Modern CLI Tools Overview

Modern CLI tools usually keep the Unix model intact while improving speed, defaults, and usability. Here is a short list of useful tools and simple ways to use them.

File and Directory Tools

eza: better ls output with git and tree views.
```
eza -la --git
eza --tree src/app/posts
```

bat: preview files with syntax highlighting.

bat src/index.tsx
bat src/app/posts/modern-cli-tools.md

fd: simpler and faster file search.

fd posts src/app
fd "*.md" src/app/posts

zoxide: jump to directories you use often.
```
z src
z posts
```

Search and Filtering

ripgrep (rg): fast text search that respects ignore files.
```
rg "frontmatter" src
rg "Modern CLI Tools" src/app/posts
```
fzf: interactive filtering for command output.
```
git branch | fzf
fd . src | fzf
```

Data and API Tools

jq: work with JSON in the shell.

cat package.json | jq '.scripts'
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/sharkdp/bat | jq '.stargazers_count'

yq: query and edit YAML files.

yq '.services' docker-compose.yml
yq '.name = "demo-app"' config.yml

xh: friendlier HTTP requests from the terminal.

xh GET https://api.github.com/repos/sharkdp/fd
xh POST https://httpbin.org/post name=cli-tool kind=demo

Git and Workflow Tools

delta: improved git diffs.

git -c core.pager=delta show
git -c core.pager=delta diff

lazygit: terminal UI for common git operations.
```
lazygit
```
just: lightweight command runner for project tasks.
```
just build
just test
```
uv: fast Python package and environment management.
```
uv venv
uv run pytest
```
mise: manage language runtimes and developer tools.
```
mise use node@22
mise install
```

A good terminal setup usually combines a few of these tools rather than trying to replace everything at once. The most common pattern is fd + rg + fzf for discovery, plus a few language- or workflow-specific tools on top.