Ed Oswald Go

Ed Oswald Go

Software developer, hobbyist photographer, audio, film and tv buff

Cmder: A Hassle-free Console Emulator for Windows

4 minute read

Overview

I spent most of my coding career using Windows but last 2016, I needed to start using Mac OS X full-time. The transition is quite smooth but one should get use to pressing the Command Key (⌘) instead of Control (Ctrl). After I got used to it, the ergonomic experience felt more natural as less hand re-positioning is needed.

Aside from typing experience, one major thing I like with OS X is the Unix command line. The commands are quite powerful and detailed. Also, if the user has experience with Linux, he/she would not have any problem in using the command-line of OS X.

Due to some circumstance, I needed to use Windows again as my development environment. How will I transition back to Windows? Am I doomed? *sobs*

Questions

  1. Should I just use the Windows Command Prompt? Definitely *pause* not.

  2. How can I have access to Unix commands in Windows?

  3. Should I just follow my old setup of ConEmu + Git Bash?

  4. Is there a more convenient tool or setup especially for software developers using Windows?

  5. How about the pleasing user interface from OS X?

Discovery

Upon setting up my development environment for Windows, luckily, I found the Cmder tool!

Cmder
Reference Image from http://cmder.net/

The tool answered all the concerns I mentioned on the previous section. Below are some of its features that I super duper love.

  1. Built on top ConEmu

    • Accessible ConEmu goodies i.e. tabs, tabs, tabs, and more tabs.
    • Layout and interface are still the same.

  2. Unix and Git commands served hot

    • Commands are automatically injected to the PATH environment variable.

  3. Look and feel

    • The Monokai color scheme is very appealing especially the grayish background.

Note: Git for Windows is only available for the full version of the installer.

Pro Tip: Just get the full version. It is really that convenient.

Conclusion

I have been using Cmder for quite some time now. In my opinion, the convenience and features that Cmder brings, makes it the best free console emulator for Windows.

Cheers!

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