Show HN: Frogmouth – A Markdown browser for the terminal

For me, it's focus.

- most programmers in general are really fast with keyboard , like maybe 80-90 avg most of them so using the keyboard most is a good way for speed & consistency - another example i can give is maybe you have some error on your ide that you can't debug for some reasons, most probably you can't copy text from that window, (it's just an example maybe you'll similar issue in other ways) having cli means you can copy whatever the program is throwing at your, theres not limit - another thing is aesthetic: you know you can do a lot.of stuff from cli, all will have the same color scheme & consistency across every cli programmes which someone may prefer. - lightweight

Your hands almost never have to leave the keyboard.

There is often not telemetry.

You can remotely connect from a different machine and you your development environment.

The cross-platform story is much better. For example, supporting BSDs.

It exposes you to a lot of details hidden or abstracted away by GUI applications.

Also, its a matter of preference.

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I used to prefer Vim but moved to using IDEs. In professional development, you want to use the best tools - a forklift vs. a shovel. I don’t think text editors are the best tool for that, but why do programmers insist on using worse tools?

From my previous experience, I’d guess it’s these psychological factors:

1. IDEs have more cognitive overhead, and programmers have to keep a lot of state in their heads. So using a text editor gets out of their way initially to get started developing. In the long-run, though, it’s worse for cognitive overhead because you have to keep more state in your head due to having worse code completion. You also have the additional effort needed to set up plugins with text-based tools to provide additional features that are helpful for daily tasks.

2. IDEs tend to have more knobs - big menus, dropdowns etc. Those can reduce your ability to focus when you’re not used to them. Many of the available options likely aren’t applicable to what you’re working on, and can be distracting.

3. A lot of programmers have a sense of elitism, and using text-based tools looks retro and more intimidating to those not familiar with it. In so doing, this validates the view of oneself as a member of a priestly class of text-slinging wizards.

4. Programmers love to yak-shave. Using more primitive tools gives a reason for us to customize the experience, even or especially if it’s an inefficient waste of time. Programmers love opportunities for self-expression through code and customizing the experience of using their coding environments for its own sake.