unixkcd - Revision history

FaviFake: /* Explanation */

2026-04-04T12:50:38Z

‎Explanation

2026-04-03T11:55:30Z

‎Remove incomplete transcript

2026-04-03T04:07:04Z

‎added to transcript

2026-04-03T03:33:00Z

‎Updated Cheat command, needs explanation

2026-03-11T16:59:26Z

‎Konami code: Just discovered this by accident

2026-03-07T10:29:05Z

‎Konami code

2026-02-15T15:35:26Z

added explanation for '''curl'''

2026-02-12T00:01:11Z

expand xyzzy

2026-01-26T11:39:46Z

‎Undocumented commands

2025-12-18T20:43:37Z

‎Undocumented commands

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 {{incomplete|
 *Explain the jokes and references in the [[#Undocumented commands]] section and the sections below it.
-*Describe the website interface a bit, such as the links at the bottom.}}
+*Describe the website interface a bit, such as the links at the bottom.
 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.
@@ Line 153: / Line 154: @@
 |-
 |<code>'''cheat'''</code>
-| rowspan="2" | <code>'''<nowiki>***</nowiki> FREE SHIPPING ENABLED <nowiki>***</nowiki>'''</code>
+| rowspan="2" | <code>'''<nowiki>***</nowiki>free shipping enabled<nowiki>***</nowiki>'''</code>
 ''(Links to [[Store|xkcd Store]])''
 | rowspan="2" | <!-- NEED EXPLANATION -->

@@ Line 491: / Line 491: @@
 ==Transcript==
 :[The screen is black.]
 :[A white bar is at the top.]

@@ Line 493: / Line 493: @@
 {{incomplete transcript|Describe the initial interface fully.}}
 :[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
+:guest@xkcd:/$ display
 :[The most recent XKCD comic appears below the current line.]
 :[The terminal runs the command:]
-:cat welcome.txt
+:guest@xkcd:/$ cat welcome.txt
-:Terminal: Welcome to the unixkcd console.
+:[The first line is bolded]
-:Terminal: To navigate the comics, enter "next", "prev", "first", "last", "display", or "random".
+:Welcome to the unixkcd console.
-:Terminal: Use "ls", "cat", and "cd" to navigate the filesystem.
+:To navigate the comics, enter "next", "prev", "first", "last", "display", or "random".
-:[A blinking text cursor appears on the next line, and you can type in commands to make the terminal do stuff.]
+:Use "ls", "cat", and "cd" to navigate the filesystem.
 {{comic discussion}}

@@ Line 153: / Line 153: @@
 |-
 |<code>'''cheat'''</code>
-| rowspan="2" |(''opens the [[Store|xkcd Store]]'')
+| rowspan="2" | <code>'''<nowiki>***</nowiki> FREE SHIPPING ENABLED <nowiki>***</nowiki>'''</code>
-| rowspan="2" |
+''(Links to [[Store|xkcd Store]])''
 |-
 |<code>'''buy stuff'''</code>

@@ Line 483: / Line 483: @@
 # Shake the screen
 # Add a background image of [[Richard Stallman]] from [[345: 1337: Part 5]].
 Note that the last step is broken in 2026. The page [https://xkcd.com/unixkcd/over9000.png xkcd.com/unixkcd/over9000.png] still exists, but [https://uni.xkcd.com/unixkcd/over9000.png uni.xkcd.com/unixkcd/over9000.png] gives a 404.

@@ Line 164: / Line 164: @@
 |<code>'''curl'''</code>
 |(''creates an iframe to the URL specified'')
+|[https://curl.se/ curl] is "command line tool and library for transferring data with URLs."
 |-
 |<code>'''date'''</code>

@@ Line 441: / Line 441: @@
 |<code>'''xyzzy'''</code>
 |<code>Nothing happens.</code>
-|{{w|Xyzzy_(computing)|xyzzy}} is a magic word, originally used in the game {{w|Colossal Cave Adventure}}.
+|{{w|Xyzzy_(computing)|xyzzy}} is a magic word, originally used in the game {{w|Colossal Cave Adventure}}. It was only effective at specific points in the game; otherwise the response was "Nothing happens." This response was actually a helpful clue to the observant adventurer, and became a famous meme in its own right.
 |-
 |<code>'''your gay'''</code>

@@ Line 270: / Line 270: @@
 |<code>'''latest'''</code>
 |(''displays the latest comic'')
+|-
 |-
 |<code>'''locate [filename]'''</code>

@@ Line 137: / Line 137: @@
 |(''displays the title text of the specified comic'')
+|
 |<code>'''cat license.txt'''</code>
 |(''displays the license of unixkcd'')