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Handy Unix Extras With moreutils

Get tools like ts, sponge, vidir and ifne for shell pipelines.

LinuxtextscriptingcliLow risk
Run echo hello | ts to prefix each line with a timestamp.

01Command

Command
$ echo hello | ts

02What it does

moreutils fills gaps in the standard toolkit: ts timestamps input, sponge lets you read and write the same file safely, vidir edits a directory listing in your editor, and ifne runs a command only when input exists. They compose with pipes.

03Risk

RiskLow risk
Requirementssudo apt install moreutils
!Warning: sponge overwrites its target only after reading, but the write is not atomic across crashes; keep backups for important files.

04Undo

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

05Sources

  • moreutils
    Official project · vendor-doc · 2026-09-20
    Evidence: Debian packages moreutils, a collection of Unix tools including ts, sponge, vidir and vipe.
  • Debian package: moreutils
    Debian · vendor-doc · 2026-09-20
    Evidence: Debian packages moreutils, a collection of Unix tools including ts, sponge, vidir and vipe.

Last verified: 2026-09-22 · Category: Developer

06Related solutions

Create and Apply Patches with diff -u and patch
Linuxdiffpatchtext

Generate a unified diff between two files, apply it to another copy with patch, and reverse it with patch -R.

Low risk ✓ 2026-09-17