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Instant Command Cheat Sheets with curl cht.sh

Query cheat.sh from the terminal to get concise, example-first help for any command — including specific subcommand recipes — without leaving the shell.

LinuxcurlcheatsheetdevelopercliLow risk
Run curl -s cht.sh/tar for a tar cheat sheet, or curl -s cht.sh/tar~extract-single-file for a targeted recipe; use :help as the topic for usage.

01Command

Command
$ curl -s cht.sh/tar && curl -s cht.sh/tar~extract-single-file

02What it does

cheat.sh aggregates community cheat sheets (tldr, Stack Overflow answers and more) and serves them as plain text, so curl drops the answer right into your terminal — no browser, no scrolling through a man page to find one flag. The tilde syntax targets subtasks, which is where it beats the man page: cht.sh/rsync~exclude-directory returns just that recipe. Adding -s keeps the output clean, and the service also supports /:list for all topics, making it a fast lookup layer on top of, not a replacement for, the real documentation.

03Risk

RiskLow risk
Requirementscurl (preinstalled on most distributions); internet connection
!Warning: Every query leaves your machine in plaintext over the network, and answers are community-edited — verify anything risky in the man page before running it on a production system.

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

  • cheat.sh — README
    chubin (GitHub) · vendor-doc · 2026-09-17
    Evidence: cheat.sh serves curated cheat sheets from the command line via curl; topic~subtopic URLs query a specific subcommand, and cht.sh is the short alias.
  • curl(1) — Linux manual page
    man7.org · community · 2026-09-17
    Evidence: curl transfers data from URLs; -s silences the progress meter for clean terminal output.

Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: Developer

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