If you want to delete an empty directory, you can use the recursive ( -r) flag: rm -r dir_to_remove/ To delete a regular file, you’d type: rm file_to_copy.txt Be careful while using it, though, because it’s very difficult (yet not impossible) to recover files deleted this way. You can use the rm command to remove files and directories. Now that you know how to copy files, it’ll be helpful to know how to remove them. Remember that in Linux, folders end with a forward slash ( /). You can also copy entire directories by using the recursive flag: cp -r dir_to_copy/ new_copy_dir/ To use the cp command, just type it along with the source and destination files: cp file_to_copy.txt new_file.txt It’s so easy to copy files and folders directly in the Linux terminal that sometimes it can replace conventional file managers. 3) Return to the previous directory cd - 6. There are some tricks with the cd command that can save you a lot of time when playing around with it: 1) Go to the home folder cd 2) Move a level up cd. You can also supply the absolute path of the folder: cd /home/kinsta/Documents/Videos It refers to “ change directory” and, as its name suggests, switches you to the directory you’re trying to access.įor instance, if you’re inside your Documents directory and you’re trying to access one of its subfolders called Videos, you can enter it by typing: cd Videos The cd command is highly popular, along with ls. # My result: /home/kinsta/Documents/linux-commands 5. To use it, simply type pwd in the terminal: pwd For example, if your username is “john” and you’re in your Documents directory, its absolute path would be: /home/john/Documents. The pwd command stands for “print working directory,” and it outputs the absolute path of the directory you’re in. To remove the previous ls alias, you can use: unalias ls 4. unalias CommandĪs the name suggests, the unalias command aims to remove an alias from the already defined aliases. If you want to list all the aliases you have in your shell session, you can run the alias command without argument. Note that the value must be inside quotes. When creating an alias, you instruct your shell to replace a word with a series of commands.įor example, to set ls to have color without typing the -color flag every time, you would use: alias ls='ls -color=auto'Īs you can see, the alias command takes one key-value pair parameter: alias NAME='VALUE'. The alias command lets you define temporary aliases in your shell session.

Now the ls command output is colorized, and you can appreciate the difference between a directory and a file.īut typing ls with the color flag would be inefficient that’s why we use the alias command. This flag returns all the flags you can use with ls.įor example, to colorize the output of the ls command, you can use the following: ls -color=auto The colorized ls command. It has many options, so it might be good to get some help by using the -help flag. It allows you to list the contents of the directory you want (the current directory by default), including files and other nested directories. Ls is probably the first command every Linux user typed in their terminal. Many of these have multiple options you can string to them, so make sure to check out the commands’ manual. Now let’s dive into the 40 most-used Linux commands. If this isn’t working, search in your application panel for “terminal.” The Linux terminal emulator. In most Linux distributions, you would use Ctrl + Alt + T to do so. ⬇️ Click to Tweet The 40 Most-Used Linux Commandsīefore jumping into the most-used Linux commands, make sure to fire up a terminal. You can invoke flags using hyphens ( -) and double hyphens ( -), while argument execution depends on the order in which you pass them to the function.ĭid you know that 90% of all cloud infrastructure and hosting services use Linux? 🤯 For this reason alone, it is crucial to be familiar with popular Linux commands. In most cases, the argument is a file path, but it can be anything you type in the terminal. Most of the time, flags are optional.Īn argument or parameter is the input we give to a command so it can run properly. Most Linux commands have a help page that we can call with the flag -h. For example, when you close a window by clicking on the “X,” there’s a command running behind that action.Ī flag is a way we can pass options to the command you run. A command line is an interface that accepts lines of text and processes them into instructions for your computer.Īny graphical user interface (GUI) is just an abstraction of command-line programs. A Linux command is a program or utility that runs on the command line.

Grep unique count