The humble Linux cheat sheet
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. |
