How to Run a Linux Command When a File Set Changes
Learn how to run Linux commands when any file in a watched set of files changes, and when new files are created. We show you how to use this flexible tool.
An Interview With Brian Kernighan, Author of Unix: A History and Memoir
If you use Linux or Unix, you’ll want to read this interview with Brian Kernighan about the origins of Unix, from his book ‘Unix: A History and a Memoir.’
How to Check Spelling the Old School Unix Way
Before word processors had a spell check function, you had to run your own spell check against a document. And in the very early Unix days, systems didn’t have a dedicated “spell check” program, but instead required a set of …
What Are CSR Files and How Do You Create Them?
A Certificate Signing Request (CSR) file is something you generate and give to a Certificate Authority, who in turn signs and sends you the requested SSL certificate that used for enabling HTTPS on your web server….
How to Convert CSV and Log Files to a Columnar Format
Columnar formats, such as Apache Parquet, offer great compression savings and are much easier to scan, process, and analyze than other formats such as CSV. In this article, we show you how to convert your CSV data to Parquet …
How to Use the Hugo Static Site Generator on Linux
Static websites are easy to create and blazingly fast to use. If you learn to use Hugo, you can generate theme-based static websites on Linux. Creating websites is fun again!
How to Display man Pages in Color on Linux
If you want color highlighting in your man pages similar to the syntax highlighting in an editor, there are two simple ways you can achieve it. We’ll show you both!
How to Create a man Page on Linux
Want your new Linux program to look professional? Give it a man page. We’ll show you the easiest, and fastest, way to do it.
What Is DNSSEC, and Should You Turn It On for Your Website?
DNS was designed over 30 years ago, back when security wasn’t a primary focus of the internet. Without extra protection, it’s possible for MITM attackers to spoof records and lead users to phishing sites. DNSSEC puts a stop t…
How to Do OCR from the Linux Command Line Using Tesseract
You can extract text from images on the Linux command line using the Tesseract OCR engine. It’s fast, accurate, and works in about 100 languages. Here’s how to use it.
How to Configure Cache-Control Headers in Apache
Each user’s browser makes use of a built-in cache to store downloaded objects, which can significantly speed up repeat visits to your website by loading from disk rather than the network. Here’s how to configure it in Apache….
How to Configure Cache-Control Headers in NGINX
Caching is the process of storing downloaded data for later use, where it can be read from disk rather than requesting it again. Making proper use of your browser and CDN caching can speed up your website significantly….
How to Use the fd Command on Linux
On Linux, fd is an easier alternative to the find command. It has a simplified syntax, uses sensible defaults, and has built-in common-sense behavior. Let’s take it through its paces.
How to Use the ss Command on Linux
The ss command is a modern replacement for the classic netstat. You can use it on Linux to get statistics about your network connections. Here’s how to work with this handy tool.
How to Set Up Basic HTTP Authentication in Apache
Basic HTTP authentication uses usernames and passwords to secure certain routes of your website. It’s commonly used to lock down admin panels and backend services, and—in conjunction with HTTPS—provides good security for …
How to Enable Two Factor for SSH Logins
If you really want to lock down your cloud server, you can enable two-factor authentication for SSH in the same way you would add it to your Gmail account, preventing anyone from gaining access if they’ve stolen your SSH priv…
How to Use BleachBit on Linux
Want to safely delete unnecessary files from your Linux operating system, reclaim hard-drive space, and protect your privacy? BleachBit does all of this for you!
How to Convert XML to JSON on the Command Line
XML is complicated, and parsing it natively is fairly hard, even with scripting languages. Luckily, there’s a utility that can convert XML to JSON, which is easier to work with, both in scripts and on the command line….
How to Redirect IP Address to Domain Name in NGINX or Apache
It’s an edge case, but if someone types in your IP address instead of your domain name, you’ll want your server to handle that request properly, and redirect them to the actual site. We’ll show how to set it up in NGINX and A…
How to Use the whois Command on Linux
A whois lookup will tell you a lot of information about who owns an internet domain. On Linux, you can run whois lookups from the command line. We’ll walk you through it.
What’s the Difference Between Linux and Unix?
Linux took its inspiration from Unix, but Linux isn’t Unix—although it’s definitely Unix-like. We will explain the major differences between these two famous operating systems.
How to Use Wireshark Filters on Linux
Wireshark is a world-class packet analyzer available on Linux, Windows, and macOS. Its filters are flexible and sophisticated, but sometimes, counterintuitive. We’ll explain the “gotchas” you need to be on the lookout for….
How to Use pandoc to Convert Files on the Linux Command Line
You can use pandoc on Linux to convert between more than 40 file formats. You can also use it to create a simple docs-as-code system by writing in Markdown, storing in git, and publishing in any of its supported formats….
Why Desktop Linux Still Matters
The fabled “Year of the Linux Desktop” has never materialized, and it likely never will. Does that mean Linux on a desktop PC is irrelevant? Not at all! Desktop Linux is still awesome.
Why Linux’s systemd Is Still Divisive After All These Years
systemd is 10 years old, but feelings about it in the Linux community haven’t mellowed—it’s as divisive now as it ever was. Although it’s used by many major Linux distributions, the hardcore opposition hasn’t relented….
