unixkcd

2025-04-07T01:26:47Z

Vbgoy: Attempted to give a slightly better transcript to the comic.

{{comic
| date = April 1, 2010
| title = unixkcd
| image = Konami code.png
| titletext =
| lappend =
| ldomain = uni
| extra = yes
}}
{{TOC}}
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|
*Explain the jokes and references in the [[#Undocumented commands]] section and the sections below it.
*Find a better way to represent the comic, other than the current image. (screengrab maybe?)
*Add this comic to more categories.
*Describe the website interface a bit, such as the links at the bottom.}}This is another one of Randall's [[:Category: April fools' comics|April fools' comics]]. On April 1, 2010, [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] altered the [https://xkcd.com xkcd.com] website to mimic a {{w|Unix}} {{w|command-line interface}}. This interface is still available on [https://uni.xkcd.com uni.xkcd.com] and the source code is [https://github.com/chromakode/xkcdfools available on GitHub]. The comic [[721: Flatland]], released on March 31, 2010, was still up on April 1, 2010, but was unrelated to the Unix interface. The terminal only lists a few available commands, but most commands are undocumented.

===Documented commands===
{| class="sortable wikitable"
! Command
! Response
! Explanation
|-
|<code>'''next'''</code>
|(''shows the next comic'')
|If the latest comic number is given, shows the error <code>Time travel mode not enabled</code>. See <code>'''[[#Undocumented commands|enable time travel]]'''</code> below.
|-
|<code>'''prev'''</code>
|(''shows the previous comic'')
|
|-
|<code>'''first'''</code>
|(''shows the first comic'')
|
|-
|<code>'''last'''</code>
|(''shows the last comic'')
|
|-
|<code>'''display [number]'''</code>
|(''shows the comic with the specified number'')
|Trying to display comic [[404: Not Found]] will result in an endless loading attempt.
|-
|<code>'''random'''</code>
|(''shows a random comic'')
|
|-
|<code>'''ls'''</code>
| rowspan="2" |(''shows the content of the current directory'')
| rowspan="2" |
|-
|<code>'''dir'''</code>
|-
|<code>'''cat [filename]'''</code>
|(''shows the content of the file'')
|See also <code>'''[[#Undocumented commands|cat]]'''</code> below.
|-
|<code>'''cd [directory]'''</code>
|(''changes to the specified directory'')
|
|}

===Undocumented commands===
{| class="sortable wikitable"
! Command
! Response
! Explanation
|-
|<code>'''<nowiki>:(){:|:&};:</nowiki>'''</code>
|<code>[...]</code> (''repeats indefinitely'')
|This command, otherwise known as a [https://askubuntu.com/questions/159491/why-did-the-command-make-my-system-lag-so-badly-i-had-to-reboot shell fork bomb] will make the terminal display the <code>[...]</code> loading dots indefinitely, as though it crashed.
|-
|rowspan="9" |<code>'''a/s/l'''</code> ''or'' <code>'''asl'''</code>
|
|{{w|Age/sex/location|A/S/L}} is not a Unix command, but an acronym of Age/Sex/Location in this case. The following replies are possible:
|-
|<code>2/AMD64/Server Rack</code>
|Answered as if the server replied. sex refered as {{w|AMD}}
|-
|<code>328/M/Transylvania</code>
|Answered by {{w|Dracula}}.
|-
|<code>6/M/Battle School</code>
|Answered by {{w|Ender Wiggin}} or another boy from battle school.
|-
|<code>48/M/The White House</code>
|Answered by {{w|Barack Obama}} or another male of the same age in the White House.
|-
|<code>7/F/Rapture</code>
|Answered by a {{w|Little Sister (BioShock)|Little Sister}} from {{w|BioShock}}.
|-
|<code>Exactly your age/A gender you're attracted to/Far far away.</code>
|Requests for A/S/L are often not answered truthfully, but crafted to suit the one asking the question.
|-
|<code>7,831/F/Lothlórien</code>
|Answered by {{w</code>Galadriel}} or another elf.
|-
|<code>42/M/FBI Field Office</code>
|Answered by an FBI agent (referencing the old [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet trope] that all girls on the internet are FBI agents impersonating them
|-
|<code>'''apt-get'''</code>
|<code>This APT has Super Cow Powers.'''</code>
|The <code>'''apt-get'''</code> command is part of the Debian package manager {{w|Advanced_Packaging_Tool|APT}}. This reply is one of the built-in Easter eggs.
|-
|<code>'''apt-get moo'''</code>
|
(__)
(oo)
/------\/
/ | ||
* /\---/\
~~ ~~

...."Have you mooed today?"...
|Displays an ASCII drawing of a cow.
|-
|<code>'''apt-get cow'''</code>
|<code>E: Invalid operation cow</code>
|Yeah, idk what this is a reference to. Someone help.
|-
|<code>'''bash'''</code>
|<code>You bash your head against the wall. It's not very effective.</code>
|{{w|Bash}} is a shell for POSIX-based systems.
|-
|<code>'''cat [number]/alt.txt'''</code>
|(''displays the title text of the specified comic'')
|
|-
|<code>'''cat'''</code> (''without a filename or with an invalid one'')
|<code>You're a kitty!</code>
|A reference to [[231: Cat Proximity]].
|-
|<code>'''cheat'''</code>
| rowspan="2" |(''opens the [[Store|xkcd Store]]'')
| rowspan="2" |
|-
|<code>'''buy stuff'''</code>
|-
|<code>'''clear'''</code>
|(''clears the screen'')
|
|-
|<code>'''curl'''</code>
|(''creates an iframe to the URL specified'')
|
|-
|<code>'''date'''</code>
|<code>March 32nd</code>
|Instead of April 1st, which is not a real date.{{Citation needed}}
|-
|<code>'''display title text'''</code>
|<code>display: unable to open image "title": No such file or directory.</code>
|Displayed in red text.
|-
|<code>'''echo'''</code>
|<code>Echo ... echo ... echo ...</code>
|<code>'''{{w|Echo (command)|echo}}'''</code> is a command used to print text to the terminal.
|-
|<code>'''ed'''</code>
|<code>You are not a diety</code>
|{{w|Ed (software)|ed}} is a very simple text editor. It is usually not considered very user-friendly. See also <code>'''vi'''</code> and <code>'''emacs'''</code>.
|-
|<code>'''emacs'''</code>
|<code>You should use Vim.</code>
|A reference to [[378: Real Programmers]].
|-
|<code>'''enable time travel'''</code>
|<code>TARDIS error: Time Lord missing</code>
|A {{w|Doctor Who}} reference. See also the <code>'''next'''</code> command.
|-
|<code>'''exit'''</code>
| rowspan="3" |(''ends the terminal session'')
| rowspan="3" |
|-
|<code>'''quit'''</code>
|-
|<code>'''logout'''</code>
|-
|<code>'''find kitten'''</code>
|(''showed the {{w|robotfindskitten}} game'')
|The link to the Flash version no longer works, but an HTML version is available [http://robotfindskitten.org/play/robotfindskitten/ here].
|-
|<code>'''find'''</code>
|<code>What do you want to find? Kitten would be nice.</code>
|
|-
|<code>'''finger'''</code>
|<code>Mmmmmm...</code>
|<code>'''finger USER'''</code> is used on UNIX-like systems to get information about another USER. Here, Randall is taking advantage of its suggestive name.
|-
|<code>'''fuck'''</code>
|<code>I have a headache.</code>
|fuck is swear word
|-
|<code>'''goto [any]'''</code>
|(''shows comic [[292: goto]] and asks if you meant <code>'''display'''</code> instead.'')
|
|-
|<code>'''go back'''</code>
|<code>You cannot go back.</code>
|
|-
|<code>'''go down'''</code>
|<code>On our first date?</code>
|
|-
|<code>'''Hello Joshua'''</code>
|<code>How about a nice game of Global Thermonuclear War?</code>
|A reference to the {{w|WarGames}} movie.
|-
|<code>'''hello'''</code>
|<code>Hello.</code>
|A second reply <code>Why hello there!</code> is coded, but it is never used.
|-
|<code>'''help'''</code>
| rowspan="2" |<code>That would be cheating!</code>
| rowspan="2" |
|-
|<code>'''halp'''</code>
|-
|<code>'''hi'''</code>
|<code>Hi.</code>
|
|-
| rowspan="4" |<code>'''hint'''</code>
|<code>We offer some nice polos.</code>
| rowspan="4" |Randomly replies with one of four options.
|-
|<code>This terminal will remain available at '''[https://xkcd.com/unixkcd/ xkcd.com/unixkcd/]'''</code>
|-
|<code>Use the source, Luke!</code>
|-
|<code>There are cheat codes.</code>
|-
|<code>'''i read the source code'''</code>
|<code><3</code>
|
|-
|<code>'''irc [nick]'''</code>
| rowspan="2" |(''starts an {{w|IRC}} session on the xkcd channel on irc.foonetic.net'')
| rowspan="2" |
|-
|<code>'''write [nick]'''</code>
|-
|<code>'''kill'''</code>
|<code>Terminator deployed to 1984.</code>
|A reference to the {{w|The_Terminator|Terminator}} movie. In Bash, <code>'''kill'''</code> is used to end a process.
|-
|<code>'''latest'''</code>
|(''displays the latest comic'')
|
|-
|<code>'''locate [filename]'''</code>
|
|is normally used to locate a file in a directory. It will give humorous results when searching for <code>'''ninja'''</code>, <code>'''keys'''</code>, <code>'''joke'''</code>, <code>'''problem'''</code> and <code>'''raptor'''</code>.
|-
|<code>'''lpr'''</code>
|<code>PC LOAD LETTER</code>
|{{w|Line Printer Daemon protocol|<code>'''lpr'''</code>}} is a command to print documents. {{w|PC_LOAD_LETTER}} is a printer error.
|-
|<code>'''make love'''</code>
|<code>I put on my robe and wizard hat.</code>
|A reference to this [http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/bloodninja roleplay chat transcript] (NSFW), which was also mentioned in [[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]]. <code>'''make love'''</code> is a standard Unix joke, because the reply is <code>make: don't know how to make love</code>.
|-
|<code>'''make me a sandwich'''</code>
|<code>What? Make it yourself.</code>
|A reference to [[149: Sandwich]].
|-
|<code>'''man [command]'''</code>
|(''shows unhelpful information about the command'')
|Only <code>'''last'''</code>, <code>'''help'''</code>, <code>'''next'''</code>, <code>'''cat'''</code> have unique responses, all others show a generic "Oh, I\'m sure you can figure it out."
|-
|<code>'''moo'''</code>
|<code>moo</code>
|
|-
|<code>'''more'''</code>
|<code>Oh, yes! More! More!</code>
|The {{w|More (command)|more}} command is used to paginate output.
|-
|<code>'''nano'''</code>
|<code>Seriously? Why don't you just use Notepad.exe? Or MS Paint?</code>
|{{w|GNU nano|Nano}} is another text editor for Unix systems (see <code>'''vi'''</code> and <code>'''emacs'''</code>).
|-
|<code>'''ping'''</code>
|<code>There is another submarine three miles ahead, bearing 225, forty fathoms down.</code>
|The {{w|Ping (networking utility)|ping}} command is used to measure round trip times to a destination. The name does indeed originate from {{w|sonar}} technology.
|-
|<code>'''pwd'''</code>
|<code>You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike.</code>
|The {{w|pwd}} command prints the current working directory (see <code>'''look'''</code>). The output is a reference to {{w|Colossal Cave Adventure}}.
|-
|<code>'''reddit [number]'''</code>
|(''shows the [https://www.reddit.com/ Reddit] voting bar for the specified comic'')
|If no number is specified, shows xkcd.
|-
|<code>'''rm [filename]'''</code>
|(''removes a file'')
|
|-
|<code>'''rm -r'''</code>
|(''removes a directory'')
|
|-
|<code>'''serenity'''</code>
|<code>You can't take the sky from me.</code>
|This is a line from the Balad of Serenity from the {{w|Firefly_(TV_series)|Firefly}} TV series. Serenity is also the name of an Operating System (that Randall probably wasn't thinking of): [https://www.serenityos.org/ SerenityOS].
|-
|<code>'''shutdown'''</code>
| rowspan="2" |<code>Must be root.</code>
| rowspan="2" |See also <code>'''sudo poweroff'''</code>.
|-
|<code>'''poweroff'''</code>
|-
|<code>'''ssh'''</code>
|<code>ssh, this is a library.</code>
|{{w|Secure Shell|ssh}} is the command to start a secure shell, but it also resembles the "{{w|Shh}}" sound.
|-
|<code>'''su'''</code>
|<code>God mode activated. Remember, with great power comes great ... aw, screw it, go have fun.</code>
|{{w|Su (Unix)|<code>'''su'''</code>}} is a command for logging as an upper user, which gives you full and potentially dangerous access to the system. On some systems, "{{w|With great power comes great responsibility|with great power comes great responsibility}}" is also part of a message that is printed the first time <code>'''sudo'''</code> is used.
|-
|<code>'''sudo [command]'''</code>
|(''executes the command with {{w|Superuser|root}} privileges'')
|
|-
|<code>'''sudo apt-get dist-upgrade'''</code>
|<code>You are already running [OS].</code>
|
|-
|<code>'''sudo apt-get moo'''</code>
|<code>Have you mooed today?</code>
|(apt-get Easter egg).
|-
|<code>'''sudo apt-get update'''</code>
|<code>Reading package lists... Done</code>
|Refreshes the package list so the system knows which updates are available.
|-
|<code>'''sudo apt-get upgrade'''</code>
|(''shows a link to [http://abetterbrowser.org/ A Better Browser] on Internet Explorer and Firefox (< v3). On all other browsers, it doesn't complain.
|
|-
|<code>'''sudo make me a sandwich'''</code>
|<code>Okay</code>
|Behaves like [[149: Sandwich]].
|-
|<code>'''sudo !!'''</code>
|(''will sudo the last command'')
|
|-
|<code>'''sudo poweroff'''</code>
| rowspan="2" |(''shuts down the system'')
| rowspan="2" |
|-
|<code>'''sudo shutdown'''</code>
|-
|<code>'''sudo reboot'''</code>
| rowspan="2" |(''restarts the system'')
| rowspan="2" |
|-
|<code>'''sudo restart'''</code>
|-
|<code>'''sudo rm -rf /'''</code>
|(''breaks all commands until the page is reloaded'')
|
|-
|<code>'''sudo sudo'''</code>
|<code>An internal error occurred: RangeError: Maximum call stack size exceeded</code>
|in red text.
|-
|<code>'''time travel'''</code>
|(''shows [[630: Time Travel]]'')
|
|-
|<code>'''top'''</code>
|<code>It's up there --^</code>
|The {{w|Top_(software)|<code>'''top'''</code>}} command shows a table of processes. Here it is taken literally.
|-
|<code>'''uname'''</code>
|<code>Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator</code>
|<code>'''uname'''</code> on Unix lists system information. The Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator is an explosive device created by Marvin the Martian in the {{w|Looney Tunes}} series.
|-
|<code>'''unixkcd'''</code>
|(''opens a new terminal window'')
|
|-
|<code>'''use the force luke'''</code>
|<code>I believe you mean source.</code>
|A reference to {{w|The Force (Star Wars)|the Force}} in the {{w|Star Wars}} franchise.
|-
|<code>'''use the source luke'''</code>
|<code>I'm not luke, you're luke!</code>
|An old programmers' joke.
|-
|<code>'''vi'''</code>
| rowspan="2" |<code>You should use emacs.</code>
| rowspan="2" |A reference to [[378: Real Programmers]].
|-
|<code>'''vim'''</code>
|-
|<code>'''wget [URL]'''</code>
|(''shows the content of the specified URL'')
|<code>'''{{w|wget}}'''</code> is a command on Unix to download the content and not show it.
|-
|<code>'''who'''</code>
|<code>Doctor Who?</code>
|Another {{w|Doctor Who}} reference. The <code>'''who'''</code> command on Unix lists the logged-in users.
|-
|<code>'''Whoami'''</code>
|<code>You are Richard Stallman.</code>
|The {{w|whoami}} command lists the name of the current user. [[Richard Stallman]] is the creator of the GNU project and the Free Software Foundation.
|-

|<code>'''xkcd'''</code>
|<code>Yes?</code>
|
|-
|<code>'''xyzzy'''</code>
|<code>Nothing happens.</code>
|{{w|Xyzzy_(computing)|xyzzy}} is a magic word, originally used in the game {{w|Colossal Cave Adventure}}.
|-
|<code>'''your gay'''</code>
|<code>Keep your hands off it!</code>
|
|-
|<code>'''!!'''</code>
|(''reruns the previous command after stating the command'')
|
|}

====Game commands====
There are also some other commands borrowed from a {{w|Zork}} like {{w|Text-based game|text-based adventure game}}.
{| class="sortable wikitable"
! Command
! Response
! Explanation
|-
|<code>'''look'''</code>
|(''describes your current surroundings'')
|
|-
|<code>'''go [direction]'''</code>
|(''moves you in the specified direction'')
|
|-
|<code>'''light lamp'''</code>
|(''lights your lamp'')
|
|-
|<code>'''sleep [seconds]'''</code>
|(''sleeps for the specified time'')
|Without specifying, the nap is 5 seconds. You will be killed by a {{w|Grue (monster)|grue}} if you don't light your lamp when going south. Going West repeatedly will list the refrain from the song {{w|Go West (song)|Go West}}.
|}

====Konami code====
[[File:Konami code.png|300px|thumb|The image used as the background after using the Konami code five times.]]The terminal also responds to the {{w|Konami code}} Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A. Entering this code repeatedly will, in order:
# Transform all characters to uppercase
# Add a greatest shadow
# Add an orange text-shadow
# Shake the screen
# Add a background image of [[Richard Stallman]] from [[345: 1337: Part 5]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[The screen is black.]
:[The text is white, monospaced and in the top left, similar to that of a computer terminal.]
:[The terminal automatically runs the command:]
:display
:[The most recent XKCD comic appears below the current line.]
:[The terminal runs the command:]
:cat welcome.txt
:Terminal: Welcome to the unixkcd console.
:Terminal: To navigate the comics, enter "next", "prev", "first", "last", "display", or "random".
:Terminal: Use "ls", "cat", and "cd" to navigate the filesystem.
:[A blinking text cursor appears on the next line, and you can type in commands to make the terminal do stuff.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Richard Stallman]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]]
[[Category:No title text]]

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

unixkcd