| Command | Purpose | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| pwd | Find ones current location in the directory tree (Present Working Directory) | pwd |
| ls | View the contents of the current directory | ls ls -l : view a detailed listing of files ls -a : view all files, even hidden files ls -al : view a detailed listing of all files |
| cd | Change directories | cd <path> cd or cd ~ : change to your home directory |
| mkdir | Create directory | mkdir <path to directory> |
| mv | Move a file. Can be used to rename a file/directory. | mv <file> <path to new file> mv <file> <new name> |
| cp | Copy a file | cp <file> <path to new location> |
| rm | Remove a file. BE CAREFUL! There is no recycle bin in Unix. This cannot be undone. Make sure you want to do this BEFORE you do it. |
rm <file> |
| rmdir | Delete a directory (The directory must be empty) | rmdir <path to directory> |
| emacs | Open up the Emacs Text Editor. | Go to the Emacs Reference for more information. |
| zip | Creates or adds files to a zip archive of specified files. Creates a file <archive name>.zip if it does not exist. |
zip <archive name>.zip <files to add> ex: zip assign1.zip * [copies all the files in the current directory (using the * symbol) into an archive called assign1.zip]. |
| unzip | Copies files out of a zip archive file. | unzip <compressed file> ex: unzip assign1.zip [Copies all of the files in assign1.zip into the present working directory] |
| tar | Compress/uncompress files. Creates a file if "compressed filename" does not exist. |
Compress file: tar -cvf <compressed filename> <directory to encrypt> Decompress file: tar -xvf <compressed file> |
| less | Displays a file at the terminal. Press space to scroll down Press b to scroll up Press q to quit |
less <filename> |
| man | Used to learn parameters and usage information for a Unix command | man <Unix Command> |