Shell Tips

60 curated tips — shortcuts, workflows, and hidden features from Nirmal's Shell, including when conditional tools and integrations show up.

60 tips

Run npkg search ripgrep to search nixpkgs

Available when nix is installed

NixNpkg

Run npkg find nvim to open a seeded package picker

Available when nix and jq are installed and fzf is ready

NixNpkg

Run upkg search ripgrep to search detected package managers

Available when paru, pacman, apt, dnf, brew, flatpak, nix, or npm is installed

Package UpdatesUpkg

Run croot to jump to the current Git repository root

Always available

GitGit

Run fanprofile to show the current laptop performance profile

Available on a supported Linux laptop profile interface

UtilitySystem

Use NE to hide stderr or NUL to hide all output

Always available

Pipe AliasesGlobals

Run upkg managers to show active and alternate backends

Available when paru, pacman, apt, dnf, brew, flatpak, nix, or npm is installed

Package UpdatesUpkg

Run upkg clean --dry-run before package cleanup

Available when paru, pacman, apt, dnf, brew, flatpak, nix, or npm is installed

Package UpdatesUpkg

Run ft <pattern> [path] to search file contents

Always available

Search & ProcessCore

Run gun to undo the latest commit but keep changes staged

Always available

GitGit

Use zi to select a remembered directory interactively

Available when zoxide is installed and fzf is ready

FZF & ZoxideZoxide

Run headers <url> to follow redirects and print HTTP headers

Always available

NetworkCore

Press Tab after a custom command to see valid arguments

Always available

Shell BehaviorCore

Press Ctrl+R to insert a history entry for editing

Available when fzf is ready in an interactive shell

HistoryFzf

Run peek <file> for a quick file preview

Always available

ViewingCore

Run cgm list to show saved names without retrieving values

Available when cgm is loaded through secret-tool

SecurityCgm

Run cgm env OPENAI_KEY to load a credential into this shell

Available when cgm is loaded through secret-tool

SecurityCgm

Run extract <archive> to unpack a supported archive

Always available

UtilityCore

Run upkg plan to preview package upgrades

Available when paru, pacman, apt, dnf, brew, flatpak, nix, or npm is installed

Package UpdatesUpkg

Use z <query> to jump to a remembered directory

Available when zoxide is installed

NavigationZoxide

Use ZSH_FZF_LAYOUT=roomy for a larger rounded finder with extra spacing

Always available

UtilityCore

Run weather for a concise HTTPS forecast

Always available

NetworkCore

Use [WT] in fbr to spot branches checked out in another worktree

Available when fzf is ready in an interactive shell

GitFzf

Run fkill TERM to stop selected processes; use fkill 9 only to force

Available when fzf is ready in an interactive shell

ProcessFzf