tspin

Read from file and view in less

$ tspin [path/to/application.log]

$ journalctl [[-b|--boot]] [[-f|--follow]] | tspin

$ tspin [path/to/application.log] [[-p|--print]]

$ echo "2021-01-01 12:00:00 [INFO] This is a log message" | tspin

tspin [options]

-s
    Specify the characters to use for drawing the spinner. Defaults to the string '|/-\'.

-p
    Set the delay in microseconds between frames. Lower values result in faster spinning. Defaults to 100000.

-b
    Draw with a solid block character.

-h
    Display help message.

The `tspin` command creates a mesmerizing visual effect in your terminal, simulating a spinning "T" tetromino, commonly seen in the game Tetris. It uses ASCII characters to draw the spinning shape and continuously redraws it to create the animation.
This is primarily a novelty command and doesn't serve any practical system administration purpose. It's often used for entertainment or to add a bit of flair while waiting for a long process to complete (though it might increase system load). The visual appearance and speed can be customized using command-line options. It's a fun way to demonstrate terminal capabilities and add a bit of personality to the command line.
Note: This command might not be available on all systems by default, as it's not part of the coreutils package. It typically requires installation of a separate package that provides it.

The `tspin` command can increase CPU usage, especially with very short delay values. Avoid using extremely low delay values as they may render the system unresponsive. The visual quality depends on the terminal emulator being used.

Example 1: Run tspin with the default settings:
tspin

Example 2: Use different characters for the animation:
tspin -s "XO+"

Example 3: Increase the spinning speed:
tspin -p 50000

Example 4: Use a solid block character:
tspin -b

The history of `tspin` is not well documented. It seems to have originated as a small, fun utility, likely inspired by similar terminal-based animation programs. Its development and distribution have been primarily through independent developers and package repositories, rather than being part of a major distribution's core utilities. Usage is for user experience enhancement.

sl(6), aafire(6)