Enhance and secure your Bash shells
Bash Tricks
© Lead Image © Ksenia Raykova, 123RF.com
The Bash shell is powerful and infinitely expressive. In this article we describe some tricky techniques you can use to enhance and customize your Bash environment.
Ever stopped and thought about what you're typing several times a day at the command prompt? Many experts prefer the Bash command prompt for its versatility, speed, and convenience. However, users often stick with a small collection of commands without realizing the full range of possibilities available through the very expressive Bash shell. In this article, I will describe a few of my favorite tricks. You might already be using some of these techniques, and some might be new to you; in either case, I hope this article encourages you to explore the advanced capabilities available through Bash.
Tailoring ls
At the end of a long day's work, I recently found myself staring at the command line and wondering where a certain command originated, namely the ls command. I wouldn't want to hazard a guess at how many times I run the ls command everyday.
With those bleary eyes, I realized that I'd been typing this command for more than 20 years with little knowledge about it, other than it essentially meant list. For something so succinct, the all pervasive ls command is not only greatly understated but also commonly taken for granted.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
Danish Ministry of Digital Affairs Transitions to Linux
Another major organization has decided to kick Microsoft Windows and Office to the curb in favor of Linux.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.