altbox.dev

altbox.dev lists recent changes in a “Recently added/updated” section on its homepage, ordered by update date and showing each tool’s name, description, alternative target(s), and implementation language. Use it if you want to track new or refreshed command-line tools without browsing the full catalog of 134 entries.

What the “Recently added/updated” section contains

Each entry in the section follows a consistent format:

The section is sorted by the Updated date, so the newest changes appear first. A “see all tools” link sits alongside the heading, pointing to the full catalog.

Examples from the current listing

The most recent entries on the page show how the section works in practice:

• cloc — counts blank, comment, and code lines across 400+ languages; alternative to wc; Perl; updated 2026-05-09.
• flux — searches, monitors, and kills processes with real-time resource tracking and port discovery; alternative to ps; Rust; updated 2026-05-09.
• pspy — monitors Linux processes in real time without root permissions; alternative to ps; Go; updated 2026-05-09.
• scc — fast code counter with complexity analysis and COCOMO cost estimates; alternative to wc; Go; updated 2026-05-09.
• tokei — counts lines of code by language; alternative to wc; Rust; updated 2026-05-09.
• binwalk — firmware analysis tool for identifying and extracting embedded files; alternative to nm and objdump; Rust; updated 2026-05-08.
• lz4 — extremely fast lossless compression prioritizing speed over ratio; alternative to gzip; C; updated 2026-05-08.
• radare2 — reverse engineering framework and CLI toolset for analyzing, debugging, and patching binaries; alternative to nm and objdump; C; updated 2026-05-08.
• zstd — fast real-time compression with better ratios and speeds than gzip; alternative to gzip; C; updated 2026-05-08.
• doggo — command-line DNS client with colorized tabular output and support for DoH, DoT, DoQ, and DNSCrypt; alternative to dig; Go; updated 2026-05-06.

How to use it for tracking new tools

1. Open altbox.dev.
2. Scroll to the “Recently added/updated” heading.
3. Read the table from top to bottom — the first rows are the most recent changes.
4. Use the “Alternative to” column to spot replacements for commands you already use (for example, ps, wc, gzip, dig).
5. Use the “Language” column if you prefer tools written in a specific language (Rust, Go, C, Perl, etc.).
6. Click “see all tools” to move from the recent list into the full catalog.

When this section is most useful

• You want to periodically check what has changed in the CLI tool ecosystem.
• You are looking for modern replacements for standard Unix utilities and want to see what has been updated lately.
• You prefer to scan by date rather than browse the entire catalog.
• You want to filter by alternative target — for example, only tools that replace ps or gzip.

The section does not provide installation instructions, benchmarks, or comparisons beyond the one-line description and metadata. For deeper evaluation, you would need to follow the individual tool’s own documentation.

altbox.dev groups tools by the standard Unix command they replace, so the fastest way to compare options is to open the command's section and read the entries side by side. Each entry gives you a short description, the language it's written in, and the date it was last updated — enough to narrow a list down before you install anything. For example, wc currently lists cloc, scc, and tokei, and their descriptions point to different priorities rather than three versions of the same thing.

What each field on a tool entry tells you

altbox.dev's catalog is organized around three columns: Alternative to, Works with (language), and the tool description, plus a Recently added/updated date on the listing pages.

Worked example: comparing the wc alternatives

The wc section is a good model because all three tools count lines of code, but the descriptions separate them clearly:

• cloc — "Count blank lines, comment lines, and code lines across 400+ programming languages." Written in Perl. Pick this if you need comment/blank/code breakdowns across a very wide language range.
• scc — "Fast code counter with complexity analysis and COCOMO cost estimates." Written in Go. Pick this if you want complexity metrics or cost estimates alongside raw counts.
• tokei — "Count lines of code by language, quickly and accurately." Written in Rust. Pick this if speed and accurate per-language counts are the priority and you don't need the extra analysis.

Same command replaced, three different jobs. Reading the descriptions in sequence is what makes the choice obvious — the language and date fields then help you decide which one fits your environment.

A second example: ps and gzip

The same pattern holds elsewhere:

• ps alternatives — flux ("real-time resource tracking and port discovery," Rust), pspy ("monitor Linux processes in real time without root permissions," Go). If you need root-free monitoring, pspy's description answers that directly; if you need port discovery, flux does.
• gzip alternatives — lz4 ("prioritizing speed over ratio," C), zstd ("better ratios and speeds than gzip," C). The descriptions state the trade-off explicitly, so you can pick based on whether you favor speed or compression ratio.

How to run a comparison yourself

1. Find the command. Locate the standard utility you want to replace in the "Alternative to" list (altbox.dev covers cat, cd, curl, cut, df, diff, dig, du, find, free, ftp, git, grep, gzip, history, info, kill, locate, ls, man, nm, objdump, ping, ps, rm, scp, screen, sed, ssh, tail, tar, top, traceroute, tree, watch, and wc).
2. Read every description in that section. This is where the actual differences live — not in the tool names.
3. Filter by language if you have install or build constraints.
4. Check the updated date to gauge maintenance activity.
5. Shortlist two or three, then verify against your own workload — for instance, run a code counter on a repo you already know the line counts for.

Common pitfalls

• Assuming more tools means better coverage. A command with several alternatives usually means the tools solve different problems, not that they're interchangeable.
• Skipping the description. Language and date alone won't tell you whether a tool does complexity analysis or just counts lines.
• Ignoring multi-command tools. binwalk and radare2 appear under both nm and objdump, so a single tool can cover more than one gap in your toolbox.
• Treating the updated date as a quality score. It reflects recency, not suitability for your task.

The catalog's own framing is worth keeping in mind: standard Unix tools "have lasted us for decades," and the alternatives exist because modern workflows — large heterogeneous source trees, for example — put different demands on the same old commands. Compare on the description first, then use language and date to finalize.

altbox.dev is a catalog of 134 alternative command-line tools for Linux, Unix, and macOS, organized so you can look up a standard utility and see what modern replacements exist for it. To find alternatives for a specific command like grep, cat, or ps, go to the site and locate that command in the "Alternative to" listing, then read the tool entries filed under it. Each entry tells you which standard command(s) the tool replaces and what language it's written in.

How the catalog is organized

The site is built around the standard Unix utilities it calls "alternative power tools." The main navigation dimensions are:

• Alternative to — the standard command being replaced (e.g. cat, cd, curl, cut, df, diff, dig, du, find, free, ftp, git, grep, gzip, history, info, kill, locate, ls, man, nm, objdump, ping, ps, rm, scp, screen, sed, ssh, tail, tar, top, traceroute, tree, watch, wc)
• Works with — the platform(s) the tool supports
• Language — the implementation language (Perl, Rust, Go, C, etc.)
• Recently added/updated — a feed of new and refreshed entries with dates

A single tool can appear under more than one "Alternative to" heading. For example, radare2 is listed as an alternative to both nm and objdump, and binwalk is also filed under both.

Step-by-step: finding a replacement for a specific command

1. Identify the exact standard command you want to replace. The catalog is indexed by command name, so start from the utility itself — for instance grep, ps, or wc.
2. Find that command in the "Alternative to" list. The site's own example: grep works fine for finding text, but tools like ack and ripgrep are designed for large trees of heterogeneous source code.
3. Read the tool entries under that heading. Each entry gives a short description plus the language it's written in, so you can judge fit and ecosystem before installing anything.
4. Check the "Recently added/updated" feed if you want current options. Entries carry update dates, so you can see what's actively maintained.

Worked examples from the catalog

The "Recently added/updated" section shows how entries map a tool to the command it replaces:

This table also shows why the "Language" column matters: if you want a Rust tool for line counting you'd look at tokei, while scc (Go) adds complexity analysis and cost estimates, and cloc (Perl) covers the widest language range.

What to check before switching

• Multiple candidates for one command. wc alone has at least three alternatives in the recent feed, so compare descriptions rather than picking the first.
• Overlapping replacements. Tools like binwalk and radare2 replace more than one command, which can simplify your toolchain.
• Maintenance recency. The update dates let you favor tools that are still being worked on.
• Language and platform. Use the Language column and the "Works with" dimension to confirm the tool fits your environment.

The catalog also links out to related reading, such as community threads on must-have terminal programs and articles on switching to modern CLI tools, if you want broader context beyond a single command.

altbox.dev is a catalog of 134 alternative command-line tools for Linux, Unix, and macOS. It exists to answer a specific question: "I already know grep, ps, and dig — what are the modern replacements?" If you work in a terminal and want to discover tools that extend or replace the standard Unix utilities, this site is built for exactly that. It is a discovery and reference resource, not a package manager or download host.

What the site actually contains

The homepage describes itself as "a catalog of 134 alternative power tools for the Linux/Unix/macOS command line." The framing is deliberate: the standard tools have lasted for decades and are worth knowing, but newer tools are often designed for modern workloads. The site's own example is grep, which works fine for finding text, while ack and ripgrep are built for large trees of heterogeneous source code.

Each tool entry carries a consistent set of fields:

• Tool name and description — what it does in one line
• Alternative to — which standard command(s) it replaces
• Language — the implementation language (Rust, Go, C, Perl, etc.)
• Updated — a date, so you can see how actively maintained it is

That structure means you can scan by the command you already use, or by the language you prefer your tools written in.

Browsing dimensions

The site organizes tools along three visible axes, which map to three different reasons you might visit:

The "Alternative to" list on the homepage names the commands covered: cat, cd, curl, cut, df, diff, dig, du, find, free, ftp, git, grep, gzip, history, info, kill, locate, ls, man, nm, objdump, ping, ps, rm, scp, screen, sed, ssh, tail, tar, top, traceroute, tree, watch, and wc. Some tools map to more than one command — binwalk and radare2 are both listed as alternatives to nm and objdump.

What the recently-updated list shows

The "Recently added/updated" section is the most concrete way to understand the catalog's character. A sample from the page:

• 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
• pspy — monitor Linux processes in real time without root permissions; alternative to ps; Go
• scc — fast code counter with complexity analysis and COCOMO cost estimates; alternative to wc; Go
• tokei — count lines of code by language; alternative to wc; Rust
• binwalk — firmware analysis for identifying and extracting embedded files; alternative to nm/objdump; Rust
• lz4 — extremely fast lossless compression prioritizing speed over ratio; alternative to gzip; C
• radare2 — libre reverse engineering framework and CLI toolset; alternative to nm/objdump; C
• zstd — fast real-time compression with better ratios and speeds than gzip; alternative to gzip; C
• doggo — command-line DNS client with colorized tabular output and DoH, DoT, DoQ, DNSCrypt support; alternative to dig; Go

Two patterns stand out. First, several tools cluster around the same target command — four different wc alternatives and two ps alternatives appear in this short window — so the catalog is useful precisely when you want to compare options rather than take the first result. Second, the language field is not decorative: if you prefer statically compiled Rust or Go binaries over Perl scripts, that column lets you filter by that preference.

How to use it

1. Start from the command you want to replace. If you're unhappy with grep's speed on a large repo, look under grep rather than browsing the whole catalog.
2. Check the language and update date. A recent date suggests active maintenance; the language tells you what toolchain or runtime you'll need.
3. Read the one-line description as a scope signal. "Count lines of code" and "count lines of code with complexity analysis and COCOMO estimates" are different tools for different needs, even though both replace wc.
4. Treat it as a starting point, not a verdict. The catalog tells you a tool exists and what it targets; it does not benchmark it against your workload.

What it is not

The page evidence shows no pricing signals, no payment links, and no login requirements — but that absence is not evidence that everything is free or unrestricted. The site is a catalog; individual tools it lists have their own licenses, repositories, and installation methods that you'll need to check separately. The catalog also does not appear to host downloads or provide installation commands.

The "Related links" section points to external discussions and listicles — for example, a thread titled "I just discovered lazygit. What terminal programs can you not live without?" (2026-04-02) and "After 22 years on Linux, I finally switched to more modern CLI tools" (2026-02-19). These are community reading, useful for context on why people switch, but they are separate from the catalog's own entries.

Who should bookmark it

altbox.dev is worth keeping if you regularly reach for standard Unix utilities and want to know what the modern equivalents are, especially when you care about implementation language or maintenance recency. It is less useful if you need benchmarks, installation instructions, or a curated "best of" ranking — the catalog presents options and metadata, and leaves the judgment to you.

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:

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. doggo replaces dig but adds DoH/DoT support — same job, more protocols. pspy replaces ps but 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 wc alternatives, 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.