Discover 15 Fun Linux Commands That Turn Your Terminal Into a Playground

Linux offers many interesting commands that are simple to try and can add fun to your terminal.

1. rev

Reverses each input line character by character.

<code>rev</code>

Example: input

shiyanlou

produces

uolonayhs

.

2. asciiview

Install

aview

and

imagemagick

, then view images in the terminal.

<code>sudo apt-get install aview</code>

<code>sudo apt-get install imagemagick</code>

<code>asciiview shiyanlou.png -driver curses</code>

3. sl

Displays an animated train moving across the screen.

<code>sudo apt-get install sl</code>

<code>sl</code>

4. aafire

Creates a Matrix‑style fire animation in the terminal.

<code>sudo apt-get install libaa-bin</code>

<code>aafire</code>

5. cmatrix

Displays the classic Matrix falling characters effect.

<code>sudo apt-get install cmatrix</code>

<code>cmatrix</code>

Press

Ctrl+C

to stop.

6. factor

Factors an integer, useful for quick math checks.

<code>factor 60</code>

7. oneko

Shows a cat that follows your mouse pointer.

<code>sudo apt-get install oneko</code>

<code>oneko</code>

Press

Ctrl+C

to exit.

8. boxes

Wraps text or code in ASCII art boxes.

<code>sudo apt-get install boxes</code>

<code>echo "gaoxiaoyunwei" | boxes</code>

Or use a predefined style:

<code>echo "gaoxiaoyunwei" | boxes -d dog</code>

9. xeyes

Displays a pair of eyes that follow the cursor.

<code>sudo apt-get install xeyes</code>

<code>xeyes</code>

10. pv

Creates a typewriter‑like effect for text streams.

<code>sudo apt-get install pv</code>

<code>echo "welcome to shiyanlou, you can learn DevOps by doing" | pv -qL 10</code>

11. yes

Continuously outputs a specified string until interrupted.

<code>yes hello,world</code>

12. bastet

Play Tetris in the terminal.

<code>sudo apt-get install bastet</code>

13. ninvaders

Space Invaders clone for the command line.

<code>sudo apt install ninvaders</code>

<code>ninvaders</code>

Use arrow keys to move and space to shoot.

14. pacman4console

Classic Pac‑Man game in the console.

<code>sudo apt install pacman4console</code>

<code>pacman4console</code>

15. greed

Navigate a numeric maze where your position is shown by a flashing “@”.

<code>sudo apt install greed</code>

<code>greed</code>

Control with the arrow keys.