Here’s how I finally cracked a tricky Linux problem with this AI terminal app

Warp is scary good at fixing problems.

Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET

I’ve been using Linux for a very, very long time, and it’s rare that I encounter an issue I cannot resolve.

However, a few weeks ago, such a problem occurred. The issue was caused by an installed application upgrade that required a dependency that the apt package manager couldn’t solve. This meant I couldn’t update or upgrade the system, and that, my friends, is a big problem.

I tried to resolve the issue. I even attempted to remove the offending software, but apt said, “Nay, nay!” No matter what I did, the dependency issue persisted. I started thinking I might have to reinstall my OS.

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And then I remembered Warp terminal and its built-in AI functionality. I opened the terminal and thought, “It can’t hurt to try.”

What happened next seriously impressed me.

I ran the upgrade command, and the AI caught the issue. The next thing I know, Warp is asking me if I’d like Warp to try resolving the problem. With little to lose, I gave Warp permission to dig in and find a solution.

Watching it play out was fascinating. Warp would run the basic upgrade command and realize there was an issue. It would then use the AI functionality to research the issue. When Warp thought it had the solution, it applied it, only to discover that it didn’t work. So, Warp tried again, running yet another command to solve the issue.

The next command solved a problem, but not the problem. However, in solving the initial issue, it discovered another issue and solved it. That pattern continued for some time, with Warp trying one solution after another. It would solve a problem, discover another, fix the new issue, and move on.

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Quite honestly, I was happy to see Warp struggle to fix the issue, because it made me feel a bit better about my failure. That led me to think, “What if Warp totally FUBARs my operating system and I wind up having to reinstall anyway?”

Fortunately, that didn’t happen, and — eventually — Warp solved the issue. (It removed several dependencies, uninstalled the offending app, altered a repository, and reinstalled the offending app.)

I do tend to jump on a bandwagon now and then; this time, however, I can’t help but be blown away by what Warp terminal was able to do. Watching it resolve the issue was like watching a conjurer pull off a miracle that I wasn’t privy to.

I’ve solved plenty of Linux issues over the years; every once in a while, something like this happens. Thanks to Warp, I no longer have to dive down complex rabbit holes to solve those issues (although they happen quite rarely). Now, when a problem arises, I open Warp terminal, give it a kickstart to see the problem, and let it do its thing.

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Just for fun, I introduced a problem into an apt sources file, so I could show you how this works. After altering the file, I ran:

sudo apt-get update

Warp terminal caught the malformed line and offered to fix it. All I had to do was hit Ctrl+Shift+Enter and Warp did its thing, resolved the problem, and then asked if I wanted to apply the resolution. After applying the fix, Warp asked if I wanted to run the update again. All was well.

If you’ve ever needed a reason to switch your Linux terminal, this might well be it.

You can install Warp terminal on either Ubuntu or Fedora-based distributions by downloading the correct binary installer (.deb for Ubuntu and .rpm for Fedora) and installing with one of the following commands: