Terminal productivity: the tools that transformed my workflow

The CLI ecosystem experienced a silent revolution. Tools written in Rust and Go replaced decades-old Unix binaries, adding colors, syntax highlighting, fuzzy search, and Git-awareness with almost no sacrifice in speed. These are the ones I use daily.

Classic tool replacements

`ls` → `eza` (formerly `exa`)

eza --tree --level=2 --icons --git    # tree with icons and Git status
eza -la --sort=modified               # long list, sorted by date

`find` → `fd`

# find: verbose and poor ergonomics
find . -name "*.ts" -not -path "*/node_modules/*"    # [!code --]

# fd: intuitive, respects .gitignore by default
fd -e ts                    # all .ts in the project          # [!code ++]
fd -e ts --exec bat {}      # open each result with bat       # [!code ++]

`grep` → `ripgrep` (`rg`)

# classic grep
grep -r "useEffect" src/ --include="*.tsx"      # [!code --]

# rg: 5-10× faster, respects .gitignore
rg "useEffect" --type ts                         # [!code ++]
rg "TODO|FIXME|HACK" --type ts --stats           # [!code ++]
rg "deprecated" -l                               # filenames only # [!code ++]

`cat` → `bat`

`bat` is `cat` with syntax highlighting, line numbers, paging, and built-in Git diff:

bat src/components/Header.astro     # with colors and lines
bat --diff file.ts                  # shows inline Git changes

`cd` → `zoxide`

It learns which directories you visit frequently and lets you jump to them with a few letters:

z astro      # jumps to ~/projects/my-astro-blog if it's the most visited
z blog src   # multiple match
zi           # interactive mode with fzf

Multiplexer: `tmux` with modern config

# More comfortable prefix
set -g prefix C-a
unbind C-b

# Split panes with intuitive keys
bind | split-window -h -c "#{pane_current_path}"  # [!code highlight]
bind - split-window -v -c "#{pane_current_path}"  # [!code highlight]

# Navigation with Alt+arrow (no prefix)
bind -n M-Left  select-pane -L
bind -n M-Right select-pane -R
bind -n M-Up    select-pane -U
bind -n M-Down  select-pane -D

# Mouse enabled
set -g mouse on

# 256 colors
set -g default-terminal "tmux-256color"

Fuzzy finder: `fzf` — the multiplier of everything

`fzf` turns any list into an interactive finder. Just add `| fzf` to any command.

# Search in command history
CTRL+R with integrated fzf

# Checkout branch with preview
git branch | fzf --preview 'git log --oneline {}' | xargs git checkout

# Kill processes
ps aux | fzf --multi | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill

# Find and open file
fd -e ts | fzf --preview 'bat --color=always {}' | xargs nvim

Modern Git: `lazygit`

A Git TUI (Terminal UI) that makes it obvious what’s happening in your repository:

lazygit   # opens the interface

Standout features:

• View diffs by file and by line
• Selective stage (individual lines, not just files)
• Resolve conflicts visually
• Interactive rebase with drag & drop

My optimized basic `.zshrc`

# Fast load with lazy loading
export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

# Modern aliases
alias ls='eza --icons'
alias ll='eza -la --icons --git'
alias tree='eza --tree --icons'
alias cat='bat'
alias find='fd'
alias grep='rg'
alias lg='lazygit'

# fzf integration
source <(fzf --zsh)

# zoxide
eval "$(zoxide init zsh)"

# starship
eval "$(starship init zsh)"

> The best time investment in terminal productivity is not learning new tools — it’s mastering the ones you already have. But when a modern tool does the same thing 5× faster with better DX, the switch pays for itself in the first week.