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Which Linux tool or command is surprisingly simple, powerful, and yet underrated?" (lemmy.ml)
submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by mfat@lemmy.ml to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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Which Linux command or utility is simple, powerful, and surprisingly unknown to many people or used less often?

This could be a command or a piece of software or an application.

For example I'm surprised to find that many people are unaware of Caddy, a very simple web server that can make setting up a reverse proxy incredibly easy.

Another example is fzf. Many people overlook this, a fast command-line fuzzy finder. It’s versatile for searching files, directories, or even shell history with minimal effort.

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[-] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 6 points 5 days ago

Lightweight sudo alternatives, hard to google too. I know ssu and rdo, please mention others.

[-] BaumGeist@lemmy.ml 4 points 5 days ago

OpenDoas, or simply doas, as in do [command] as [user]

[-] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 days ago

Thanks, couldn't get it ever to work tho, and it doesn't come with a default config in Arch.

[-] communism@lemmy.ml 4 points 5 days ago

Because it's so simple, a good default config can be a one-liner. For similar functionality to default sudo:

permit persist setenv {PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin} :wheel

Allows members of wheel to run commands as any user (if you just run doas <cmd> it will default to root), and "persists" for 5 minutes, ie if you run doas then for the next 5 minutes in the same session you won't have to enter your password to run doas again, similar to default sudo settings.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Doas

What problems were you having where you couldn't get it to work?

[-] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Always got permission denied, no matter what in the config. But thanks, i'll try again.

[-] Zykino@programming.dev 2 points 5 days ago

Why should I use a sudo alternative?

[-] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Because sudo is best suited for server administration, way overengineered (with the occasional critical vulnerability) for desktop use.
Alternatives can fit the required functionality for desktop use in 150 loc C code while sudo has what, something over 100'000 loc?

this post was submitted on 03 Jan 2025
362 points (97.9% liked)

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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