Modern CLI Tools That Replaced My Unix Classics

The Replacements

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Setting Up Aliases

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In my .zshrc, I alias the classics to their replacements so the transition is invisible:

alias cat="bat"
alias vim="nvim"
alias vi="nvim"
alias top="btop"
alias du="dust"
alias df="duf"
alias ps="procs"

For eza, I use a Zinit plugin that configures it with sensible defaults:

zinit light z-shell/zsh-eza
# Gives me: ls, ll, la, lt all backed by eza with --git, --icons, --group-directories-first

Deep Dive: The Tools That Matter Most

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bat — cat with Wings

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bat isn’t just cat with colors. I use it as:

• A pager for other tools (git diff, man pages)
• A preview engine for FZF
• A syntax highlighter for Atuin’s history preview

# Use bat as the FZF preview
export FZF_CTRL_T_OPTS="--preview 'bat -n --color=always --line-range :500 {}'"

sharkdp/bat

A cat(1) clone with wings.

Rust

57776

1492

ripgrep — The Search Engine

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ripgrep is absurdly fast. My .ripgreprc configures smart defaults:

--smart-case        # Case-insensitive unless you use uppercase
--follow            # Follow symlinks
--hidden            # Search hidden files
--max-filesize=100M

I also define custom file type groups:

--type-add=web:*.{html,css,js,ts,jsx,tsx,vue,svelte}
--type-add=config:*.{json,yaml,yml,toml,ini,conf}
--type-add=shell:*.{sh,bash,zsh,fish}

Then I can search only web files: rg "useState" --type web.

rgf() {
  rg --color=always --line-number --no-heading "$@" |
    fzf --ansi --delimiter ':' \
        --preview 'bat --color=always {1} --highlight-line {2}' \
        --preview-window 'up,60%,border-bottom,+{2}+3/3,~3' |
    awk -F: '{print "+"$2, $1}' |
    xargs -r nvim
}

BurntSushi/ripgrep

ripgrep recursively searches directories for a regex pattern while respecting your gitignore

Rust

61210

2438

zoxide — cd That Learns

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After using zoxide for a few months, I can’t go back. It learns which directories you visit most:

z work      # jumps to ~/workspace (most visited match)
z dot       # jumps to ~/dotfiles
zi          # interactive mode with FZF

I integrate it with FZF for even more power:

eval "$(zoxide init zsh --hook pwd)"

fd — find for Humans

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# find hidden .env files, ignoring node_modules
find . -name ".env" -not -path "*/node_modules/*"

# same thing
fd .env

fd respects .gitignore by default and is the engine behind my FZF file finder:

export FZF_DEFAULT_COMMAND='fd --type f --strip-cwd-prefix --hidden --follow --exclude .git'

FZF: The Glue That Binds Everything

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FZF isn’t a replacement — it’s an amplifier. It makes every other tool interactive.

fzf-tab: Tab Completion on Steroids

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zinit light Aloxaf/fzf-tab

# Preview files and directories during tab completion
zstyle ':fzf-tab:complete:cd:*' fzf-preview 'eza -1 --color=always $realpath'
zstyle ':fzf-tab:complete:cat:*' fzf-preview 'bat --color=always $realpath'

Now when I type cd <TAB>, I get a fuzzy searchable list with directory previews. Same for cat, vim, and any other command.

Git Integration

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# Fuzzy branch switcher
gb() {
  git branch --all --sort=-committerdate |
    fzf --preview 'git log --oneline --graph --color=always {1}' |
    sed 's/remotes\/origin\///' |
    xargs git checkout
}

Catppuccin Theme for FZF

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Everything gets the same color treatment:

export FZF_DEFAULT_OPTS=" \
  --color=bg+:#313244,bg:#1e1e2e,spinner:#f5e0dc,hl:#f38ba8 \
  --color=fg:#cdd6f4,header:#f38ba8,info:#cba6f7,pointer:#f5e0dc \
  --color=marker:#b4befe,fg+:#cdd6f4,prompt:#cba6f7,hl+:#f38ba8 \
  --color=selected-bg:#45475a"

Atuin: Shell History Reimagined

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Atuin replaces the basic shell history with a SQLite-backed, encrypted, cross-machine synced history.

Key features I rely on:

# ~/.config/atuin/config.toml
enter_accept = true          # Execute on Enter, not just select
keymap_mode = "auto"         # Respects my Zsh vi-mode
workspaces = true            # Filter by git repo when pressing Up
filter_mode_shell_up_key_binding = "workspace"
style = "compact"
show_preview = true

The secrets filter automatically strips AWS keys, GitHub tokens, and passwords from history:

secrets_filter = true
history_filter = [
  "^export (AWS|GITHUB|SLACK|TOKEN|SECRET|PASSWORD|KEY)",
]

Starship: The Prompt

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Starship gives me a fast, informative prompt with minimal configuration. My setup uses Catppuccin Mocha colors with status-bar-style background segments:

• OS icon + username
• Current directory (truncated to 3 levels, with custom icons for ~/Documents, ~/Developer, etc.)
• Git branch + status (ahead/behind/dirty indicators)
• Active language versions (Python, Go, Rust, Node — only shown when relevant)
• Command duration (only if > 45 seconds)

Installation

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# Modern CLI replacements
brew "bat"
brew "eza"
brew "ripgrep"
brew "fd"
brew "fzf"
brew "zoxide"
brew "sd"
brew "dust"
brew "duf"
brew "btop"
brew "procs"
brew "atuin"
brew "starship"

Worth the Switch?

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Absolutely. The common thread across all these tools:

1. Better defaults — they do what you want without flags
2. Respect .gitignore — no more accidentally grepping node_modules
3. Colored output — easier to scan visually
4. Speed — most are written in Rust and noticeably faster on large codebases

The transition cost is low — alias the classics, and you’ll barely notice the switch. But you’ll definitely notice when you’re on a machine without them.

Full configs in my dotfiles repo:

nickboy/dotfiles

Dotfiles

Shell

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