Navigation
cd (Change Directory): Navigate through the file system.
| Command | Description |
|---|
cd Documents | moves to the Documents folder |
cd .. | goes up one directory level |
cd ~ | goes to the home directory |
cd - | returns to the previous directory |
pwd (Print Working Directory): Displays the current directory path. | |
| Command | Description |
|---|
pwd | prints the full path of your location |
ls (List Files): Displays files and directories.
| Command | Description |
|---|
ls | lists files and directories in the current directory |
ls -l | detailed listing with permissions, size, etc. |
ls -a | includes hidden files in the listing |
ls -lh | detailed listing with human-readable sizes |
File and Directory Creation
touch: Creates empty files.
| Command | Description |
|---|
touch file.txt | creates an empty file named file.txt |
mkdir (Make Directory): Creates new directories.
| Command | Description |
|---|
mkdir myfolder | creates a folder named myfolder |
mkdir -p folder/subfolder | creates nested directories in one step |
Wildcards for Multiple Files
Wildcards simplify operations on multiple files.
| Wildcard | Example | Description |
|---|
* | ls *.txt | matches all files ending in .txt |
? | ls file?.txt | matches files like file1.txt |
Basic File Operations
cp (Copy): Copies files or directories.
| Command | Description |
|---|
cp file.txt backup.txt | copies file.txt to backup.txt |
cp -r folder1 folder2 | copies the folder and its contents |
mv (Move/Rename): Moves or renames files.
| Command | Description |
|---|
mv oldname.txt newname.txt | renames oldname.txt to newname.txt |
mv file.txt /path/to/folder/ | moves the file to another location |
rm (Remove): Deletes files or directories.
| Command | Description |
|---|
rm file.txt | deletes the file |
rm -r folder | deletes the folder and its contents |
Helpful Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|
Ctrl + L | clears the terminal screen |
Ctrl + C | stops the current command |
Ctrl + R | searches command history interactively |
!! | repeats the last command |
!<cmd> | runs the most recent command starting with <cmd> |