Posted on 04/20/2020 9:51:30 AM PDT by ShadowAce
The Linux terminal is the place to get serious work done. We have plenty of useful linux command tips and tricks to help you with that.
But, did you know that you can have a lot of fun using the terminal? Well, if you did not, then you are not alone. Most Linux users see the terminal as an interface that is designed and built for system management and development tasks.
However, you will be surprised to know that there are tons of terminal based games and ASCII games that you can play in the terminal.
And, in this article, I’m going to explore some interesting, some funny and some ridiculous commands that you can type into the terminal on Linux and have fun!
You’ll find a lot of these commands ridiculous or useless but some of them could actually be put to some good use.
I have added installation instructions for Ubuntu/Debian. If you are using Ubuntu-based distribution, please make sure to enable universe repository as most of these commands are not in the main repository.
If you are using Arch, Fedora, SUSE, Solus or any other non-Ubuntu distributions, please use your distribution’s package manager to install these funny Linux commands.
Let’s take a ride in the locomotive and begin our auspicious journey. And I mean it literally!
The sl command allows you to run a train in your terminal.
Impressive, isn’t it? But, hold on. We are not done yet! Apparently, you can fly your locomotive. Just add the option -F, Mr. Potter:
sl -FThis should make the locomotive get wings to fly off from the terminal window!
Remember the iconic sci-fi movie The Matrix? The green text falling down on the terminal became an identity of Matrix.
You can have this Matrix digital rain on your Linux box as well! You just need to install cmatrix and type it in the terminal.
Installing cmatrix on Debian/Ubuntu Linux:
sudo apt install cmatrixNow, all you have to do is type the following to get the matrix screen on terminal:
cmatrixPress Ctrl+C to stop it, Mr. Anderson.
Keep your fire extinguisher handy because now you are going to start a fire in your terminal!
To get it installed, here’s what you have to type:
sudo apt install libaa-binOnce done start a fire in your terminal by entering:
aafirePress Ctrl+C to stop it.
Want to know your fortune but there are no fortune cookies around you?
Not to worry, you just need to type “fortune” on your terminal and press enter. The terminal will display a random sentence just like you usually get in fortune cookies.
Install it with:
sudo apt install fortuneOnce done, simply type in the command below to know your fortune:
fortune
Now this is one of the commands here that you could actually use. You can use it as message of the day so that in a multi-user environment, all the users will see a random fortune cookie when they login.
You may also add it to your bashrc file so that it shows you a random message as soon as you log in to the terminal.
Oneko is a little fun command that will change your regular cursor into a mouse and creates a curious little cat who will chase your cursor once you move it. It’s not limited to just the terminal. You can keep on working while the cat chases the cursor.
Now, that’s something fun to do specially if you have kids at home.
Install Oneko with this command:
sudo apt install onekoRun it with this command:
onekoIn case you want a dog instead of a cat, type:
oneko -dogThere are a few more types of cats available. You can get that information by using oneko –help. To stop it, use Ctrl+C.
Xeyes is a tiny gui program that let the user draws a pair of ever watching eyes! It will follow your mouse cursor constantly. Run the command and see it yourself!
You can install it using this command:
sudo apt install xeyesAnd then use it with this:
xeyesPress Ctrl+C to stop it.
To try out this command, make sure you have turned on your speakers. eSpeak is a fun command that gives your terminal a voice. Yes, you heard that right.
Install the package first:
sudo apt install espeakNext, you need to simply type in the command along with a text that you want to listen as audio:
espeak "Type what your computer says"Whatever you place in the double quotes, your computer is obligated to say! It’s like echo command in Linux. But instead of printing, it speaks.
This sounds weird, yes. But, it’s just a command that transforms a text into large ASCII characters.
Install toilet with this command:
sudo apt install toiletOnce done, you just need to type in:
toilet sample text you wantI don’t know why this little program is called toilet.
Cowsay is a command that displays a cow using ASCII characters in the terminal. And by using this command you can instruct the cow to say anything you want.
Not to be confused with any audio – it will just display a text (like you usually see in a comic book).
Install cowsay:
sudo apt install cowsayOnce you have it installed, you just need to type in:
cowsay "your text"Whatever you place in the double quotes, your cow is obligated to say! I have seen a few sysadmins using it to display the message of the day. Maybe you can do the same. You may even combine it with fortune command.
The banner command works just like the toilet command but it is limited to print only 10 characters at most.
You can install banner command like this:
sudo apt install sysvbannerThen use it in the following way:
banner "Welcome"Replace content in the double quotes and you shall have your desired text displayed.<
The “yes” command helps you to loop an automated response until you terminate the command. This command will print the exact same thing indefinitely. If you want to produce huge amounts of junk text fast, then this command will work like a charm.
You may also use it to provide a yes to a command (if it prompts for it). For example, the apt upgrade command asks for your confirmation, you can use it like this:
yes | sudo apt upgrade
You don’t need to install any package for it. Yes command is already available.
Terminate the yes command loop, simply press CTRL + C.
Want to generate a random fake identity? I give you the command “rig”. Once you place this in the terminal, it will generate a fake identity.
Install rig with this command:
sudo apt install rigThen simply type this:
rigIt may be used in scripts or web-apps that displays random information but I haven’t done anything of that sort on my own.
Wrapping Up
I hope you liked this list of fun Linux commands. Which command do you like the most here? Do you know some other such amusing commands? Do share it with us in the comment section.
Tech Ping
telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl
Second job out of school was working on a PDP 11/70 running “Unix”.
Most memorable fortune (cookie?) was “Martina: Do you cache Czechs here?”
and now for something completely different...
Yup—I’m getting tired of everything being about the virus.
Funny. Thanks for posting this.
Thanks. Had fun with a couple of those back in the good old days.
su -; rm -rf ./*
Kewl!
$ telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl Trying 94.142.241.111... Trying 2a02:898:17:8000::42... telnet: Unable to connect to remote host: Network is unreachable $
DANGER, WILL ROBINSON! DANGER!
Jesus Christ: You can't impeach Him and He ain't gonna resign.
Used to live in Clearwater. That is def. not the ZIP. Cool list nonetheless.
That's too bad. It was a great site.
I wonder if someone has the ascii file that it used.
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