Software · CLI
arch
A Python CLI I built in 2019 to run my Arch Linux machine from a single verb. The source did not survive, but the habits it taught me did.
Why it existed
I have run Arch Linux for years. I like it for the same reasons I like building software. It is minimal, it stays out of the way, and it does not decide things for me.
The cost is that a lot of routine work is scattered across a handful of different commands.
arch was my answer. One entry point, a set of subcommands, and the things I did every day reduced to a verb I could type without thinking.
What it did
arch update ran a full package update. arch process searched running processes, listed them, and let me kill them by name or pattern instead of hunting for PIDs.
arch cast sent media to a Chromecast on the network and, the part I was proudest of, piped the system audio through correctly so the sound actually followed the video instead of staying stuck on the laptop.
A small surface, sane defaults, everything one or two words away.
What I kept from it
The source is gone and it was never hosted anywhere, so this is a project I can describe but not show.
What stayed with me is the design instinct. A good personal tool removes friction you stopped noticing.
Every command earned its place by being something I already did often enough to resent typing in full. That bar, does this remove a daily friction, is the same one I hold tools to now.
- One verb for the machine. arch update, arch process, arch cast, all under a single entry point.
- Process control by name. Search, list, and kill processes by pattern instead of chasing PIDs.
- Chromecast with real audio. Cast media to a Chromecast on the network with the system sound piped through correctly.
- Minimal by design. A small command surface, sane defaults, built for a machine that stays out of the way.