Shell Tips

70 curated tips — shortcuts, workflows, and hidden features from Nirmal's Shell, including when conditional tools and integrations show up.

70 tips

Run npkg search ripgrep to search nixpkgs

Available when nix is installed

NixNpkg

Run npkg find nvim to open a seeded package picker

Available when nix and jq are installed and fzf is ready

NixNpkg

Run upkg search ripgrep to search detected package managers

Available when paru, pacman, apt, dnf, brew, flatpak, nix, or npm is installed

Package UpdatesUpkg

Run croot to jump to the current Git repository root

Available when git is installed

GitGit

Run fanprofile to show the current laptop performance profile

Available on a supported Linux laptop profile interface

UtilitySystem

Use NE to hide stderr or NUL to hide all output

Available when the G global alias is defined

Pipe AliasesGlobals

Run upkg managers to show active and alternate backends

Available when paru, pacman, apt, dnf, brew, flatpak, nix, or npm is installed

Package UpdatesUpkg

Run upkg clean --dry-run before package cleanup

Available when paru, pacman, apt, dnf, brew, flatpak, nix, or npm is installed

Package UpdatesUpkg

Run ft <pattern> [path] to search file contents

Available when ripgrep or grep is installed

Search & ProcessCore

Use ff --no-ignore or ft --hidden --no-ignore to broaden a search

Available when fd, fdfind, or GNU find is installed

Search & ProcessCore

Run gun to undo the latest commit but keep changes staged

Available when git is installed

GitGit

Use zi to select a remembered directory interactively

Available when zoxide is installed and fzf is ready

FZF & ZoxideZoxide

Run headers <url> to follow redirects and print HTTP headers

Available when curl is installed

NetworkCore

Press Tab after a custom command to see valid arguments

Always available

Shell BehaviorCore

Run peek <file> for a quick file preview

Available when bat or cat is installed

ViewingCore

Use ft --fixed-strings to search literal text

Available when ripgrep or grep is installed

Search & ProcessCore

Run cgm list to show saved names without retrieving values

Available when cgm is loaded through secret-tool

SecurityCgm

Run cgm env OPENAI_KEY to load a credential into this shell

Available when cgm is loaded through secret-tool

SecurityCgm

Run upkg plan to preview package upgrades

Available when paru, pacman, apt, dnf, brew, flatpak, nix, or npm is installed

Package UpdatesUpkg

Use z <query> to jump to a remembered directory

Available when zoxide is installed

NavigationZoxide

Use ZSH_FZF_LAYOUT=roomy for a larger rounded finder with extra spacing

Always available

UtilityCore

Use --help with a general helper to see usage before doing any work

Always available

UtilityCore

Run weather for a concise HTTPS forecast

Available when curl is installed

NetworkCore

Use [WT] in fbr to spot branches checked out in another worktree

Available when fzf is ready in an interactive shell

GitFzf