Visualize your most-used CLI commands

Visualizing your most-used CLI (Command Line Interface) commands can help identify patterns, optimize workflows, and discover areas for automation. Here are several practical methods to visualize CLI usage:

1. Using history with awk and sort

Run this command to find your most-used commands:

bash
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history | awk '{CMD[$2]++} END {for (a in CMD) print CMD[a] " " a}' | sort -rn | head -n 10

Explanation:

• history: shows command history

• awk '{CMD[$2]++}': counts each unique command

• sort -rn: sorts by frequency

• head -n 10: shows top 10 commands

2. Visualize with a Bar Chart using Python

Save your command frequencies in a file and visualize:

bash
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history | awk '{CMD[$2]++} END {for (a in CMD) print CMD[a], a}' > cmd_freq.txt

Then use this Python snippet:

python
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import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

data = {}
with open("cmd_freq.txt") as f:
    for line in f:
        count, cmd = line.strip().split(maxsplit=1)
        data[cmd] = int(count)

# Get top 10
top = dict(sorted(data.items(), key=lambda x: x[1], reverse=True)[:10])

plt.barh(list(top.keys()), list(top.values()), color='skyblue')
plt.xlabel('Usage Count')
plt.title('Top 10 Most Used CLI Commands')
plt.gca().invert_yaxis()
plt.tight_layout()
plt.show()

3. Using bashhub or atop for Persistent Tracking

• bashhub: Tracks all commands across all terminals persistently.

• atop: While more for system monitoring, it can indirectly inform CLI usage patterns.

4. TUI-based CLI Usage Stats: histstat or hh

• histstat: Visualizes shell command history in a frequency table.

• hh (hstr): Interactive history with frequency-based search.

Install with:

bash
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sudo apt install hstr

Then launch with:

bash
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hh

5. Fish Shell with fish_history Analytics

If using Fish shell:

bash
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fish
functions -q fish_history && fish_history | awk '{print $1}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head

6. Heatmap with gnuplot or CSV + Excel

You can write frequencies to CSV:

bash
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history | awk '{CMD[$2]++} END {for (a in CMD) print a "," CMD[a]}' > command_usage.csv

Then import into Excel or use gnuplot for heatmaps.

7. Web-Based Visualization Tools

Convert to JSON and visualize using JavaScript libraries like Chart.js or D3.js.

bash
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history | awk '{CMD[$2]++} END {for (a in CMD) print "{ "cmd": "" a "", "count": " CMD[a] " },"}' > data.json

Then embed in a local HTML file to generate interactive visuals.

Summary

Choose based on your comfort level and how visual or persistent you want your usage stats to be.