For the last decade, Windows or .NET developers using Visual Studio have been shielded from the command line. Why do we need command line tools when just about everything needed for app development is right there in Visual Studio? Simply use the extensive IDE menu options or the right-click to access additional operations through the context menus. As a result, command line tooling has often been thought of as counter productive and meant for the über geeks.

But are rich IDEs making developers lazy? Why do we depend on having a UI to perform even the simplest of tasks? Do you keep hearing people boast of the power and flexibility of the command line? Or of features that you just cannot invoke from your IDE? Relax – the command line isn’t difficult to use. With a little practice, you can master the art and have a lot of power at your disposal.

The new .NET is lean, modular and cross-platform with a much lower barrier to entry. And since developers can now choose any IDE and OS of their choice, the commonality between Windows, OSX and Linux becomes the command line. Command line tooling for .NET works the same way on any platform.

This article distills down the most common and useful command line tooling for the new .NET. We’ll dispense with any cat pictures and funny memes and focus on just creating a straight up developer cheat sheet for .NET command line tooling.

Full article over at Telerik Developer Network.