Show HN: Bash.org MOTD for Terminal

3 months ago 3

This is a quick hack I put together with Claude + Cursor. If you're familiar with IRC, you know what bash.org was - this is my homage to that legendary site.

Fair warning: this is peak 2000s "sysadmin bro" humor, so if that's not your vibe, you might want to skip this one. Consider it internet archaeology - a digital time capsule of times past.

Disclaimer: All quote content is from the original bash.org archives - please don't get mad at me. For the uninitiated: bash.org was the internet's repository of IRC chat logs, capturing the absurd, crude, and very occasionally brilliant conversations that defined early internet culture.

🎲 10,700+ quotes from the legendary bash.org archives
🎨 Beautiful terminal formatting with progress bars and colors
🔄 Smart distribution - cycles through all quotes before repeating
⚡ Lightning fast - cached locally with timing display
🎯 Random but fair - shuffles after each complete cycle
🛠️ Easy setup - one command installation

git clone <this-repo> cd bashorg-motd ./setup.sh

That's it! Open a new terminal and you'll see a quote. Use wut anytime for the next quote.

wut - Show next quote (works from anywhere after setup)
./motd.sh - Show next quote (local)
./motd.sh update - Download fresh quotes from bash.org archives

./setup.sh - Install everything (detects your shell automatically)
./setup.sh uninstall - Remove from your shell startup
./setup.sh status - Check current configuration
./setup.sh test - Preview a quote without installing

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮ │ Quote of the Day - bash.org IRC Quotes │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ #100798 +(1439)- [X] │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ <mike> HEH, THIs Is AMuSINg │ │ <mike> I Got a WiNAMP pLUgiN THAt BLInKS THE KEYboARD ledS tO THE MUSIc │ │ <mike> BUT IT acTUALLY turNs THe CAPsLOcK On AND oFF iNSTEad OF JuST the │ │ LIGHt │ ╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯ Total quotes: 10700 | Use 'wut' for next quote Displayed in 234ms

The Savage Comeback:

#16291 +(199)- [X] <Zimbu> i was just using common sense, sorry <Gimik\HMWRK> Zimbu: try to use something you have next time ;)

The Apartment Hunters:

#102752 +(47)- [X] <mufffin> i could live there <mufffin> except its an apartment <Schlurbna> That's not to say I wouldn't live there but I expect more from penthouse apartments. <hoek_> Schlurbna - you expect penthouse models in there?

First run: Downloads 10,700+ quote filenames from GitLab (with a sweet progress bar!)
Smart cycling: Goes through all quotes sequentially, then shuffles for the next round
Lightning cache: Quotes stored in ~/.cache/bashorg-quotes/ for instant access
Bulletproof: Even if you Ctrl+C during download, partial quotes are shuffled and ready