Introduction

Are you tired of slow, clunky GUI-based file managers? Do you want lightning-fast navigation and total control over your files—right from your terminal? Meet Superfile, the ultimate tool for power users who love efficiency and speed.

In this blog, we’ll take you on a deep dive into Superfile’s features, commands, and shortcuts, transforming you into a file management ninja!

Why Choose Superfile?

Superfile isn’t just another file manager it’s a game-changer.

Here’s why

Blazing Fast – No unnecessary UI lag, just pure efficiency.

Keyboard-Driven – Forget the mouse, master navigation with powerful keybindings.

Multi-Panel Support – Work with multiple directories simultaneously.

Smart Search & Sorting – Instantly locate and organize files.

Built-in File Preview & Metadata Display – See what you need without opening files.

Highly Customizable – Tailor it to fit your workflow perfectly.

Installation

Getting started is easy! Install Superfile using

# For Linux (Debian-based)
wget -qO- https://superfile.netlify.app/install.sh | bash

# For macOS (via Homebrew)
brew install superfile

# For Windows (via Scoop)
scoop install superfile

Once installed, launch it with

spf

Boom! You’re ready to roll.

Essential Commands & Shortcuts

General Operations

• Launch Superfile: spf
• Exit: Press q or Esc
• Help Menu: ?
• Toggle Footer Panel: F

File & Folder Navigation

• New File Panel: n
• Close File Panel: w
• Toggle File Preview: f
• Next Panel: Tab or Shift + l
• Sidebar Panel: s

File & Folder Management

• Create File/Folder: Ctrl + n
• Rename: Ctrl + r
• Copy: Ctrl + c
• Cut: Ctrl + x
• Paste: Ctrl + v
• Delete: Ctrl + d
• Copy Path: Ctrl + p

Search & Selection

• Search: /
• Select Files: v
• Select All: Shift + a

Compression & Extraction

• Extract Zip: Ctrl + e
• Compress to Zip: Ctrl + a

Advanced Power Moves

• Open Terminal Here: Shift + t
• Open in Editor: e
• Toggle Hidden Files: .

Pro Tip: Use Shift + p to pin frequently accessed folders for even quicker access!

Customizing Superfile

Want to make Superfile truly yours? Customize it easily by editing the config file

$EDITOR CONFIG_PATH

To enable the metadata plugin, add

metadata = true

For more customizations, check out the Superfile documentation.

Final Thoughts

Superfile is the Swiss Army knife of terminal-based file managers. Whether you’re a developer, system admin, or just someone who loves a fast, efficient workflow, Superfile will revolutionize the way you manage files.

Ready to supercharge your productivity? Install Superfile today and take control like never before!

For more details, visit the Superfile website.

Hey everyone! Today, we had an exciting Linux installation session at our college. We expected many to do a full Linux installation, but instead, we set up dual boot on 10+ machines!

Topics Covered:
Syed Jafer – FOSS, GLUGs, and open-source communities
Salman – Why FOSS matters & Linux Commands
Dhanasekar – Linux and DevOps
Guhan – GNU and free software

Challenges We Faced

BitLocker Encryption – Had to disable BitLocker on some laptops
BIOS/UEFI Problems – Secure Boot, boot order changes needed
GRUB Issues – Windows not showing up, required boot-repair

Watch the installation video and try it yourself! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7sSqlam2Sk

Linux Mint Installation Guide https://tkdhanasekar.wordpress.com/2025/02/15/installation-of-linux-mint-22-1-cinnamon-edition/

This is just the beginning!

Performance testing is a crucial part of ensuring the stability and scalability of web applications. k6 is a modern, open-source load testing tool that allows developers and testers to script and execute performance tests efficiently. In this blog, we’ll explore the basics of k6 and write a simple test script to get started.

What is k6?

k6 is a load testing tool designed for developers. It is written in Go but uses JavaScript for scripting tests. Key features include,

• High performance with minimal resource consumption
• JavaScript-based scripting
• CLI-based execution with detailed reporting
• Integration with monitoring tools like Grafana and Prometheus

Installation

For installation check : https://grafana.com/docs/k6/latest/set-up/install-k6/

Writing a Basic k6 Test

A k6 test is written in JavaScript. Here’s a simple script to test an API endpoint,

import http from 'k6/http';
import { check, sleep } from 'k6';

export let options = {
  vus: 10, // Number of virtual users
  duration: '10s', // Test duration
};

export default function () {
  let res = http.get('https://api.restful-api.dev/objects');
  check(res, {
    'is status 200': (r) => r.status === 200,
  });
  sleep(1); // Simulate user wait time
}

Running the Test

Save the script as script.js and execute the test using the following command,

k6 run script.js

Understanding the Output

After running the test, k6 will provide a summary including

1. HTTP requests: Total number of requests made during the test.

2. Response time metrics:

• min: The shortest response time recorded.

• max: The longest response time recorded.

• avg: The average response time of all requests.

• p(90), p(95), p(99): Percentile values indicating response time distribution.

3. Checks: Number of checks passed or failed, such as status code validation.

4. Virtual users (VUs):

• vus_max: The maximum number of virtual users active at any time.

• vus: The current number of active virtual users.

5. Request Rate (RPS – Requests Per Second): The number of requests handled per second.

6. Failures: Number of errors or failed requests due to timeouts or HTTP status codes other than expected.

Next Steps

Once you’ve successfully run your first k6 test, you can explore,

• Load testing different APIs and endpoints
• Running distributed tests
• Exporting results to Grafana
• Integrating k6 with CI/CD pipelines

k6 is a powerful tool that helps developers and QA engineers ensure their applications perform under load. Stay tuned for more in-depth tutorials on advanced k6 features!

Ensuring your applications perform well under high traffic is crucial. Join us for an interactive K6 Bootcamp, where we’ll explore performance testing, load testing strategies, and real-world use cases to help you build scalable and resilient systems.

What is K6 and Why Should You Learn It?

Modern applications must handle thousands (or millions!) of users without breaking. K6 is an open-source, developer-friendly performance testing tool that helps you

Simulate real-world traffic and identify performance bottlenecks.
Write tests in JavaScript – no need for complex tools!
Run efficient load tests on APIs, microservices, and web applications.
Integrate with CI/CD pipelines to automate performance testing.
Gain deep insights with real-time performance metrics.

By mastering K6, you’ll gain the skills to predict failures before they happen, optimize performance, and build systems that scale with confidence!

Bootcamp Details

Date: Feb 23 2024 – Sunday
Time: 10:30 AM
Mode: Online (Link Will be shared in Email after RSVP)
Language: தமிழ்

Who Should Attend?

• Developers – Ensure APIs and services perform well under load.
• QA Engineers – Validate system reliability before production.
• SREs / DevOps Engineers – Continuously test performance in CI/CD pipelines.

RSVP Now

Don’t miss this opportunity to master load testing with K6 and take your performance engineering skills to the next level!

Got questions? Drop them in the comments or reach out to me. See you at the bootcamp!

Our Previous Monthly meets – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPtyuSzeaa8&list=PLiutOxBS1MizPGGcdfXF61WP5pNUYvxUl&pp=gAQB

Our Previous Sessions,

1. Python – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQquVptFreE&list=PLiutOxBS1Mizte0ehfMrRKHSIQcCImwHL&pp=gAQB
2. Docker – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXgUBanjZP8&list=PLiutOxBS1Mizi9IRQM-N3BFWXJkb-hQ4U&pp=gAQB
3. Postgres – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04pE5bK2-VA&list=PLiutOxBS1Miy3PPwxuvlGRpmNo724mAlt&pp=gAQB

Attended the FOSS United Chennai Meetup Yesterday!

After, attending Grafana & Friends Meetup, straightly went to FOSS United Chennai Meetup at YuniQ in Taramani.

Had a chance to meet my Friends face to face after a long time. Sakhil Ahamed E. , Dhanasekar T, Dhanasekar Chellamuthu, Thanga Ayyanar, Parameshwar Arunachalam, Guru Prasath S, Krisha, Gopinathan Asokan

Talks Summary,

1. Ansh Arora, Gave a tour on FOSS United, How its formed, Motto, FOSS Hack, FOSS Clubs.

2. Karthikeyan A K, Gave a talk on his open source product injee (The no configuration instant database for frontend developers.). It’s a great tool. He gave a personal demo for me. It’s a great tool with lot of potentials. Would like to contribute !.

3. Justin Benito, How they celebrated New Year with https://tamilnadu.tech
It’s single go to page for events in Tamil Nadu. If you are interested ,go to the repo https://lnkd.in/geKFqnFz and contribute.

From Kaniyam Foundation we are maintaining a Google Calendar for a long time on Tech Events happening in Tamil Nadu https://lnkd.in/gbmGMuaa.

4. Prasanth Baskar, gave a talk on Harbor, OSS Container Registry with SBOM and more functionalities. SBOM was new to me.

5. Thanga Ayyanar, gave a talk on Static Site Generation with Emacs.

At the end, we had a group photo and went for tea. Got to meet my Juniors from St. Joseph’s Institute of Technology in this meet. Had a discussion with Parameshwar Arunachalam on his BuildToLearn Experience. They started prototyping an Tinder app for Tamil Words. After that had a small discussion on our Feb 8th Glug Inauguration at St. Joseph’s Institute of Technology Dr. KARTHI M .

Happy to see, lot of minds travelling from different districts to attend this meet.

What is plaintext in my point of view:
Its simply text without any makeup or add-on, it is just an organic content. For example,

• A handwritten grocery list what our mother used to give to our father
• A To-Do List
• An essay/composition writing in our school days

Why plaintext is important?
– The quality of the content only going to get score here: there is no marketing by giving some beautification or formats.
– Less storage
– Ideal for long term data storage because Cross-Platform Compatibility
– Universal Accessibility. Many s/w using plain text for configuration files (.ini, .conf, .json)
– Data interchange (.csv – interchange data into databases or spreadsheet application)
– Command line environments, even in cryptography.
– Batch Processing: Many batch processes use plain text files to define lists of actions or tasks that need to be executed in a batch mode, such as renaming files, converting data formats, or running programs.

So plain text is simple, powerful and something special we have no doubt about it.

What is IRC?
IRC – Internet Relay Chat is a plain text based real time communication System over the internet for one-on-one chat, group chat, online community – making it ideal for discussion.

It’s a popular network for free and open-source software (FOSS) projects and developers in olden days. Ex. many large projects (like Debian, Arch Linux, GNOME, and Python) discussion used. Nowadays also IRC is using by many communities.

Usage :
Mainly a discussion chat forum for open-source software developers, technology, and hobbyist communities.

Why IRC?
Already we have so many chat platforms which are very advanced and I could use multimedia also there: but this is very basic, right? So Why should I go for this?

Yes it is very basic, but the infrastructure of this IRC is not like other chat platforms. In my point of view the important differences are Privacy and No Ads.

Advantages over other Chat Platforms:

• No Ads Or Popups: We are not distracted from other ads or popups because my information is not shared with any companies for tracking or targeted marketing.
• Privacy: Many IRC networks do not require your email, mobile number or even registration. You can simply type your name or nick name, select a server and start chatting instantly. Chat Logs also be stored if required.
• Open Source and Free: Server, Client – the entire networking model is free and open source. Anybody can install the IRC servers/clients and connect with the network.
• Decentralized : As servers are decentralized, it could able to work even one server has some issues and it is down. Users can connect to different servers within the same network which is improving reliability and performance.
• Low Latency: Its a free real time communication system with low latency which is very important for technical communities and time sensitive conversations.
• Customization and Extensibility: Custom scripts can be written to enhance functionality and IRC supports automation through bots which can record chats, sending notification or moderating channels, etc.
• Channel Control: Channel Operators (Group Admin) have fine control over the users like who can join, who can be kicked off.
• Light Weight Tool: As its light weight no high end hardware required. IRC can be accessed from even older computers or even low powered devices like Rasberry Pi.
• History and Logging: Some IRC Servers allow logging of chats through bots or in local storage.

Inventor
IRC is developed by Jarkko Oikarinen (Finland) in 1988.

Some IRC networks/Servers:
Libera.Chat(#ubuntu, #debian, #python, #opensource)
EFNet-Eris Free Network (#linux, #python, #hackers)
IRCnet(#linux, #chat, #help)
Undernet(#help, #anime, #music)
QuakeNet (#quake, #gamers, #techsupport)
DALnet- for both casual users and larger communities (#tech, #gaming, #music)

Some Clients-GUI
HexChat (Linux, macOS, Windows)
Pidgin (Linux, Windows)
KVIrc (Linux, Windows, macOS)

Some IRC Clients for CLI (Command Line Interface) :
WeeChat
Irssi

IRC Clients for Mobile :
Goguma
Colloquy (iOS)
LimeChat (iOS)
Quassel IRC (via Quassel Core) (Android)
AndroIRC (Android)

Directly on the Website – Libera WebClient – https://web.libera.chat/gamja/ You can click Join, then type the channel name (Group) (Ex. #kaniyam)

How to get Connected with IRC:
After installed the IRC client, open.
Add a new network (e.g., “Libera.Chat”).
Set the server to irc.libera.chat (or any of the alternate servers above).
Optionally, you can specify a port (default is 6667 for non-SSL, 6697 for SSL).
Join a channel like #ubuntu, #python, or #freenode-migrants once you’re connected.

Popular channels to join on libera chat:
#ubuntu, #debian, #python, #opensource, #kaniyam

Local Logs:
Logs are typically saved in plain text and can be stored locally, allowing you to review past conversations.
How to get local logs from our System (IRC libera.chat Server)
folders – /home//.local/share/weechat/logs/ From Web-IRCBot History:
https://ircbot.comm-central.org:8080

References:
https://kaniyam.com/what-is-irc-an-introduction/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGurYNb0BM8

Our daily meetings :
You can install IRC client, with the help of above link, can join.
Timings : IST 8pm-9pm
Server : libera.chat
Channel : #kaniyam

ALL ARE WELCOME TO JOIN, DISCUSS and GROW