Luke Oliff · Blog
Writing.
Original posts, published first on this site. Imported posts live in the archive.
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220 posts
2024
TIL: Auto-Running Commands on File Change With entrOriginalentr runs a command every time a watched file changes. Pipe a list of files in, get automatic re-runs out. Lighter than nodemon.TIL
TIL: Running Containers Without Docker With PodmanOriginalPodman runs OCI containers with the same CLI as Docker but daemonless and rootless by default. No Docker Desktop needed.TIL
TIL: Quick Network Debugging With nc (netcat)Originalnc opens raw TCP connections from the terminal. Test if a port is open, send raw HTTP requests, or set up a one-off chat between machines.TIL
TIL: Converting Markdown to PDF With pandocOriginalpandoc turns any Markdown file into a styled PDF with one command. Great for generating docs that non-technical stakeholders can open.TIL
TIL: Using grep -P for Perl-Compatible Regex in the TerminalOriginalgrep -P gives you full Perl regex syntax — lookaheads, non-capturing groups, and character class shortcuts the basic syntax lacks.TIL
TIL: Scripting WebSocket Tests With websocatOriginalwebsocat connects to WebSocket servers from the terminal and pipes data in both directions. Better than wscat for automated testing.TIL
TIL: Creating Python Packages With pyproject.tomlOriginalpyproject.toml replaces setup.py as the standard Python packaging config. One file declares dependencies, build system, and metadata.TIL
TIL: Testing npm Packages Locally With npm linkOriginalnpm link creates a symlink so your local package behaves like an installed one. Test SDK changes in a real project before publishing.TIL
2023
TIL: Managing Processes With pgrep and pkillOriginalpgrep finds processes by name. pkill kills them. No more ps aux | grep to find and kill a runaway Node process.TIL
TIL: Installing Specific Tool Versions With asdfOriginalasdf manages multiple language runtimes from one tool. A single .tool-versions file pins Node.js, Python, and everything else per project.TIL