Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Inspect questionable scripts before piping them to sh or bash

Don't run "curl | sh" again. Use "curl | shed" to verify scripts before running. - mplewis/shed

Shed is a command-line tool that lets users inspect scripts before executing them. Instead of piping downloaded scripts directly to sh or bash with "curl | sh," users can pipe to shed first to review the code. This… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Prices are shown for the 1 we have checked on their own sites, 1 of them free or with a free tier. Inspect questionable scripts before piping them to sh or bash launched in 2015; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Run unknown shell script with a line-by-line confirmation prompt▲158

   Run a shell script with bash, line-by-line, prompted on each command. Useful for running unknown scripts or debugging. Not a secure substitute for understanding a script beforehand. - LICENSE

   2021 · gist.github.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   My shell script for HTTP/HTTPS troubleshooting and profiling▲155

   My simple Swiss Army knife for http/https troubleshooting and profiling. - trimstray/htrace.sh

   2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

3. 3CS
   Checksum.sh verify every install script▲119

   The pattern of downloading and executing installation scripts without verifying them has bothered me for a while. I started messing around with a way to verify the checksum of scripts before I execute them. I've found it a really useful tool for installing things like Rust or Deno. It's written entirely as a shell script, and it's easy to read and understand what's happening. I hope it may be useful to someone else!

   2022 · checksum.sh · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Tap curl in your editor before it gets to sh▲60

   tap curl in your editor before it gets to sh it. Contribute to awalgarg/curl-tap-sh development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

5. 5CS
   "curl … | sh" is bad.▲14

   2011 · poww.cx · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Use cookies from Chrome (CDP) in cURL without copy pasting▲184

   Use cURL with cookies from Chrome. Contribute to fipso/ccurl.sh development by creating an account on GitHub.

   2023 · github.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Aviary.sh – A tiny Bash alternative to Ansible▲276

   Minimal distributed configuration management in bash - frameable/aviary.sh

   2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Hurl – Run and test HTTP requests with plain text, curl and Rust▲223

   Hurl, run and test HTTP requests with plain text and curl. Hurl can run fast automated integration tests.

   2021 · hurl.dev · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Shpool, a Lightweight Tmux Alternative▲323

   shpool is a terminal session persistence tool developed internally at google to support remote workflows, which we have open sourced.

   2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Claudebin▲258

    Hi HN, We use Claude Code a lot, and after a long session there isn't a simple way to share exactly what happened with someone else. Prompts, responses, file edits, and tool calls all stay inside the terminal. We built Claudebin to make that easier. It's a plugin that lets you export the current session as a URL containing: - the full message thread - file reads and writes - bash commands - web and MCP calls You can send the link to someone, attach it to a PR, embed part of it, or resume the session locally. It's open source. GitHub:…

    Feb 2026 · claudebin.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Sensible Bash: An attempt at saner Bash defaults▲173

    An attempt at saner Bash defaults. Contribute to mrzool/bash-sensible development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Curl modified to impersonate Firefox and mimic its TLS handshake▲249

    curl-impersonate: A special build of curl that can impersonate Chrome & Firefox - lwthiker/curl-impersonate

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Vet – A tool for safely running remote shell scripts▲89

    vet — A safer way to run remote scripts.

    2025 · getvet.sh · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Pyp – Easily, magically, run Python at the shell▲285

    Easily run Python at the shell! Magical, but never mysterious. - hauntsaninja/pyp

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Using Rust to write shell-script like tasks▲231

    Common rust command-line macros and utilities, to write shell-script like tasks in a clean, natural and rusty way - rust-shell-script/rust_cmd_lib

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

16. 16EM
    Executable Markdown files with Unix pipes▲126

    I wanted to run markdown files like shell scripts. So I built an open source tool that lets you use a shebang to pipe them through Claude Code with full stdin/stdout support. task.md: #!/usr/bin/env claude-run Analyze this codebase and summarize the architecture. Then: chmod +x task.md ./task.md These aren't just prompts. Claude Code has tool use, so a markdown file can run shell commands, write scripts, read files, make API calls. The prompt orchestrates everything. A script that runs your tests and reports results (`run_tests.md`): #!/usr/bin/env…

    Jan 2026 · its alternatives →

17. 17AC
    A complete Bash parser in JavaScript transpiled from Go▲89

    2018 · npmjs.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    ShellDef▲118

    Shell script analyzer to scan, detect, + protect

    2025 · shelldef.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Use encrypted passwords in shell scripts signed with your SSH key▲117

    Lightweight solution for using encrypted passwords in shell scripts - plyint/encpass.sh

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Lockdown.sh Simple shell script for locking down new linux installs▲51

    Lockdown your linux install. The simple zero config linux hardening script - dolegi/lockdown.sh

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Bash Script to Install a Webserver and PHP on a Clean OS▲62

    🌟 FastSitePHP 🌟 A Modern Open Source Framework for building High Performance Websites and API’s with PHP - fastsitephp/scripts/shell/bash/create-fast-site.sh at master · fastsitephp/fastsitephp

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Tracexec – TUI for tracing execve and pre-exec behavior▲57

    tracexec helps you to figure out what and how programs get executed when you execute a command. It's useful for debugging build systems, catching fd leaks, understanding what shell scripts actually do, figuring out what programs does a proprietary software run, etc.

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Critic.sh – Simple testing framework for Bash▲79

    Dead simple testing framework for Bash with coverage reporting - Checksum/critic.sh

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Pu.sh – a full coding-agent harness in 400 lines of shellfree▲92

    I originally was just messing with pi-autoresearch. Gave it a sample task to build the most portable coding agent. First cut was 6 KB of shell. Great for one-shots, unusable interactively. I was shocked it actually worked. Started building up -- adding features — but with a self-imposed rule: no new dependencies, and sub 500 LOC. This thing had to be truly portable. Just sh, curl, awk. System primitives only. Which means I did some genuinely disgusting things in awk, including JSON parsing and the OpenAI Responses tool loop with reasoning items carried across turns. It's now ~400 lines. In…

    Apr 2026 · pu.dev · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →