Modern Replacements for Classic Unix Commands
Drop-in and modern alternatives for ls, cat, grep, find, top, du and other everyday commands, with notes on what each one changes.
Modern replacements for curl: xh · HTTPie · curlie · posting
Replace curl with xh, HTTPie, curlie or Posting: HTTPie-style request syntax, formatted output, and a TUI option for saved requests.
Modern replacements for df: duf · dysk
duf and dysk compared as replacements for df: platforms, filtering, sorting, and JSON or CSV export for scripts.
Modern replacements for du: dust · dua · erdtree · pdu · diskonaut · cull
Compare dust, dua, erdtree and pdu as replacements for du: output format, filtering, JSON output, gitignore handling and interactive deletion.
Modern replacements for find: fd · bfs · fselect
Replace find with fd, bfs or fselect: regex search with smart defaults, a breadth-first drop-in, or SQL-like file queries.
Modern replacements for grep: ripgrep · The Silver Searcher · rga
Compare ripgrep, The Silver Searcher (ag) and rga as replacements for grep: defaults, file-type handling, and what each searches.
Modern replacements for ls: eza · lsd · exa · broot
Replace ls with eza, lsd, or exa for colors, Git status, tree view and richer long listings. Also covers broot, an interactive tree navigator.
Modern replacements for man: tldr · tealdeer · eg
Replace man with tldr, tealdeer or eg: example-first command help instead of full manuals. Compare clients, offline use and customization.
Modern replacements for ping: gping · trippy
gping graphs ping latency in the terminal; Trippy combines ping and traceroute with per-hop stats. Compare both as ping replacements.
Modern replacements for tail: lnav · stern
lnav and stern compared as tail replacements: local log files, journald and compressed logs with lnav, Kubernetes pod logs with stern.
Modern replacements for top: htop · btop · bottom · glances · bpytop · zenith
Replace top with htop, btop, or bottom: process lists, graphs, and tree views compared, plus Glances for stdout and API export.
Modern replacements for tree: eza · erdtree · lsd · broot · exa
Tools you can run instead of tree: eza, erdtree, lsd and broot compared by tree output, gitignore handling, flags and config.