The 13 Most Important Unix Commands

cd - Change the current directory.

Format      cd directoryname

Examples    cd fred            change subdirectory fred to the current directory
            cd                 make your home directory the current directory
            cd ..              change to the parent of the current directory
            cd ~garyt          change to the home directory of user garyt

Format      cp file1 file2
            cp file1 newlocation

Examples    cp fred1 fred2     copies the contents of the file fred1
                                to the file fred2, erasing any existing file
                                called fred2 in the process.
            cp fred1 letters/  copies fred1 to the directory letters
                                which branches off of the current directory


emacs - Edit a file using the emacs editor

Format      emacs filename

Example     emacs fred         opens the text file fred in an emacs window
                                for editing.  A file fred will be created
                                if it doesn't already exist



enscript - Convert text files to POSTSCRIPT format for printing
Format      enscript filename

Examples    enscript fred2     prints the contents of fred2
            enscript -2r fred2 prints fred2 as landscaped, 2 pages
                                side-by-side on each sheet


less - Display a file on the terminal.  You may use arrow keys
 and space bar to manuever within the text.   Press 'q' to quit

Format      less filename

Example     less fred          displays the file fred on the terminal



lpr - Print a text file
Format      lpr filename

Example     lpr fred2          prints the contents of fred2 on the 
                                default printer located in Room 272



ls - Lists the files and subdirectories in a directory 
Format      ls [-alF]

Examples    ls                 list in multi-column format
            ls -l              list with detailed information such 
                                as permissions, file size and owner
            ls -al             as with ls -l but also shows hidden files
            ls -F              list in multi-column format with a / (slash) 
                                after an entry if it is a directory and an 
                                * (asterisk) if it is an executable file



man - Display manual pages (information on Unix commands)
Format      man command

Examples    man cat            Shows information about the cat command
            man -k "catenate"  Gives the header lines of all manual entries 
                                that contain the text "catenate" in their header.



mkdir - Make a directory
Format      mkdir directoryname

Example     mkdir letters      makes a new sub-directory in the current
                                directory called letters



mv - Changes the name of a file or its location
Format      mv oldfilename newfilename
            mv filename newlocation

Example     mv fred jack       if an existing file called jack exists,
                                it is deleted and then the file fred is
                                renamed jack
            mv fred images/    moves fred into sub-directory images
            mv fred ..         moves fred into parent directory



pwd - Show the current working directory
Format      pwd



rm - Delete a file
Format      rm filename

Example     rm fred            deletes the file fred from the current 
                                working directory




rmdir - Remove a subdirectory (works only if it is empty)
Format      rmdir directoryname

Example     rmdir letters      deletes the subdirectory called letters




© Gary Thompson 1996