Increase your productivity both inside and outside the terminal by putting these tools in your own skill pack.

Some time ago, I participated in a Twitter conversation that was making the rounds among tech people. “The challenge? Just pick five tools you can’t live without.” I started thinking about this in the context of my daily life, and it wasn’t easy to pick just five tools. I use a lot of I think the essential tools, such as used to contact the colleagues and friends IRC client (yes, I still use the IRC), a used to do all sorts of things good text editors, a calendar application used to keep in an orderly way, and when need more direct interaction of a video conference platform.

So, let me give this challenge a twist: Pick five open source tools that can improve your productivity. Here is my list. Please share your list in the comments.

tmate

Oh, I love this tool. Tmate is a copy of the famous TMUX terminal multiplexer, which allows you to start a TMUX session and share it over SSH. You can use it for pair programming (which is my main usage scenario) or for remote control.

If you work with your team members a lot, and you want an easy, distract-neutral, open source way to program with them (and shared terminal access is good enough for you), this is definitely something you must add to the list.

Get more information on tMATE’s website or check out the code on GitHub.

ix

Ix is a command line stickboard. You don’t need to install anything. You can use curl to create a new paste on the ix. IO site. For example, the echo Hello world. | curl -f ‘F: 1 = < – ix. IO will give you a to ix. IO links, paste the message “Hello world” there information. This is handy when you want to share logs for debugging or to save configuration files on a server without a desktop environment.

One drawback is that the source code has not been published, although it is intended to be open source. If you are the author and are reading this, please release the code so we can contribute to the process of polishing it.

asciinema

Yes, this is another terminal tool, Asciinema lets you record your terminals. There are many ways to use it, but I usually use it for presentations. It is very easy to use and there are many packages available for Linux distributions and other platforms.

To see how it works, check out this cool demo. Isn’t it great?

Learn more about Asciinema on its website and access its source code on GitHub.

GNOME Pomodoro

Ok, so much for the introduction to terminal tools. Now I’d like to share with you this simple treasure that can help you get organized at work. Have you heard of the Pomodoro technique? Pomodoro is basically a time management tool. It uses a tomato-shaped timer to help you break your time into work and rest periods (by default, 25 minutes of work is followed by a 5-minute break). Also, after every 4 “tomatoes” you get a longer break (15 minutes by default). The idea is to keep you focused during work hours and stretch and relax during breaks.

It sounds very, very simple, and you might balk at letting a tomato-shaped clock control your life, but it did help me stay organized and avoid fatigue when trying to focus on many things at once.

I highly recommend this, no matter what role you’re in. Among the many different tools to implement it, I recommend the GNOME Pomodoro application. It works with major GNU/Linux distributions, so it requires you to use the GNOME desktop environment (which may be a disadvantage).

Check out GNOME Pomodoro’s website for more information and visit its GitHub repository to get the source code and learn how to contribute.

Jitsi

Last but not least is the Jitsi. When you’re working on a remote, global team, you need a way to connect with people. Instant messaging is great, but sometimes it’s better to have a quick meeting and discuss things face to face (well, see each other’s faces). There are many video conferencing tools available, but I like the Jitsi. Not only is it free and open source, but it provides a clean, useful interface. You can set up your own Jitsi server (for business purposes), but you can also try out a public instance of Jitsi by visiting the Jitsi Meet web site.

A good way to set up this meeting is to only use it if you have a clear agenda in mind. And always ask yourself, can I use email instead of the meeting? Follow these guidelines and use the Jitsi sparingly, and your workday will be very productive!

Learn more on the Jitsi website and start contributing by visiting its GitHub repository.

I hope my list helps you reach a new level of productivity. What are your top 5 open source productivity tools you can’t live without? Let me know in the comments.

Via: opensource.com/article/20/…

By Victoria Martinez de la Cruz (lujun9972

This article is originally compiled by LCTT and released in Linux China