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EnglishWhat altbox.dev Shows for Each CLI Tool
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altbox.dev is a catalog of alternative command-line tools for Linux, Unix, and macOS. Each tool entry gives you five pieces of information: the tool's name, a one-line description, the standard utility it replaces ("Alternative to"), the language it's written in, and the date it was last updated. That combination is enough to judge whether a tool is still maintained and whether it fits your platform and language preferences before you install anything.
The anatomy of a tool entry
Every entry follows the same structure, so you can scan a list quickly:
| Field | What it tells you | Example from the catalog |
|---|---|---|
| Name | The tool itself, usually linked | ripgrep, zstd, doggo |
| Description | What it does in one sentence | "Fast real-time compression algorithm with better ratios and speeds than gzip." |
| Alternative to | Which standard Unix command it replaces | gzip, ps, wc, dig, nm, objdump |
| Language | The implementation language | Rust, Go, C, Perl |
| Updated | Last update date | 2026-05-09 |
The "Alternative to" field is the key one. Some tools map to a single command — zstd is listed as an alternative to gzip. Others map to several: radare2 and binwalk are both listed as alternatives to nm and objdump, because they cover binary analysis from different angles.
How the catalog is organized
The site groups tools by the command they replace. The heading list covers a wide spread of everyday utilities, including:
- File and text:
cat,cut,diff,grep,sed,tail,wc - Filesystem:
cd,df,du,find,locate,ls,rm,tree - Process and system:
free,kill,ps,top,watch - Network:
curl,dig,ftp,ping,scp,ssh,traceroute - Archive and compression:
gzip,tar - Version control and docs:
git,man,info,history - Binary inspection:
nm,objdump
The page also exposes two filter dimensions — "Works with" (platform) and "Language" — so you can narrow the list to tools that run on your OS or are written in a language you're comfortable building or debugging.
The "Recently added/updated" section
This section is the fastest way to see what's actively maintained. Each row shows the tool name, its description, the command it replaces, its language, and the update date. Recent examples:
- cloc — counts blank, comment, and code lines across 400+ languages; alternative to
wc; Perl; updated 2026-05-09 - flux — search, monitor, and kill processes with real-time resource tracking and port discovery; alternative to
ps; Rust; 2026-05-09 - pspy — monitors Linux processes in real time without root permissions; alternative to
ps; Go; 2026-05-09 - scc — fast code counter with complexity analysis and COCOMO cost estimates; alternative to
wc; Go; 2026-05-09 - tokei — counts lines of code by language; alternative to
wc; Rust; 2026-05-09 - binwalk — firmware analysis tool for identifying and extracting embedded files; alternative to
nm/objdump; Rust; 2026-05-08 - lz4 — extremely fast lossless compression prioritizing speed over ratio; alternative to
gzip; C; 2026-05-08 - radare2 — reverse engineering framework for analyzing, debugging, and patching binaries; alternative to
nm/objdump; C; 2026-05-08 - zstd — fast real-time compression with better ratios and speeds than gzip; alternative to
gzip; C; 2026-05-08 - doggo — command-line DNS client with colorized tabular output and support for DoH, DoT, DoQ, and DNSCrypt; alternative to
dig; Go; 2026-05-06
Notice the pattern: several tools compete for the same slot. wc has at least three alternatives (cloc, scc, tokei), and gzip has two (lz4, zstd). That's the point of the catalog — it shows you the options side by side rather than recommending one.
What the entries let you decide
The five fields answer practical questions without leaving the page:
- Is it maintained? The update date tells you. A tool last touched years ago is a different bet than one updated this month.
- Does it fit my environment? "Works with" and "Language" let you filter by platform and by whether you can build from source if needed.
- Is it a drop-in replacement or a different approach? The "Alternative to" field plus the description tells you.
doggoreplacesdigbut adds DoH/DoT support — same job, more protocols.pspyreplacespsbut specifically for watching processes without root. - How do I compare two tools for the same command? Line up their descriptions, languages, and update dates. For
wcalternatives, for instance, cloc emphasizes language coverage (400+), scc adds complexity and cost estimates, and tokei emphasizes speed and accuracy.
Related links
The page also collects external reading — Reddit threads and blog posts about modern CLI tools, with dates ranging from 2022 to 2026. These are useful for seeing which tools people actually adopt in practice, but they're opinion pieces, not catalog data. Treat the catalog entries as the factual layer and the links as context.