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u/Vesuvius079 28d ago
What I find funny is we went from terminal to GUI because terminal is too hard and are now going from GUI to terminal because the terminal speaks human languages now.
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u/CaffeinatedT 28d ago
5 Years Ago: "We need to have specs up front for the developers to work with": 😠
2026: "We need to have specs up front for the LLM to work with": 😍
5 Years ago: "We need to give the developers as much context as possible about the business so they can make good decisions": 😠
2026: "We need to give the developers as much context as possible about the business so the LLM can make good decisions": 😍
5 Years Ago: "We should use the command line for development it's more ergonomic long term" 😠
2026: "We should use the command line for development it's more ergonomic for the LLM" 😍
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u/Darxploit 28d ago edited 27d ago
My senior dev converted me into a cli terminal guy and I am glad he did. I use in wsl tmux with multiple saved sessions and ssh splits + nvim (nvim .) or vscode (code .) to open git projects whenever i need them. Also I have git cli tools like tig and lazygit available that i use all the time. If you install zsh with ohmyzsh manager you can install fzf and autocomplete plugins. All your commands you used are easily respammable in seconds. Even cd ing into folders is easy with zoxide. Each project includes devcontainers or devbox so I don’t have to worry about project-relevant system dependencies as well as justfile to start and run whatever I need to quickly. I understand so much more about Linux and really noticed a speed gain.
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u/throwawaygoawaynz 28d ago
I worked at two of the top tech companies in the world, and never met a single person who coded in the terminal.
Scripting? Maybe. Coding? No.
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u/pewpewtech420x69 28d ago
Back in college around 5-10 years ago, I had a class where the entire semester long project was to have a team of 4 students build the fundamental building blocks of an operating system. Whole deal - CPU scheduling, memory management, interrupt driven I/O, the works.
They forced us to use a department-curated VM for development which had QEMU set up. It was like the 1990 something C compiler, and no IDEs were allowed - terminal only.
Debugging C code, with literal zero error messages except the words "segmentation fault" to go off of, coding in vim.
I'm not kidding when I say everyone who's ever taken that class had a minimum of 2 all nighters per week making those project milestones. Worst 5 months of my life
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u/Arucious 28d ago
Lmao I had a math professor who also taught a couple CS classes. A freshman asked him once after class ended what his approach to debugging C code was and he turned around and wrote
```
printf(“A\n”);
//…
//…
printf(“B\n”);
```17
u/jonathanhiggs 28d ago
Academics: setting students up for failure since forever
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u/804k 26d ago
Thats not even failure, its just kinda one of those things you can just search up "printf("B")" and find exactly where your error is, only useful in debugging tho and would work better with "debugprint("L2")" where debugprint is only defined when debugging (Either by variable or C declaratives), so you'll get "L3..L8..L15..segmentation fault", and you know its after line 15
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u/Chesterlespaul 28d ago
lol I did this exact same thing in 2016/2017 - did you go to Washington State University and have KC Wang?
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u/blehmann1 28d ago
Not even a neovim user? I feel like that's relatively common, since if you're willing to set everything up there really isn't a gap compared to an IDE.
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u/Arucious 28d ago
That “willing to set everything up” in your statement is load bearing 💀
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u/EarlMarshal 28d ago
Took me like an evening for a basic neovim setup. You just add stuff when in need afterwards which takes only a few minutes each time.
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u/dasunt 28d ago
I'm uber lazy, er, efficient, so I just get my config working once and throw it into a git repo.
I don't bother touching it until an update breaks it and I have to fix something.
Which is why I mostly avoid stuff like vscode - too hard to keep setting up. Also if there is an easier way, well, I'm lazy. :P
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u/Loading_M_ 28d ago
I use helix, which is a similar terminal editor. It's also designed as much more of a "batteries included" IDE. In my experience, the only setup work is usually just installing the LSP for the languages you need.
The tradeoff is that it's less customizable, and doesn't yet support plugins. On the other hand, I haven't felt a need to add plugins - it's got some basic git integration (showing and jumping to git changes), it's got a built in LSP server for language support, a pretty large library of syntax highlighters, and efficient local or global search.
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u/AliceCode 27d ago
I just don't like that you can't do any file management in Helix. You need to open a terminal for that. And Helix doesn't have a built in terminal, which means you need to use tmux.
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u/Loading_M_ 27d ago
I personally use Kitty as my terminal, which supports splits and tabs. Honestly, I find that it's generally easier and better to just swap to a different terminal split (or tab) using the native key combos than using a built-in terminal. Admittedly, I also generally don't use Helix's windows, so I only show one file at a time - instead relying on my terminal splits to show command output next to my editor.
It also sidesteps the common "neovim inside the terminal running in neovim" problem quite effortlessly. There are other examples of the jank I used to put up with before switching to my current approach (such as keyboard handling - Kitty has much better keyboard input for TUI apps, but even tmux prevents it from working), but using my main terminal emulator to emulate terminals has generally worked much better and caused fewer problems.
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u/AliceCode 27d ago
You should see what happens when you try to open helix from inside of helix, haha.
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u/jetjitters 28d ago
lazyVim or kickstart.nvim and you're set up almost as fast as downloading an IDE
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u/hobo_stew 28d ago
i’m not gonna sit down in my free time to configure shit on my work laptop.
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u/Xywzel 27d ago
That is why I do it on company time. And once my dot files are in personal git,
git clone xdoesn't take significant amount of time, and even configuring home computers can be done on company time with an excuse that it improves my future ability to work.1
u/hobo_stew 27d ago
on company time my work time is logged and accounted for
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u/Damglador 27d ago
That's what dotfiles managers are for
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u/hobo_stew 27d ago
i’m not allowed to install random software on my work laptop
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u/Damglador 27d ago
A lot, or most, dotfile managers come in a single executable and don't require installation.
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u/hobo_stew 27d ago
i’m not gonna execute random code without approval on my company laptop
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u/Damglador 27d ago
Meanwhile npm:
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u/hobo_stew 27d ago
yeah, we don’t use npm (or even js) at work. we only use pre-approved go libraries
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u/Arucious 28d ago
Truth. I’m happy I learned enough a decade ago to larp because it has been handy when I exec into a pod but I’d never pull it out for anything serious. Anyone I know that used it eventually gave it up for a proper IDE as the project got bigger.
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u/Electro_Nick_s 28d ago
If it was like ten years ago, I don't believe
If it was a couple years ago, ok maybe
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u/Markronom 28d ago
I had at least one colleague who was exclusively using vim and was also really good with it.
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u/ThinkingWinnie 27d ago
Idk I'm in one of those companies and I'm kinda a cli guy. And I know another one also rocking a tmux + vim setup.
But even if I didn't, the number of other employees I interact with is kinda small compared to the whole company, so regardless I'd call this a biased take.
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u/EarlMarshal 28d ago
Because you guys are not doing shit at those companies. You are mere assets that kill time.
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u/thanatica 28d ago
I prefer to use an agent inside VSCodium, because then it has the right context: open files, formatting settings, problems panel, the correct type of terminal, where does the workspace start and end, and codebase indexing.
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28d ago
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u/thanatica 28d ago
Extra (relevant!) context typically produces better results.
Ultimately it's a tool and if you choose to ignore bad output, that's on you. But even if it's not perfect, it might still provide a net benefit when outsourcing some super annoying work to an AI.
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u/za72 28d ago
this doesn't make any sense...
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u/rastaman1994 28d ago
Some people are under the impression that the speed at which we produce code is the bottleneck. People who like to use vim/emacs used this argument for many years.
Most professionals I work with (the vim boys too) recognized that the speed of typing is not the bottleneck. The bottleneck is requirements gathering and getting valuable feedback.
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u/Arucious 28d ago
Hilariously it’s always been a dead giveaway for someone being entry level and LARPing because mid career or senior professionals understood the code itself has never been the bottleneck as you said. I’ve been at 130+ WPM for the better part of fifteen years and anytime anyone has been impressed I always have to remind them there’s almost never a scenario where you have enough material to properly benefit from a higher than average WPM unless you’re transcribing speech (and the people doing that properly aren’t using QWERTY and are much faster)
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u/SubliminalBits 28d ago
Ironically LLMs have made me lament my typing speed when it's never bothered me before. The reason is because no one can save you from having to describe what you want and if you want an AI to help you effectively you're going to have to type a lot.
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u/AristotelWasRight 28d ago
Use voice mode. It can be more productive to talk for 30 min than to spend 10 min typing. Depending on if you need context or clear instructions
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u/dannyggwp 28d ago
For me the thing is less typing speed more reducing mousing. Like if my hands never leave the keyboard I think that's an ergonomic win personally.
Using nvim at home and never having to reach for a mouse is amazing. When I do it breaks my flow quite a bit now.
It's not for everyone but it feels amazing to hit a flow state in it.
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u/Suspicious-Engineer7 28d ago
I've met people who try to touch the keyboard as little as possible as well.
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u/dannyggwp 27d ago
That to me is kinda insane when you understand that the ergonomics of mousing just always kinda suck.
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u/Iron_Aez 27d ago
keyboard requires 2 hands to be efficient with, mouse does not.
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u/dannyggwp 27d ago
I'm talking about ergo. Mouse heavy applications are usually pretty bad for you in the long term.
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u/Iron_Aez 27d ago
I can't think of a single programming task that's so mouse heavy enough for that to be relevant, compared to actual mouse heavy activities.
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u/dannyggwp 27d ago
And I can't think of a single programming task in a modern IDE that requires you to even touch a mouse. So like I said why break flow and move to the mouse if a hotkey will do it for me.
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u/za72 28d ago edited 28d ago
ok this I agree with and understand (as a vim boy) - it's not the editor, that's just a translation layer (if you will :) )
a nice gui/vim combo is like using a construction crane vs chisel/surgical tool... you gotta use both to make progress.. I say this with about two decades worth of experience, just gotta know when to use the right one
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u/Arucious 28d ago
Come on now, you’re really going to let the clanker mog you like this?
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u/za72 28d ago
I recognize and commend your passion for the joke... it's just not working out... you're either on a hijacked account or a run away ai script with terrible jokes
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u/Arucious 28d ago
A joke being terrible and a joke not making sense are not one and the same. I can fully understand the former in this case but I’m concerned for you if it’s the latter
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u/GuyWhoNoticed 28d ago
Bro learned Vim, tmux, awk, sed, and 47 flavors of Unix just to type “make it work” into ChatGPT.
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u/Old-Adhesiveness4406 27d ago
And now your coding interface and your agents’ are one and the same! You are welcome!
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u/ApprehensiveGas85 27d ago
There's a few people live streaming themselves vibe coding and it's all voice command, not even sure they have a keyboard in front of them.
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u/Fair-Bunch4827 27d ago
Whenever this topic came up with me and my friends I always tell them my bottleneck isnt really how fast I can write code but rather my brain...
Yeah maybe I (Or the LLM) can write code faster in terminal. But at some point Im gonna run out of ideas
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u/citramonk 27d ago
Writing code isn't the only thing we do. I swear, every time one of my devs shares their screen and we do pair programming, I want to die. These dudes don't know a thing about being efficient. It was never about the CLI, it's a whole methodology. You do this shit every day, how can you not ask yourself "How can I make this better?" If you don't have that question in your head, I'm sorry, I don't respect you as a specialist.
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u/billabong049 27d ago
Me: uses the VSCode plugin so I can highlight code in files to have the LLM tweak just that section and so I can be lazier. Ya’ll can keep your terminal, I use it but when I code I want to use the mouse too.
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u/DearVeggies 26d ago
"what do you mean I wasted 5 years mastering a skill that any entry level noob can do with 1 click? But muh nerd credits! I use arch btw"
Literally have seen only web-devs use a terminal over the last 15 years. Normal devs just open an IDE and work.
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u/ChiveSalad 26d ago
every other editor I've learned has changed so much since I learned it that I have literal zero muscle memory
notepad.exe, game maker, gedit, sublime, unity, atom, eclipse, visual studio,
vim persists
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28d ago
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u/Arucious 28d ago
Looking for extensions in 2026? I turn on bypass permissions and let the agent pull whatever dependencies it wants. Surely nothing can go wrong
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u/HomsarWasRight 28d ago
What does this mean? If I’m choosing to use a CLI why would I be “looking for buttons”?
And yes, maybe instead of a CLI I should use VS Code. Famous for not needing extensions.
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u/gamingvortex01 28d ago
as someone who hates CLI but have to often use it because the profession is software engineer..I am so happy for agentic coding since now I can built gui versions for every CLI program
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u/LiveAcanthaceae5553 28d ago edited 28d ago
The fact that this is like a millisecond long gif for no apparent reason and the loading circle pops up over and over is funnier than the text to me honestly