Terminal Tricks: Have Fun with the Linux Command Line

📅Feb 23, 2019

Hello, World! I put together this list of cool Linux terminal commands that can be yours today, for the low price of FREE!

Basic

Get the weather.

curl wttr.in

Copy a command output to the clipboard.

cat file.txt | xclip -sel clip

Serve the current directory on port 8000 as a web server.

python -m http.server

(The old way was python -m SimpleHTTPServer, which is how it is in the screenshot)

Visit the web server at http://localhost:8000/ in your browser. Press Ctrl-C in the terminal to stop the server.

A web server with one command! It can also be accessed by anyone on the same local network (house, school, library, etc.)

Measure the time it takes to run a command.

time find

Display a calendar.

cal

Change the terminal to attack mode!

xtermcontrol –bg ‘#111111’; xtermcontrol –fg ‘#ff0000’

Installing a python package in attack mode!

Re-run the last command as root.

sudo !!

Exit the terminal but leave all processes running.

disown -a && exit

Open a webpage in a text-based browser. Use the arrow keys to navigate, ENTER to click on links, and Shift+B to go back.

w3m duckduckgo.com?q=Terminal+Tricks

Advanced

Set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN) on a remote server such as a DigitalOcean droplet. This will create a file /root/client.ovpn which tells other computers how to connect to the remote server.

user@local:~$ ssh root@remote

root@remote:~$ wget https://git.io/vpn -O openvpn.sh && sudo bash openvpn.sh

Copy the client.ovpn file to the local machine.

user@local:~$ scp root@remote:/root/client.ovpn .

Import the remote openvpn server config into NetworkManager on Linux.

user@local:~$ nmcli connection import type openvpn file client.ovpn

Then use the network system tray icon to connect to the server.

Scan the local network an get a list of the devices, their IP addresses, and mac addresses. Replace “wlan0” with your network device, which you can find with “ip a”. The “tee” command saves the output to a file, while also displaying it to the terminal.

sudo arp-scan –localnet –interface=wlan0 | tee arp-scan.txt

Log in to a Raspberry Pi whose default password has not been changed. Replace the IP address with the actual IP address of the Pi. Let this serve as a warning: Be sure to change your Pi passwords so random folks don’t log in!

ssh pi@192.168.1.99

Password: raspberry

Scan a computer on the network for open ports and other info.

sudo nmap -v 192.168.1.99

Forward local port 3337 to a remote server’s port 6379.

ssh -L 3337:localhost:6379 username@hostname

Set up a proxy on the local port 8000 through a remote server.

ssh -CND 8000 username@hostname

Set your web browser’s proxy settings to “localhost” and “8000” to act as if it was in the same local network as the server.

Surprises…

curl -s http://artscene.textfiles\.com/vt100/globe.vt | pv -L9600 -q

telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl

sl

Big thanks to the internet, including but not limited to climagic and this youtube video.