Commands by axelav (1)

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Watch contents of a file grow
In this case, I'm keeping an eye on /var/log/messages, but of course any file will do. When I'm following a file, I generally don't want to see anything other than what has been added due to the command or service I've executed. This keeps everything clean and tidy for troubleshooting.

Backup with versioning

Create a tar file with the current date in the name.

ping as traceroute
This command uses ping to get the routers' IP addresses to the destination host as traceroute does. If you know what I mean..

Compare copies of a file with md5

Write comments to your history.
A null operation with the name 'comment', allowing comments to be written to HISTFILE. Prepending '#' to a command will *not* write the command to the history file, although it will be available for the current session, thus '#' is not useful for keeping track of comments past the current session.

Broadcast your shell thru port 5000
Doesn't work so well if you connect from windows. Linux only sends LF where windows wants CRLF. The alternative command works better with windows, however it uses script and a named pipe.

ThePirateBay.org torrent search
usage: tpb searchterm example: tpb the matrix trilogy This searches for torrents from thepiratebay and displays the top results in reverse order, so the 1st result is at the bottom instead of the top -- which is better for command line users

Edit a script that's somewhere in your path.
Often I need to edit a bash or perl script I've written. I know it's in my path but I don't feel like typing the whole path (or I don't remember the path).

Text message on wallpaper
Display some text on the wallpaper especially warning messages

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