plztell.me vs cheat.sh vs tldr: Which Command Line Help Tool is Right for You?

You're in a terminal. You forgot a command flag. Do you type man and scroll through dense documentation? Google and lose your flow? Or do you use one of the terminal help tools everyone's talking about — cheat.sh , tldr , or plztell.me?

These three tools solve the same core problem: getting command line help without leaving your terminal. But they take fundamentally different approaches. Let's break down which one fits your workflow.

The Problem: Man Pages Are Too Dense, Google Breaks Your Flow

Man pages were designed in the 1970s. They're comprehensive, but they're not fast. When you just need to remember how to extract a tar.gz file or find files modified in the last 24 hours, you don't want to read six pages of documentation.

Googling is faster — but it means context-switching to a browser, scanning Stack Overflow, and copy-pasting commands you half-understand. If you're SSH'd into a server, you might not even have a browser available.

This is why tools like cheat.sh, tldr, and plztell.me exist. They bring help directly into your terminal. But they're very different tools.

Quick Overview: What Each Tool Does

cheat.sh — The Comprehensive Cheatsheet Library

cheat.sh is a massive community-maintained collection of cheatsheets covering 56+ programming languages, command-line tools, and UNIX utilities. You query it via curl cht.sh/command, and it returns static examples curated by contributors.

Best for: Looking up syntax for programming languages (Python, Go, JavaScript) or getting comprehensive command examples (tar, rsync, ffmpeg).

tldr — Simplified Man Pages

tldr (stands for "too long; didn't read") is a crowdsourced collection of simplified, practical command examples. It's a man page alternative focused on the most common use cases. You install a client (npm install -g tldr or brew install tldr) and run tldr command.

Best for: Quick syntax reminders when you just need a working example of a common command (cp, grep, find, chmod).

plztell.me — AI-Powered Terminal Assistant

plztell.me isn't a cheatsheet lookup tool — it's an AI assistant that lives in your terminal. You can ask it anything in natural language, pipe in command output or log files for analysis, and have an interactive conversation. No installation, no signup, no API key required.

Best for: Interactive debugging, analyzing piped input (logs, errors, configs), asking follow-up questions, and getting explanations tailored to your exact situation.

Side-by-Side Comparison

The Key Differences

1. Static Lookup vs AI Conversation

cheat.sh and tldr are lookup tools — you query a command, and you get back pre-written examples. They're fast, reliable, and work offline (with caching).

plztell.me is conversational AI — you can ask questions in natural language, get tailored explanations, and ask follow-up questions. It's not looking up static content; it's generating answers on the fly based on your exact query.

2. Read-Only vs Context-Aware

cheat.sh and tldr can only show you examples. They can't read your logs, analyze your errors, or understand your specific environment.

plztell.me accepts piped input — pipe in a log file, an error message, or a config file, and the AI will analyze it and give you context-specific advice. Example:

tail -100 /var/log/nginx/error.log | plz "why am i getting 502 errors?"

This is something cheat.sh and tldr simply can't do — they have no concept of your context.

3. Command Coverage

tldr focuses on ~1,000 of the most commonly used commands. It's intentionally minimal.

cheat.sh is comprehensive, covering 56+ programming languages and thousands of tools — everything from Python standard library functions to obscure CLI utilities.

plztell.me has unlimited coverage — if the AI knows about it (and it knows about virtually every command-line tool and programming language), you can ask about it. No manual curation needed.

4. Offline Availability

Both cheat.sh and tldr support offline mode with local caching. Once you've queried a command, the cheatsheet is cached locally.

plztell.me requires an internet connection — it's powered by real-time AI inference, not static files.

When to Use tldr

Choose tldr if:

• You just need a quick syntax reminder — "How do I use tar again?" tldr gives you the 3 most common examples, nothing more.
• You want offline access — tldr downloads pages locally, so you can look up commands without internet.
• You prefer minimalism — tldr strips away the noise. Each page is a handful of practical examples.
• You already know the command name — tldr doesn't do natural language queries. You must know you're looking for rsync, not "how to sync files between servers."

When to Use cheat.sh

Choose cheat.sh if:

• You need programming language references — cheat.sh has cheatsheets for Python, Go, JavaScript, Ruby, Rust, and 50+ more languages. Example: curl cht.sh/python/list+comprehension
• You want comprehensive examples — cheat.sh pages often include multiple use cases, flags, and edge cases — more detailed than tldr.
• You like community-driven content — cheat.sh aggregates cheatsheets from multiple sources, including community contributions.
• You need offline support — Like tldr, cheat.sh supports caching for offline use.

When to Use plztell.me

Choose plztell.me if:

• You need to analyze piped input — Debugging a failed script? Analyzing log files? Trying to understand a cryptic error message? Pipe it into plz and get AI-powered analysis.
• You want interactive help — Ask a question, get an answer, then ask follow-up questions. plztell.me maintains conversation context.
• You don't know the exact command name — Instead of knowing you need rsync, just ask: plz how do I sync files between two servers
• You want explanations, not just examples — plztell.me doesn't just give you a command — it explains what it does, why it works, and when to use it.
• You need help with complex, multi-step tasks — "How do I set up a reverse proxy with nginx for a Node.js app?" plztell.me can walk you through the entire process.
• You want zero setup — No installation, no account, no API key. Just curl plztell.me/setup and you're ready.

Real-World Examples: Same Question, Three Tools

Example 1: "How do I find large files?"

tldr approach:

tldr find

Result: Generic find examples. You have to know to look for -size flag and piece together the command yourself.

cheat.sh approach:

curl cht.sh/find

Result: Comprehensive cheatsheet with dozens of examples. You scroll until you find the size-based search example.

plztell.me approach:

plz how do i find files larger than 1GB

Result: Direct answer with the exact command, plus an explanation of what each flag does. If you ask "what if I want to delete them automatically?", it gives you a follow-up command with safety warnings.

Example 2: Debugging a Failed Command

You ran a command and got an error:

rsync -avz /source/ user@host:/dest/

Error: rsync: connection unexpectedly closed (0 bytes received so far) [sender]

tldr and cheat.sh:

Both tools show you rsync syntax examples, but they can't read your error message or diagnose the problem. You're back to Googling the error.

plztell.me:

plz rsync error: connection unexpectedly closed

Result: The AI explains common causes (SSH key issues, firewall blocking port 22, wrong path, rsync not installed on remote) and gives you diagnostic commands to narrow down the problem.

Can You Use All Three Together?

Absolutely. These tools aren't mutually exclusive.

• Use tldr when you just need a quick syntax reminder and you know the command name.
• Use cheat.sh when you're writing code in a specific language and need a reference for standard library functions or language syntax.
• Use plztell.me when you're debugging, analyzing logs, need an explanation, or want to ask questions in natural language.

Think of tldr and cheat.sh as reference books, and plztell.me as a knowledgeable colleague who's always available to answer questions and help you troubleshoot.

Try plztell.me in 10 Seconds

No signup. No API key. No installation. Just copy and paste:

Linux / macOS

eval "$(curl -sL plztell.me/setup)"

eval "$(wget -qO- plztell.me/setup)"

Windows

iex (iwr -useb plztell.me/setup/win).Content

Then ask anything:

plz how do i monitor disk usage in real-time

Or pipe in context for analysis:

docker logs my-container | plz "why is this container crashing?"

Tip: Use quotes if your question contains shell special characters like ? ! & | ; ' " $ * < > etc.

That's it — you're using Gemini 2.0 Flash for free, no account needed.

The Bottom Line

All three tools exist to save you from dense man pages and context-switching to Google — but they serve different needs:

• tldr — Best for quick syntax lookups when you know the command. Minimal, fast, works offline.
• cheat.sh — Best for comprehensive references including programming languages. Community-driven, works offline.
• plztell.me — Best for interactive debugging, log analysis, natural language queries, and getting explanations tailored to your exact situation. AI-powered, conversational, context-aware.

You don't have to choose just one — use tldr for quick lookups, cheat.sh for language references, and plztell.me when you need real help solving a problem.

Try plztell.me — it takes 5 seconds and costs nothing. See what AI-powered terminal assistance feels like compared to static cheatsheets.

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