5 Tiny CLI Tricks You (Probably) Didn't Know

1. history | grep + fzf = instant recall

Fish out that elusive command you ran last Tuesday:

history | grep docker | fzf

Hit Enter and it pastes right back to your prompt like magic.

2. Reverse-search a Git log by file content

Combine git log with -S (search diff) to find when a string first appeared:

git log -S"resizeObserver" --oneline -- src/components/Layout.tsx

3. JSON-pretty print with zero dependencies

Mac & Linux already ship with python3:

cat response.json | python3 -m json.tool | less

4. One-liner port-forwarding for quick demos

Need to expose localhost:3000? Use SSH—no ngrok token needed.

ssh -R 80:localhost:3000 ssh.localhost.run

Now share the generated URL on Slack and watch eyebrows rise.

5. Measure anything with time + subshell

How long does your linter actually take?

time (npm run lint > /dev/null)

💡 Pro-tip: wrap this in a pre-push hook so slow commands get caught early.

Conclusion

These tiny CLI tricks can save you significant time in your daily development workflow. From finding old commands instantly to measuring performance and setting up quick demos, mastering these patterns will make you more efficient at the command line.

Try incorporating one or two of these into your routine this week and see how they improve your productivity!