Tips and Tricks for interactive use

History expansion: do not repeat yourself
- !<command or number>:$: the last argument of that command
- !command is the last command starting with command (a bit like CTRL-R)
Readline and editing mode
- You can set up vi(m)/emacs keybindings to navigate the command line while editing a command
- If that is not enough, you can open an editor to edit the command you are typing (v if set -o vi, CTRL-X CTRL-E if set -o emacs)

Multitasking et similia

Working on multiple directories:

cd - to toggle between 2 directories
pushd to switch between more than 2 directories

cd 
mkdir 1 2 3 4
cd 1
pushd ../2 
pushd ../3
pushd ../4
pushd -0 # rotate 
pushd +1 # rotate
pushd # exchange the 2 top dirs (similar use case to cd -)

Using multiple applications at the same time

Suspend a job with CTRL+Z
Do something else
Resume with fg

If you are curious:

See with jobs
jobspec: %n

Alternative: multiple terminals with ssh connections.

This has the disadvantage of requiring multiple log ins and can be tedious (but it can be streamlined by having ssh keys correctly set up).

Alternative: `tmux`

tmux stands for Terminal Multiplexer. Usage:

start with tmux
detach with CTRL+B D
reattach with tmux a
if you like working with different panes:
- split with CTRL+B % or CTRL+B "
- change pane with CTRL+B o
if you like working with different windows:
- create new window with CTRL+B c
- change to window n. N with CTRL+B N
help: CTRL+B ?
- exit help: q

Gotchas:

killed when you log off the node (unless lingering is enabled)
When there are multiple login nodes, you might land on a different node where your session(s) are not available