Listing Files with ls

Display all files and directories in the current working directory.

ls

List contents of a specific directory, using ./ for current or ../ for parenet.

ls path

Show detailed information in a long listing format.

ls -l path
ls -la path

In the output, the first character indicates file type: - for files, d for directories.

Present files in a list with human-readable sizes.

ls -lh

Printing the Current Directory with pwd

Output the absolute path of the current working directory.

pwd

Changing Directories with cd

Switch to a different directory.

cd path

Navigate to the current user's home directory.

cd ~

Creating Directories with mkdir

Make a new directory at the specified location.

mkdir path

Create multiple directories at once.

mkdir path1 path2 path3

Use the -p option to create nested directories that do not exist.

mkdir -p a/b/c

Creating Files with touch

Generate a new empty file or update timestamps of existing ones.

touch file_path

Create multiple files simultaneously.

touch file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt

Copying Files and Directories with cp

Duplicate a file to a new location, optionally renaming it.

cp source_path destination_path

To copy directories recursively, include the -r flag.

cp -r source_dir destination_dir

Moving and Renaming with mv

Relocate a file or directory to a new path.

mv source_path destination_path

Rename a file by moving it within the same directory with a new name.

mv old_name new_name

Removing Files and Directories with rm

Delete a file.

rm file_path

Remove a directory and its contents recursively with -r, and force deletion with -f.

rm -rf directory_path

Delete multiple files using widlcards, such as all files starting with 'linux'.

rm linux*

Editing Files with vim

Open a file in the vim text editor, creating it if it does not exist.

vim file_path

To exit vim without saving, press Shift + :, type q, and hit Enter.

Redirecting Output

Save command output to a file, overwriting existing content.

command > file_path

Append output to a file without overwriting.

command >> file_path

Viewing and Combining Files with cat

Display the contents of a file direct in the terminal.

cat file_path

Merge multiple files into a single file.

cat file1 file2 > merged_file