Converting FLV files to MP4 is straightforward with FFmpeg. The basic command takes just seconds: ffmpeg -i input.flv output.mp4 FFmpeg will automatically select suitable video and audio codecs for MP4 format. This works for most FLV files without additional configuration. Preserving original quality If you want to skip re-encoding and copy the streams as-is, use…
When you need just the files from a specific branch without downloading the entire repository history, use shallow cloning. This is useful for large repositories where full history takes time to transfer, or when you only care about the current state of a particular branch. The core command is: git clone -b branch-name <repository-url> –depth…
Windows Disk Management has built-in limitations for resizing partitions — it often won’t let you extend the C: drive even when unallocated space exists on the disk. If you’ve hit that wall, third-party partition tools can handle the job more flexibly. Why Disk Management Falls Short Disk Management can only extend a volume into adjacent…
When you install Fedora (or other Linux distributions) alongside Windows on a UEFI system, GRUB sometimes fails to generate a functional boot entry for Windows. The symptom is a missing or non-working “Windows Boot Manager” entry in the GRUB menu, or GRUB drops you to a shell prompt when you select it. Why This Happens…
The most reliable way to download YouTube videos is yt-dlp, a maintained fork of youtube-dl that handles modern YouTube changes and DRM protections. It works on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Installation Linux (Debian/Ubuntu): sudo apt install yt-dlp Linux (Fedora/RHEL): sudo dnf install yt-dlp macOS: brew install yt-dlp Windows or any system with Python 3.8+: pip…
Getting video files from your Linux machine to an iPhone for offline viewing doesn’t require iTunes or complex workarounds. Here are the practical methods that actually work in 2026. Quick Upload via VLC’s WiFi Interface VLC for iOS remains the most straightforward approach for occasional transfers. It’s free, open-source, and handles virtually any codec you…
Viewing file contents in hexadecimal is essential for debugging binaries, inspecting file headers, analyzing corrupted data, and understanding file formats. Linux provides several tools for this, each with different strengths. xxd xxd is the most commonly used hex viewer. By default, it displays hex on the left and ASCII representation on the right: xxd file.txt…
Emacs handles line ending conversions through its buffer coding system. Whether you’re converting CRLF (DOS/Windows) to LF (Unix) or the reverse, the process is straightforward. DOS to Unix (CRLF to LF) Open the file in Emacs and run: M-x set-buffer-file-coding-system RET undecided-unix Or use the keyboard shortcut: C-x RET f undecided-unix Then save the file:…
The simplest approach is to select text and run untabify: M-x untabify This replaces all tabs in the selected region with spaces, preserving column alignment. If no region is active, Emacs prompts you to define one. Convert the Entire Buffer Select all content, then run untabify: C-x h M-x untabify C-x h selects the whole…
To see the current file path immediately, use the Elisp evaluation prompt: M-: buffer-file-name This displays the full path in the echo area. Alternatively, press M-x, type eval-expression, and enter buffer-file-name. In Elisp code Reference buffer-file-name directly in your configuration or custom commands: (message “Editing: %s” buffer-file-name) This prints to the echo area and logs…
The sort command’s -n flag only handles decimal numbers. When you apply it to hexadecimal values, it falls back to lexicographic (alphabetical) sorting, which produces incorrect results since hex digits don’t follow numeric order alphabetically. Given a file with hex addresses: 400000000 __crt0 400000039 __newr0 400001B14 get_my_task_id 200000020 reg1 20400001000 status Running sort -n will…
DVI (Device Independent) files are the output format from TeX and LaTeX compilers. While modern workflows typically generate PDF directly with pdflatex, you’ll still encounter DVI files in legacy documents, archived projects, and specific publishing pipelines that require intermediate processing. Viewing DVI Files Xdvi Xdvi is the most reliable dedicated DVI viewer and remains the…
Converting LaTeX to HTML while preserving figures is essential when publishing technical documentation online. The right tool depends on your document complexity and output requirements. tex4ht (htlatex) tex4ht is the most reliable option for LaTeX documents with figures, math, and complex formatting. It’s part of the TeX Live distribution and available on all major platforms….
Exit codes are how programs communicate success or failure to the shell and parent processes. Understanding them is essential for writing reliable scripts and debugging applications. Linux and Windows handle these differently, so knowing both conventions matters if you work across platforms. Linux Exit Codes On Linux, the convention is simple: 0 means success, 1–255…
The lp command is the standard tool for printing from the Linux command line. It interfaces with CUPS (Common Unix Printing System), the printing backbone on virtually all modern Linux distributions. Basic Printing Send a file to your default printer: lp text-file.txt Specify a particular printer: lp -d printer-name text-file.txt List available printers and identify…
Backing up a complete IMAP account with thousands of messages across nested folders requires automation to preserve folder structure and avoid manual errors. This guide covers three modern tools and provides detailed setup for the most flexible option. Choosing your backup tool offlineimap — Most flexible for complex folder structures and label handling. Active maintenance…
When you need to combine multiple video files (like video1.mp4, video2.mp4, and video3.mp4) into a single output file, FFmpeg is the standard tool on Linux. It’s faster, more reliable, and better maintained than older tools like mencoder. Using FFmpeg with the Concat Demuxer The most robust approach uses FFmpeg’s concat demuxer, which properly handles file…
A4-sized PDFs—particularly technical papers and academic documents—render poorly on Kindle devices. The small fonts become nearly unreadable, and Amazon’s “Send to Kindle” feature often destroys formatting in the process. You need a tool designed specifically for this workflow. Why Standard Conversion Fails Amazon’s email-to-Kindle conversion assumes reflowable text content. Technical papers with multi-column layouts, equations,…
Gnuplot can output directly to EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) format, which is useful for including plots in LaTeX documents and other publishing workflows. Direct EPS Output The simplest approach is to set the terminal to postscript with the eps option before plotting: set terminal postscript eps enhanced mono “Helvetica” 14 set output “my-plot.eps” plot sin(x) This…
Several tools can convert .doc and .docx files to PDF from the command line. Here’s what works in practice. LibreOffice (most common approach) The standard command is: libreoffice –headless –convert-to pdf –outdir /path/to/output/ /path/to/file.docx This works well on systems with X11 available. However, on truly headless servers, –headless doesn’t fully suppress X11 requirements—LibreOffice will still…