Summary
In this course we have covered basic command line usage for both UNIX-like and Windows command line interfaces. Command line interfaces allow you to directly access your computer’s file system and programs. You will now have seen and had experience navigating directories, manipulating directory contents and interacting with computer programs.
1 Additional Resources
If you would like some additional resources to reinforce the material here or to go a bit deeper into command line interfaces, here are some recommendations:
- Windows Powershell vs Command Prompt: What’s The Difference Anyway?
- How to use the Command Line | Terminal Basics for Beginners (demonstrates MacOS Terminal using Unix syntax)
Our team is trying to maintain a high response rate to our post-course survey to ensure we keep delivering quality training. Please go to the course on the learning hub and complete the “Post-Course Survey”.
2 Command Glossary
Below is a collection of the commonly used commands to be used for reference.
fp - “filepath”
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
man <command> |
“Manual” - provides information about a specified command |
pwd |
“Present Working Directory” - returns the path to the current directory |
ls |
“List” - lists the contents of the current directory |
ls -a |
lists all contents of the current directory including hidden items |
cd <path> |
“Change Directory” - changes the current directory to the path specified |
cd .. |
Changes the directory to one level above the current |
cd D |
Changes to the D drive when in the root directory |
ls -r |
Recursively lists the contents of directories and sub-directories |
mkdir <foldername> |
“Make Directory” - creates a directory at a specified location |
touch <filename> |
Creates a new empty file |
mv <source fp> <destination fp> |
“Move” - moves the source file to the destination |
cp <source fp> <destination fp> |
“Copy” - copies and pastes the source file to the destination |
rm <item filepath> |
“Remove” - removes the file from the file system |
<output command> > <fp> |
Redirects the output of a command into the specified file |
cat [options] <fp> |
Allows you to display or add to a file |
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
help [command] |
Provides information about a specified command or general advice |
cd |
Returns the path to the current directory |
dir |
“Directory” - lists the contents of the current directory |
dir /AH |
lists all contents of the current directory including hidden items |
cd <path> |
“Change Directory” - changes the current directory to the path specified |
cd .. |
Changes the directory to one level above the current |
D: |
Changes to the D drive when in the root directory |
tree [/F] |
Displays a tree diagram of all sub-folders, optionally includes files |
mkdir <foldername> |
“Make Directory” - creates a directory at a specified location |
echo. > <fp> |
Creates a new empty file |
move <source fp> <destination fp> |
Moves the source file to the destination |
copy <source fp> <destination fp> |
Copy and pastes the source file to the destination |
rmdir [/s] <fp> |
“Remove Directory” - removes the directory and optionally the contents of it’s sub folders |
del <fp> |
“Delete” - deletes the file in the filepath |
<output command> > <fp> |
Redirects the output of a command into the specified file |
copy con <fp> |
Allows you to overwrite an existing file |
type <fp> |
Returns the contents of a file |