Command-Line Interface (CLI)

One awesome thing about both Linux and FreeBSD is that you can interact with them the same way using the same shell software. This allows for a lot of things like scripting to be portable between the two systems.

CLI and Shell References for Newcomers

• CLI on Wikipedia - good overview
• Z shell (zsh) - my favorite shell
• Bourne Again Shell (bash) - my second favorite shell
• /bin/sh - probably the most portable shell
• List of Shells - list of *nix shells
• ANSI/VT100 Colors - colors and formatting

What about PowerShell?

We don't take too kindly to PowerShell and Windows around here. Mentioned solely for completeness.

Terminal Emulators

To work with the shells listed above, you need a terminal. These used to be physical interfaces, but today most terminals are emulated with software.

• kitty - my favorite terminal, very hackable
• rxvt-unicode - mature, stable, portable
• big list - list of terminal emulators