cli-tutor

Learn Unix command-line tools by typing real commands — not reading about them.

Pick a tool, read the intro, try the examples, then solve exercises in a live shell. Each command you type is actually executed and checked against the expected output.

cli-tutor demo

Install

Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

brew install ShadabGhazali/cli-tutor/cli-tutor

Cargo

cargo install cli-tutor

Pre-built binaries — grab the latest from Releases (macOS Intel/ARM, Linux, Windows).

# Homebrew
brew upgrade ShadabGhazali/cli-tutor/cli-tutor

# Cargo
cargo install cli-tutor --force

cargo build --release
./target/release/cli-tutor

Requires a terminal at least 80×24.

Modules

Tool	What it does	Exercises
`grep`	Search files for patterns	12
`awk`	Field-based text processing and transformation	10
`sed`	Stream editor — substitute, delete, insert lines	10
`find`	Locate files by name, type, size, permissions	9
`xargs`	Build and run commands from standard input	6
`cut`	Extract fields and columns from text	5
`sort`	Sort lines — alphabetically, numerically, by field	6
`uniq`	Remove or count duplicate adjacent lines	4
`tr`	Translate or delete individual characters	4
`wc`	Count lines, words, and bytes in files	6
`tar`	Create, list, and extract archive files	5
`chmod`	Change file permissions	6
`git`	Version control — init, commit, branch, stash, diff	10
`jq`	Query and transform JSON from the command line	8
`make`	Automate build steps and tasks with Makefiles	5

106 exercises — beginner to advanced. Progress is saved automatically.

Keys

Browsing (Intro / Examples views)

Key	Action
`↑` `↓`	Switch module
`Tab`	Cycle views: Intro → Examples → Exercise → Free Practice
`PgUp` `PgDn`	Scroll content
`/`	Fuzzy search modules
`d`	Cycle difficulty filter (All → Beginner → Intermediate → Advanced)
`P`	Progress summary
`q`	Quit

Exercise view

Key	Action
`Enter`	Submit command
`↑` `↓`	Browse command history
`PgUp` `PgDn`	Scroll output
`←` `→`	Move cursor
`Ctrl+←` `Ctrl+→`	Jump by word
`Ctrl+N` `Ctrl+P`	Next / previous exercise
`Ctrl+T`	Reveal next hint
`Ctrl+S`	Show / hide solution
`Ctrl+F`	Toggle file viewer
`Ctrl+R`	Reset exercise
`Ctrl+L`	Clear output
`Esc`	Back to browse

Free Practice view

Key	Action
`Enter`	Run command
`↑` `↓`	Browse command history
`PgUp` `PgDn`	Scroll output
`Ctrl+L`	Clear output
`Esc`	Back to browse

Anywhere

Key	Action
`Shift+P`	Toggle progress overlay
`?`	Toggle help
`Ctrl+C`	Quit

CLI flags

cli-tutor --version
cli-tutor --no-color
cli-tutor --completions bash | zsh | fish

# bash
cli-tutor --completions bash >> ~/.bash_completion

# zsh
cli-tutor --completions zsh > ~/.zsh/completions/_cli-tutor

# fish
cli-tutor --completions fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/cli-tutor.fish

Config

Optional config at ~/.config/cli-tutor/config.toml (respects $XDG_CONFIG_HOME):

no_color        = false   # disable all colour styling
timed_challenge = false   # show solve time and personal best on correct answers
skip_completed  = false   # auto-skip already-solved exercises during navigation
default_module  = "grep"  # open on this module instead of the first in the list

A missing or corrupt config file is silently ignored — defaults apply.

Stack

Rust + Ratatui + Crossterm. Single binary, no runtime dependencies.