Long filenames - tab autocomplete

If you spend any time in a terminal, and to use Linux you kinda have to, you’ll encounter some long filenames. More than long even, they’re awkward. Combine this with the fact that Linux is case-sensitive (which means you’ll have to get the uppercase and lowercase right) and you have a bottleneck in your productivity.

It took me a pathetically long time to realize that you could have filenames filled in for you automatically. In order to save everyone else possible the embarrassment of being a try-hard, here’s some info on how to avoid typing long filenames.

Tab autocomplete
If you’re using a terminal, whether logged into your own local computer or some computer far away, whether you’re using ftp or telnet or ssh, you probably are using a shell that supports automatic filename completion.
The secret? Hit the tab key
Just start typing the filename and hit tab. If there are two or more filenames that might match what you’re typing, only a little of the filename will be filled in. When that happens, type another character or two to tell the shell more precisely which file you’re talking about and hit tab again.

If anyone has any other tricks that I haven’t posted, by all means please tell me about them in the comments. You can either tell me to write an article on it or just write one yourself and I’ll post it.