The Rise of the Command Line: building a new IDE (2017–2026)
The article traces the evolution of Rune, a command-line-centric IDE developed from 2017 to 2026, arguing that the terminal interface is undergoing a renaissance for modern software development due to its speed, flexibility, and scriptability compared to traditional graphical IDEs.
Background
- The article chronicles the evolution of development tools from 2017 to 2026, arguing that command-line interfaces (CLIs) are making a comeback as the primary way developers build software, even for complex tasks traditionally handled by graphical IDEs like VS Code or JetBrains.
- It highlights how modern CLIs (e.g., Warp, Fig, Nushell, `gh`, `turso`, `zed`) now integrate features like AI autocomplete, project management, database queries, and Git workflows directly in the terminal, blurring the line between terminal and IDE.
- Key concept: "composition over configuration" — instead of configuring a monolithic IDE, developers compose specialized CLI tools together, each doing one thing well, and run them in a terminal multiplexer (tmux, zellij).
- The author (likely a developer at Rune, a startup building a "terminal-first IDE") argues this shift is driven by AI, remote development, and a desire for scriptable, reproducible, keyboard-driven workflows that graphical tools struggle to match.