common-linux-commands.md

Common Linux Commands

cd

Moves the user into the specified directory. Change Directory.

cd .. to move one directory up

cd by itself to move to home directory

cd - to move to previous directory

cd <directory-path> to move to a directory (can be an absolute path or relative path)

cp <old_filepath> <new directory path>

Copies the file into the specified directory

clear

Clears the terminal

cat <filename>

Lists the contents of a file. Concatenate files.

ls

List contents within the current directory

grep <string_to_match> <filename>

Searches for the string / regular expression within the specified file and prints the line(s) with the result

pwd

Displays the path of the current directory that you are in. Present Working Directory

man <command>

Displays the help manual instruction for the given command

mv <file_name> <new_directory>

Moves a file into a new directory.

mv <old_file_name> <new_file_name> to rename a file

mkdir <directory_name>

Creates a new directory

rm <file_name>

Deletes a file

rm -r <directory_name>

Deletes directories and the contents within them. -r stands for recursive

rmdir <directory_name>

Removes the specified directory (must be empty)

touch

Creates a blank new file