In the Beginning Was the Command Line
In the Beginning Was the Command Line by Neal Stephensonby Neal Stephenson
Shares rank 12 of 60 articles by recommenders
Recommended as a classic, prescient essay on computer interfaces. Caveat: it overreaches its argument, and its Mac details are dated.
Recommended as a classic, prescient essay on computer interfaces. Caveat: it overreaches its argument, and its Mac details are dated.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Classic, really good, worth rereading
“Even lesser stuff like The Big U or In the Beginning Was the Command Line were really, really good.”
Comment from 30 Oct 2026 in “Neal Stephenson on AI and What Comes Next [video]” “Classic. Due for another read to see how it’s holding up in the AI era.”
Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “In the Beginning was the Command Line (1999)” Prescient, still relevant in AI era
“Classic. Due for another read to see how it’s holding up in the AI era.”
Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “In the Beginning was the Command Line (1999)” “an awesome and prescient book”
Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “In the Beginning was the Command Line (1999)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Overextends its argument until it breaks
“Nice effort. I respect the work that went into it, but it doesn't fix Stephenson's effort -- it over-extends it until it snaps”
Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “In the Beginning was the Command Line (1999)” Mac details are obsolete
“I know Neal said the essay was quickly obsolete, especially in regards to Mac”
Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “In the Beginning was the Command Line (1999)”
Other articles people recommend
The four most recommended other articles, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Programming as Theory Buildingby Peter Naur | 32 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Ur-Fascismby Umberto Eco | 18 | 2 | 90% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Politics and the English Languageby George Orwell | 14 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| The Grug Brained Developer by Carson Gross | 13 | 1 | 93% | 9 | — | Approved |
| In the Beginning Was the Command Lineby Neal StephensonThis page | 9 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
7 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Even lesser stuff like The Big U or In the Beginning Was the Command Line were really, really good.”
“although the last one is obviously more for computer people”
“I know Neal said the essay was quickly obsolete, especially in regards to Mac”
“Nice effort. I respect the work that went into it, but it doesn't fix Stephenson's effort -- it over-extends it until it snaps”
“I absolutely love this article”
“an awesome and prescient book”
“Classic. Due for another read to see how it’s holding up in the AI era.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.