Linux/Mac Command Line Cheat Sheets

Navigating the file system:

 $ pwd : Prints the current working directory.

$ cd :    Changes the current directory.

$ cd my_directory : To change current directory to a directory called ‘my directory’. That directory must exist in the current directory.

$ cd my_dir1/my_dir2/mydir3 : To change the current directory to a subdirectory called ‘mydir3’. ‘mydir3’ is subdirectory under multiple levels.        

$ cd/.. : To change the current director back out one level.

$ cd/../../.. : To change the current director back out Three level.

  $ls :     Lists the files and directories in the current directory.

$ ls : To see items in the current directory. Only shows the names of the items.

$ ls -la  : To list the files and directories in more detail. You can tell if an item is a file or a directory. It will also show the owner and size of the items.

 Creating and managing files and directories:

$ mkdir : Creates a new directory.

$ mkdir directoryName

$ touch : Creates a new file.

$ touch myFile1

$ mv :   Moves or renames a file or directory.

$ mv file  ” new file path” : To move files to new location

$ mv filename  new_file_name : To rename the files to a new filename

$ cp :  Copies a file.

$ cp filename ”new directory path”

$ cp -r : Copies a directory. (recursive)

$ cp -r name “path”

$ rm : Deletes a file.

         $ rm filename

$ rm -r : Deletes a directory.

Viewing and editing files:

$ less :   Allows you to view the contents of a file one page at a time.

$ less filename

$ nano :  A simple text editor to edit the file in terminal

$ nano new_filename

$ vi  / $vim :   A more advanced text editor to edit the files in terminal

$ vim filename.txt

$ cat :  Displays the contents of a file.

$ cat filename

Searching and filtering:

$ grep :  Searches for a specific string in a file or multiple files.

$ grep [options] pattern [files]

the -i option enables Case insensitive search

                $grep -i ‘Word’  filename

$ find :  Search for files in a directory hierarchy.

$ find [where to start searching from] [expressions determine what to find] [options] [what to find]

$ find  ./GFG -name filename : To search a file with a specific name

Permissions and ownership:

$ chmod :  Changes the permissions of a file or directory.

$ chomd u = rw new_filename : To give a read and write permission

                  $ chown : Changes the ownership of a file or directory.

                 $ chown [option] [owner] [:[Group]] file : To change owner of a file

                 $ chown owner_name file_aname

Miscellaneous:

$ clear : Clears the terminal screen.

$ exit : Closes the terminal window.

$ man : Displays the manual pages for a command.