Linux/Mac Command Line Cheat Sheet

Navigating the File System

pwd - Print the current working directory.

pwd

ls - List directory contents, showing files and subdirectories.

ls -l

ls -a

cd - Change the current directory to the specified path.

cd /home/user

cd .. (move up one directory)

touch - Create a new empty file.

touch newfile.txt

clear - Clear the terminal screen.

clear

File and Directory Management

mkdir - Create new directories.

mkdir new_folder

mkdir -p new_folder/nested_folder (create nested directories)

rm - Remove files or directories.

rm file.txt

rm -r folder (remove directory and its contents)

mv - Move or rename files and directories.

mv old_name.txt new_name.txt (rename a file)

mv file.txt /new/location/ (move file to a new location)

cp - Copy files or directories.

cp file.txt copy_of_file.txt (copy a file)

cp -r dir1 dir2 (copy a directory)

Viewing and Editing Files

cat - Concatenate and display file content.

cat file.txt

cat file1.txt file2.txt (display multiple files)

nano - Simple text editor for basic editing tasks.

nano file.txt

nano /path/to/file.txt

less - View the content of a file one screen at a time.

less file.txt

head - Output the first part of files.

head file.txt (first 10 lines)

head -n 20 file.txt (first 20 lines)

tail - Output the last part of files.

tail file.txt (last 10 lines)

tail -n 20 file.txt (last 20 lines)

tail -f file.txt (follow file changes)

Searching and Filtering Text

grep - Search text using patterns within files.

grep "search_term" file.txt

grep -i "search_term" file.txt (case insensitive)

grep -r "search_term" /path/to/directory (recursive search)

grep -ri "search_term" /path/to/directory (recursive search that is case insensitive)

grep -rl "search_term" /path/to/directory (only show file names and not the content)

find - Search for files in a directory hierarchy.

find /path -name "filename"

find . -type f -name "*.txt" (find all .txt files)

awk - Pattern scanning and processing language.

awk '{print $1}' file.txt (print first column)

sed - Stream editor for filtering and transforming text.

sed 's/old/new/g' file.txt (replace text)

Command Line Tools and Utilities

curl - Transfer data from or to a server, supporting various protocols.

curl http://example.com

curl -O http://example.com/file.zip (download file)

wget - Retrieve files from the web, supporting HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP.

wget http://example.com/file.zip

wget -c http://example.com/file.zip (resume download)

tar - Archive files.

tar -cvf archive.tar file1 file2 (create archive)

tar -xvf archive.tar (extract archive)

Managing Processes

ps - Report a snapshot of current processes.

ps aux

ps -ef (detailed format)

top - Display Linux tasks.

top

kill - Terminate a process using its PID.

kill 1234

kill -9 1234 (force kill)

Scripting Basics

bash - Execute a bash script to automate tasks.

bash script.sh

bash -x script.sh (debug mode)

sh - Execute a shell script.

sh script.sh

sh -v script.sh (verbose mode)

Command Line for Networking

ping - Send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST to network hosts to test connectivity.

ping google.com

ping -c 4 google.com (limit to 4 packets)

ssh - OpenSSH SSH client for remote login to another host.

ssh user@hostname

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa user@hostname (use specific key)

System Maintenance

df - Report file system disk space usage.

df -h (human-readable format)

df -T (show file system type)

du - Estimate file space usage.

du -h (human-readable format)

du -s (summarize usage)

free - Display amount of free and used memory in the system.

free -h (human-readable format)

uptime - Tell how long the system has been running.

uptime

uname - Print system information.

uname -a (all information)