List of Linux Commands

Section 14.12 List of Linux Commands

The Linux operating system provides a wealth of commands that are extremely useful. Below you will find some of the most commonly used commands that will be useful in this course, along with descriptions and information on how and when to use them.

ls:

lists content of a directory
switches modify behavior:
- -l: long listing
- -t: sort by date
- -a: show all files
- -S: sort by size
- -r: sort in reverse order
- -lta: long, sorted by date, all files
- man ls:gives information on ls and all possible switches

cd:

changes working directory
cd .. moves up a directory
- . is the current directory, .. is one directory up, etc.
can change to a directory with path
- i.e. cd ~/engs20/workspace
cd ~ or simply cd changes to home directory

pwd:

prints working directory
alternatively, looks at your command prompt to determine your current location

mkdir:

creates a new directory
- will only work in a directory for which you have write permission

rm:

removes (deletes) a file
- does not check whether you mean it
- demonstrate in a shell and file browser with a test file to delete

rmdir:

removes a directory, provided it contains no files or directories

less:

displays contents of a file, one screen-full at a time
space bar advances one page
Ctrl+b goes back one page
q quits less and returns you to the command prompt

mv:

moves a file to a new location
can also use mv to simply rename a file

cp:

makes an independent copy of a file

man:

tells you about the a given command and its switches (options)
- i.e. man cp

Prev Top Next