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Best Productivity ResourcesBy Shushant LakhyaniVerified creator

Web App

explainshell

Paste a shell command and see what each part does.

Visit explainshell4.7

  • Rating

    4.7 / 5

  • Pricing

    Free

  • Difficulty

    Intermediate

  • Works on

    Web

Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com

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What is explainshell?

explainshell breaks a command line into its parts and matches every flag and argument to the relevant section of its manual page. It is a free, open-source way to understand commands found online before you run them on your own machine.

Pros: what explainshell does well

  • Clear breakdown of every flag
  • Great safety check before running commands
  • Free and open source

Cons: where it falls short

  • Manual pages can be dated
  • Not every program is covered

Who explainshell is for

Anyone learning the terminal or checking a command copied from the internet.

Who can skip it

Experienced users who already know their tools by heart.

explainshell alternatives

Not sold on explainshell? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.

All Learning resources

The Art of Command Line

Focus: terminal, bash and guide. Shares command line and linux with explainshell. A course, not a web app. Adds macOS, Linux and Windows. Rated 4.9 (explainshell: 4.7).

CourseFreeWeb, macOS
4.9Visit

navi

Focus: terminal, cli and cheatsheet. Shares shell with explainshell. A desktop app, not a web app. Adds macOS, Windows and Linux. Rated 4.8 (explainshell: 4.7).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit

The Missing Semester

Focus: git, developer tools and mit. Shares command line with explainshell. A course, not a web app. Rated 4.8 (explainshell: 4.7).

CourseFreeWeb
4.8Visit

How To Secure A Linux Server

Focus: security, server administration and devops. Shares linux with explainshell. A method, not a web app. Adds Linux and Offline. Rated 4.5 (explainshell: 4.7).

MethodFreeLinux, Web
4.5Visit

QuickRef.ME

Focus: cheatsheets, reference and programming. Shares command line with explainshell. A website, not a web app. Rated 4.5 (explainshell: 4.7).

WebsiteFreeWeb
4.5Visit

Free alternatives to explainshell

Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.

cheat

Focus: cheatsheet, reference and terminal. Shares command line with explainshell. A desktop app, not a web app. Adds macOS, Windows and Linux. Rated 4.4 (explainshell: 4.7).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.4Visit

Desmos

Focus: graphing calculator, maths and education. Also in Learning, like explainshell. Adds iOS and Android. Rated 4.8 (explainshell: 4.7).

Web AppFreeWeb, iOS
4.8Visit

Flexbox Froggy

Focus: css, flexbox and coding game. Also in Learning, like explainshell. Rated 4.8 (explainshell: 4.7).

Web AppFreeWeb
4.8Visit

fzf

Focus: fuzzy finder, open source and github. Shares command line and shell with explainshell. A desktop app, not a web app. Adds macOS, Windows and Linux. Rated 4.8 (explainshell: 4.7).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit

regex101

Focus: regex, developer tools and debugging. Also in Learning, like explainshell. Rated 4.8 (explainshell: 4.7).

Web AppFreeWeb
4.8Visit
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