this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2026

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Linux tips (thelemmy.club)

submitted 15 hours ago* by inari@piefed.zip to c/linuxmemes@lemmy.world

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Linux tips

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[–] NateNate60@lemmy.world -3 points 13 hours ago (21 children)

That gets a lot of people in trouble and I really advise against giving people terminal commands when it can be avoided. Unless the person already is familiar with the terminal, they're just typing magic words into a black box and it reinforces the stereotype that Linux is this complicated and arcane thing.

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[–] Bluewing@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

And that's OK. It does get them to open the term and see it and use it a little - copy/pasta is how we all started out. (Truth is, I still copy/pasta after more than 20 years should perhaps need) But that does not negate the GUI experience. I like and use the GUI every time I can.

But I understand the need for the Cli too. I can often use it to better see where a problem is. Something my GUI lovin' lazy butt doesn't always do.

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[–] MyNameIsRichard@lemmy.ml 22 points 13 hours ago (18 children)

It's more complicated to describe how to do something in a gui and it will only work for one environment if it's set up the same way.

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[–] tal@lemmy.today 4 points 6 hours ago*

Yeah, the terminal is much more universal on Linux distros.

People will have wildly different GUI environments. I have no idea how to do thing X in all of KDE Plasma or GNOME or Xfce or Cinnamon or whatever. But outside of package management and some systemwide config, most Linux distros work pretty much the same way at a bash prompt.

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[–] lemmyvore@feddit.nl 4 points 7 hours ago

And GUI feels like black magic too if the person doesn't know what's going on.

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[–] Honytawk@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 7 hours ago

Yes, but at least they will understand the solution.

You can also just compile a script that they just have to execute, but they will understand even less and are way more likely to install malware.

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[–] Geth@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

Command line is easier for the person giving it but it teaches nothing to the person using it and I agree with the previous poster, just reinforces the idea that Linux is this mysterious non-understandable os. Many knowledgeable people in the community love to gatekeep so it works out in their favor and no one else's.

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[–] scathliath@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 9 hours ago (1 child)

Does this one have a soul?

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[–] snooggums@piefed.world 1 point 9 hours ago

Nope.

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[–] Viceversa@lemmy.world 0 points 11 hours ago (11 children)

Is it? I usually chain names of buttons or something like that:

File - Create - From templates

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[–] rtxn@lemmy.world 4 points 7 hours ago*

That's nice, right until you have to troubleshoot why the other person is having difficulty following the instructions. My not-entirely-but-still-mostly-strawman scenario (specifically with the RPi Imager) where that approach fails:

Run the application. If it asks for a password and then nothing happens, then you'll need to use pkexec to launch it with root privileges, run pkexec env $(env) DISPLAY=:1 /path/to/application. The main window will look like a wizard utility with the steps on the left and input fields on the right. Follow the instructions until step 4. Then complete step 4, but DO NOT click "next". A gear icon should appear.

No, not the gear icon on the top, the large gear icon on the bottom right. It didn't appear? Okay, go back to step 2 and make sure the "full" option is selected. Now go to step 4 and reenter everything. Still nothing? Send me a screenshot. Okay, the "hostname" field must not contain a hyphen, replace it with an underscore. Wait, which version of the app are you running? Go to the small gear menu, click on "About", and send me the version number... okay, nevermind, that version doesn't support this specific feature, you'll have to update.

I had to have this conversation with myself. Conducting it over an internet forum with a stranger of questionable technical skills is my definition of hell.

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[–] MyNameIsRichard@lemmy.ml 7 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (7 children)

One simple command vs:

Go to your start menu

Search for program name

Click on it

Scroll down about half way

Click the

Enter

Click the

Click the in the popup

And if that's done in Gnome, does it help a KDE user, Xfce, Mate? I think not. And that's if the gui handles the problem at all.

Of course, the command comes with an explanation of what it does.

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[–] Honytawk@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 7 hours ago

One "simple" command that could do anything including killing their entire PC vs detailed instructions of something they can follow and understand, especially if you include pictures.

If you want people in your community, treat them with respect.

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[–] Jack@lemmy.ca 3 points 9 hours ago* (4 children)

Trolls, who like to corrupt people's data, exist. A GUI procedure is almost always safer.

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[–] MyNameIsRichard@lemmy.ml 2 points 8 hours ago (3 children)

Tell me how to gather this information from the GUI. Plasma for preference please.

>>> inxi -exzz                                                ±[●][master]
System:
  Kernel: 7.2.8-200.fc44.x86_64 arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc
    v: 16.2.1
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.7.5 Distro: Fedora Linux 44 (KDE Plasma
    Desktop Edition)
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: Intel Client Systems product: NUC8i7BEH
    v: J72992-303 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Intel model: NUC8BEB v: J72688-303 serial: <superuser required>
    Firmware: UEFI vendor: Intel v: BECFL357.86A.0056.2018.1128.1717
    date: 11/28/2018
Battery:
  Device-1: hidpp_battery_1 model: Logitech Wireless Mouse MX Master 2S
    charge: 100% (should be ignored) status: discharging
CPU:
  Info: quad core model: Intel Core i7-8559U bits: 64 type: MT MCP
    arch: Coffee Lake rev: A cache: L1: 256 KiB L2: 1024 KiB L3: 8 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 1132 min/max: 400/2700 cores: 1: 1132 2: 1132
    3: 1132 4: 1132 5: 1132 6: 1132 7: 1132 8: 1132 bogomips: 43198
  Flags-basic: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3
    vmx
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel CoffeeLake-U GT3e [Iris Plus Graphics 655] driver: i915
    v: kernel arch: Gen-9.5 bus-ID: 00:02.0
  Display: wayland server: Xwayland v: 24.1.13 compositor: kwin_wayland
    driver: X: loaded: nvidia unloaded: modesetting gpu: i915 resolution:
    1: 2560x1440~60Hz 2: 2560x1440~60Hz
  API: EGL v: 1.5 drivers: iris,swrast platforms:
    active: gbm,wayland,x11,surfaceless,device inactive: N/A
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 26.0.3
    glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel Iris Plus Graphics
    655 (CFL GT3)
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.341 drivers: intel,llvmpipe surfaces: N/A
    devices: 2
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
    de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor wl: wayland-info x11: xdriinfo,
    xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Cannon Point-LP High Definition Audio
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1f.3
  API: ALSA v: k7.2.8-200.fc44.x86_64 status: kernel-api
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.6.9 status: active
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Cannon Point-LP CNVi [Wireless-AC] driver: iwlwifi
    v: kernel bus-ID: 00:14.3
  IF: wlp0s20f3 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Intel Ethernet I219-V driver: e1000e v: kernel port: N/A
    bus-ID: 00:1f.6
  IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel Bluetooth 9460/9560 Jefferson Peak (JfP) driver: btusb
    v: 0.8 type: USB bus-ID: 1-10:3
  Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 0 state: up address: <filter>
    bt-v: 5.1 lmp-v: 10
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 2.81 TiB used: 920.76 GiB (32.0%)
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: A-Data model: SU800NS38 size: 119.24 GiB
  ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Toshiba model: Q300 size: 894.25 GiB
  ID-3: /dev/sdc vendor: Samsung model: ST2000LM003 HN-M201RAD
    size: 1.82 TiB type: USB
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 116.66 GiB used: 18.42 GiB (15.8%) fs: btrfs
    dev: /dev/sda3
  ID-2: /boot size: 1.9 GiB used: 442.1 MiB (22.7%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/sda2
  ID-3: /boot/efi size: 598.8 MiB used: 20.1 MiB (3.4%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/sda1
  ID-4: /home size: 893.82 GiB used: 246.53 GiB (27.6%) fs: xfs
    dev: /dev/sdb1
Swap:
  ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 8 GiB used: 827.8 MiB (10.1%)
    dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 43.0 C pch: 49.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
  Memory: total: 32 GiB available: 31.2 GiB used: 9.3 GiB (29.8%)
  Processes: 357 Uptime: 1d 3h 26m Init: systemd
  Packages: 7 note: see --rpm Compilers: clang: 22.1.8 gcc: 16.2.1
    Shell: Zsh v: 5.9 inxi: 3.3.41

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[–] MaskedNybbles@piefed.social 2 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (2 children)

Not that I particularly want to get involved—I do also like inxi—but you can launch Info Center (kinfocenter) from krunner, the application menu, or under About this System in System Settings to get a good amount of this information and more.

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[–] MyNameIsRichard@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 hours ago (1 child)

Info Center is good, but getting the information into a forum post isn't easy. With inxi, it's just copy and paste. Just one simple example where the terminal is better.

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[+] MaskedNybbles@piefed.social 1 point 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

[deleted]

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[–] Viceversa@lemmy.world -1 points 10 hours ago*

I don't know, it isn't that hard for me to help others with UI. 🤷

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[–] Ghoelian@piefed.social 6 points 10 hours ago (1 child)

What if the person you're helping has a different UI language? Or when buttons get hidden based on available screen space? Or when you need to get an older person to use a dropdown menu with hover and click options?

Sure it's doable, but it's so much easier to just copy and paste a command. Of course, whenever I tell someone to do something like this, it comes with a lot of warnings about the shell. If they're close enough I just tell them to never run a random command without consulting me first.

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[–] Viceversa@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago*

Very often you want the other person to learn (memorize) the way to do something.
And most of the time that person (in my experience) is an elder being or something, so they prefer UI and I don't want to die on a hill of making them relearn their ways.

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[–] imeansurewhynot@sh.itjust.works 12 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

After all, what use are detailed instructions and explanations?

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