Command Line

Front 1

pwd

Back 1

print working directory

tells you what folder you're in - what the path is

Front 2

hostname

Back 2

my computer's network name

Front 3

mkdir

Back 3

make directory

if you want to make a directory within a directory use the forward slash

ex. to make a folder within the folder test use:

mkdir test/"second folder" (you will need to be in the directory that holds the first folder you are referencing; you can only make the subsequent folders using this command if the prior folder has already been created)

To make a folder name with spaces, you need to enclose it in quotes

If you want to make a file path all in one command use -p dir1/dir2/dir3/dir4

Front 4

cd

Back 4

change directory

just use cd if you want to go back to the home directory

use cd directory_name if you want to change to that directory
can also change to directories within a directory by using cd directory_name/next_directory_name

to move up a folder, use cd ..

to move up multiple folders in one command use cd .. / .. / .. /

Front 5

ls

Back 5

list directory

lists what documents and folders are in the current directory

if you want to list out a directory you're not currently in, use ls directoryname/

Front 6

rmdir

Back 6

remove directory

ex. rmdir dir1

Front 7

pushd

Back 7

push directory

Front 8

popd

Back 8

pop directory

Front 9

cp

Back 9

copy a file or directory

to copy an existing file to a new file use:

cp originalfile.txt newfile.txt (the second file is the copy)

to copy an existing file into a different folder use:

cp originalfile.txt newfolder (first string after cp is the file to copy and the second string is the folder to place the copy of the file into)

to copy an entire directory including its contents use:

cp -r originaldir newdir

Front 10

mv

Back 10

move a file or directory

This really means renaming a file or directory

example renaming a file:

mv oldfildname.txt newfilename.txt

example renaming a folder:

mv olddirname newdirname

Front 11

less

Back 11

page through a file - view the contents of a file

example: less test.txt (will show the contents of this file)

to page through the file, press the spacebar

to escape the preview, enter q for quit

Front 12

cat

Back 12

print the whole file without paging

This will print out all of the contents of the file on the screen

if you want to print out the contents of two files onto the same screen use:

cat file1.txt file2.txt

Front 13

xargs

Back 13

execute arguments

Front 14

find

Back 14

find files

Front 15

grep

Back 15

find things inside files

Front 16

man

Back 16

real a manaul page

Front 17

apropos

Back 17

find what man page is appropriate

Front 18

env

Back 18

look at your environment

Front 19

echo

Back 19

print some arguments

Front 20

export

Back 20

export/set a new environment variable

Front 21

exit

Back 21

exit the command line

Front 22

sudo

Back 22

DANGER! become super user root DANGER!

Front 23

touch

Back 23

creates a new empty file

ex. touch test.txt

Front 24

rm

Back 24

removes/deletes a file

rm file1.txt

can remove multiple files in one command:

rm file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt

to remove a file within another directory:

rm directory/file.txt

to remove a directory and all of its files:

rm -rf directory