
|[hyperfine](https://github.com/sharkdp/hyperfine)|2018|rust|
|[lazygit](https://github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit)|2018|go|
|[lsd](https://github.com/lsd-rs/lsd)|2018|rust|
|[nushell](https://www.nushell.sh/)|2018|rust|
|[scc](https://github.com/boyter/scc)|2018|go|
|[sd](https://github.com/chmln/sd)|2018|rust|
|[git-delta](https://github.com/dandavison/delta)|2019|rust|
|[grex](https://github.com/pemistahl/grex)|2019|rust|
|[starship](https://starship.rs/)|2019|rust|
|[tre](https://github.com/dduan/tre)|2019|rust|
|[typst](https://typst.app/)|2019|rust|
|[diskonaut](https://github.com/imsnif/diskonaut)|2020|rust|
|[helix](https://helix-editor.com/)|2020|rust|
|[pijul](https://pijul.org/)|2020|rust|
|[zellij](https://zellij.dev/)|2020|rust|
|[zoxide](https://github.com/ajeetdsouza/zoxide)|2020|rust|
|[btop](https://github.com/aristocratos/btop)|2021|c++|
|[ast-grep](https://github.com/ast-grep/ast-grep)|2022|rust|
|[yazi](https://github.com/sxyazi/yazi)|2024|rust|