Basics

A small Linux cheat sheet, introducing the very basic and very essential commands for surviving at the Linux CLI.

Moving around in the file system

Command Action pwd "Print working directory" - show what dir you're in. ls List the contents of a dir. ls -l List the contents of a dir and show additional info of the files. ls -a List all files, including hidden files. cd Change directory. cd .. Go to the parent directory.

Examining files

Command Action file Determine the type of a file. cat Concatenate a file. less View text files and paginate them if needed.

Manipulating files and directories

Command Action cp Copy a file. cp -i Copy a file and ask before overwriting. cp -r Copy a directory with its contents. mv Move or rename a file. mv -i Move or rename a file and ask before overwriting. rm Remove a file. rm -r Remove a directory with its contents. rm -i Ask before removing a file. Good to use with the -r option. mkdir Make a directory. rmdir Remove an empty directory.

Files and directory Permissions

Command Action chown Change ownership chgrp Change group chmod Change permissions