2. Unix Commands

Prerequisite Information

Make sure that you complete the tutorials in the Unix chapter before working through the material in this chapter.

This chapter is written under the assumption that you will fully engage with the material. In other words, it is not sufficient to skim-read the content. You should carefully read and process the text and commands presented and follow along by typing the commands into your terminal emulator, taking notes as you go.

Fully engaging with the content will improve your understanding of the content and help you retain the information long term.

Pro Tip

Write the answers to any questions asked in this chapter in your notes along with any additional information needed to provide some context. These notes will be extremely helpful for studying.

Help and Feedback

If you have any questions as you are working through the chapter, you are encouraged to post on the course Piazza page. Your questions will not only help you fill gaps in your knowledge but also give the authors and instructors insight on potential updates to the chapter.

Chapter Contents

• 2.1. Navigating the File System
  • 2.1.1. ls, ls PATH, tree PATH
  • 2.1.2. ls -l, ls -lh
  • 2.1.3. cd PATH, cd -, cd ~, cd
  • 2.1.4. ls -a, cd ..
• 2.2. Time-saving Tips
  • 2.2.1. Tab Completion
  • 2.2.2. Keyboard Shortcuts
• 2.3. Getting Help
  • 2.3.1. --help
  • 2.3.2. man and info
• 2.4. Inspecting Files
  • 2.4.1. cat
  • 2.4.2. less
• 2.5. New Directories
  • 2.5.1. mkdir, mkdir -p
• 2.6. Moving and Removing
  • 2.6.1. realpath, mv
  • 2.6.2. cp, cp -r
  • 2.6.3. rm, rm -r