Unix Flashcards
ls
list files in current directory
ls -l
list files in a long format
ls -a
list all files (including hidden files) in current directory
ls -F
adds indicators to the list output to identify directories and different types of files.
.
the current working directory
..
the parent directory to working directory
~
your home directory
/
the root (top-level) directory. This is also the separator for directories
*
a wildcard meaning any string of characters
?
a wildcard meaning any single character
cp file1 file2
makes a copy of file1 and calls it file2
mv file1 file2
renames file1 to file2
rm file1
removes (deletes) file1
rm -i file1
asks for confirmation that you want to delete file1
pwd
print the working directory
cd dirname
change directory to the one called “dirname”
cd ..
change to the parent directory of the current directory
cd ~
change to your home directory
mkdir dirname
makes a new directory with the name “dirname”
rmdir dirname
removes the directory with the name “dirname”. The directory must be empty
rm -r dirname
recursively removes directories and subdirectories
cat file1
writes the whole of file “file1” to the terminal, also useful for concatenating files
more file1
displays the file “file1” a page at a time
less file1
a more versatile version of “more”, but less common
head -30 file1
Show the first 30 lines
tail -25 file1
show the last 25 lines
tail -f file1
show the last few lines and keep updating as the file grows
wc file1
counts lines, words and characters in a file
man utilityname
manual pages for the command “utilityname”
ctrl C
interrupts whatever is currently running.
(It can get you out of trouble at embarrassing moments)
ctrl Z
puts a foreground process into the background.
ctrl S
suspends current terminal
ctrl Q
resumes current terminal
