Small Sharp Software Tools

Harness the Combinatoric Power of Command-Line Tools and Utilities

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Lint Your Markdown with markdownlint

Published March 19, 2026

Catch inconsistent Markdown formatting with markdownlint by installing it, configuring rules, and writing custom checks for your documentation projects.

Monitor Your Web Apps with Updo

Published January 31, 2026

Use the Updo command to monitor the uptime of web sites and applications. Test specific URLs and API endpoints and use configuration files for your projects.

Manage Project Dependencies with Mise

Published July 11, 2025 and last verified on September 20, 2025

Manage programming language versions, project tasks, and environment variables in one tool with Mise on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Create Slides with Markdown and Pandoc

Published December 27, 2024 and last verified on September 20, 2025

Build presentation slides from Markdown files using Pandoc and export them to PowerPoint or other slide formats for easy sharing.

Split Changes into Multiple Commits

Published August 31, 2024 and last verified on December 14, 2025

Split a large set of file changes into focused, individual Git commits using interactive staging to keep your project history clean.

Run Multiple Processes With Foreman

Published May 26, 2024 and last verified on December 13, 2025

Run web servers, file watchers, and other dev processes in a single terminal with Foreman using a Procfile to manage them all.

Jump to Git Repository Root

Published May 13, 2024 and last verified on December 13, 2025

Navigate to your Git repository root directory from anywhere in the project tree using a built-in Git command and a shell alias.

Review Changes With Delta

Published May 2, 2024 and last verified on December 13, 2025

Enhance your file comparison experience with Delta, a versatile tool that extends the capabilities of the git diff command.

Use OSQuery to Explore Your Operating System

Published April 30, 2024 and last verified on December 14, 2025

Explore your operating system with OSQuery, an open source tool that lets you query hardware, software, and processes with SQL queries.

Install and Configure WSL on Windows

Published April 28, 2024 and last verified on December 13, 2025

Install and configure Windows Subsystem for Linux to run Bash scripts and Linux tools alongside your Windows applications.

Create a PDF Resume with Markdown, CSS, and Pandoc

Published April 23, 2024 and last verified on December 13, 2025

Create a professional resume using Markdown, CSS, and Pandoc. This tutorial covers setting up your environment, defining the resume structure, styling with CSS, and generating a polished PDF. Perfect for maintaining a stylish resume.

Convert FLAC to MP3 using the CLI

Published December 27, 2022 and last verified on December 13, 2025

Convert FLAC files to MP3 using Bash and CLI tools. This guide covers installation, script creation, and batch processing for audio transcoding.

Use Colima to Run Docker Containers on macOS

Published March 29, 2022 and last verified on December 14, 2025

Use Colima, an open source container runtime on your Mac instead of the official Docker client with Docker Compose and Buildx support.

Command Line Shortcuts

Published February 5, 2021

Speed up your terminal workflow with keyboard shortcuts for navigating, editing, and recalling commands in Bash and Zsh shells.

Editing Files You Don't Own with `sudo`

Published February 4, 2021

Edit and modify system files you do not own using sudo, tee, and other techniques to safely make changes with elevated privileges.

Saving Output to Files

Published February 2, 2021

Redirect command output to files using stdout and stderr redirection operators, and append or overwrite files from the terminal.

Using the tree Command for Software Projects

Published January 22, 2020 and last verified on December 14, 2025

Visualize your project directory structure with the tree command, using filters and display options to focus on relevant files.

Use a Modern Bash Shell on macOS

Published January 12, 2020 and last verified on September 20, 2025

Upgrade to a modern version of Bash on macOS using Homebrew, add it to your allowed shells list, and set it as your default shell.

Throwing All Your Work Away in Git

Published January 8, 2020 and last verified on December 13, 2025

Discard unwanted changes in your Git working directory using the checkout, reset, and clean subcommands to get back to a clean state.

Looking Up Domains

Published February 6, 2019

Look up domain name records, IP addresses, and registration details from the command line using host, dig, and whois.

Fixing Mistakes

Published January 28, 2019

Fix command-line typos and mistakes with keyboard shortcuts and history substitution so you can correct errors without retyping.

The Cal Command

Published January 27, 2019

Display a calendar in your terminal with the cal command, view specific months or years, and highlight dates for quick reference.

Installing Homebrew

Published January 26, 2019 and last verified on December 13, 2025

Install and configure the Homebrew package manager on macOS to add command-line tools, programming languages, and libraries.

Install GNU Utilities on macOS

Published January 26, 2019 and last verified on September 20, 2025

Replace default macOS utilities with GNU versions of awk, sed, date, and more using Homebrew for better Linux compatibility.

Dates with the Date Command

Published January 26, 2019

Format dates, calculate future and past dates, and do date math from the terminal using the date command on macOS and Linux.

Making Directory Structures

Published January 23, 2019

Use the mkdir command with the -p flag and brace expansion to build a full project directory structure in a single command.

Three Ways to Create Files

Published January 21, 2019

Create files from the command line using touch, redirection, and heredocs, and understand when to use each approach.