Supercharge your (Android) terminal experience
Article Summary
Jack Webb from ASOS turned his Android team into terminal power users. His secret? A toolkit that slashes thousands of keystrokes daily and makes complex git operations feel effortless.
An Android engineer at ASOS shares the exact command-line setup he uses to build their mobile app. This isn't theory: it's a battle-tested workflow from a large-scale production environment, complete with installation commands and real examples from managing deep package hierarchies and multi-device testing.
Key Takeaways
- Oh My Zsh with FZF fuzzy finding navigates 10-20 level deep package directories instantly
- Git plugin shortcuts like 'gcam' and 'gpsup' replace verbose multi-word commands
- ADB shell commands change screen sizes on-the-fly without pulling out physical devices
- Scrcpy mirrors and records device screens with zero performance overhead
- Git hooks auto-insert ticket numbers into commits across IDE and terminal
A curated terminal setup eliminates repetitive typing and GUI context-switching for Android developers working on modular, enterprise-scale apps.
About This Article
Android developers at ASOS found it hard to keep track of all the context and parameters needed for complex, domain-specific terminal tasks. Many of them gave up on the command line and switched to GUI tools instead, even though the terminal was more efficient.
Jack Webb set up Oh My Zsh with over 270 plugins and added FZF fuzzy finding for file navigation. He also created git aliases that turn long commands into 2-4 character shortcuts like 'gcam' and 'gpsup'.
Developers now save thousands of keystrokes every day. They can move through ASOS's modular app architecture, including package directories that go 10-20 levels deep, without having to switch over to Android Studio.