Your First Terminal Commands

The terminal looks scary until you realise it’s just a faster way to talk to your computer. These few commands cover 90% of what you’ll do day to day.

Where am I, and what’s here?

pwd     # print working directory — where you are
ls      # list files in the current directory
ls -la  # list everything, including hidden files

Moving around

cd folder        # change directory
cd ..            # go up one level
cd ~             # go home

Making and removing things

mkdir my-project     # make a directory
touch notes.txt      # create an empty file
rm notes.txt         # remove a file
rm -r my-project     # remove a directory and its contents

Reading and searching

cat file.txt    # print a whole file
head file.txt   # print the top of a file
grep word file  # find lines containing "word"

The one command that saves you

man command     # the manual — help for any command

Press q to quit the manual. When in doubt, man it.

The golden rule

rm does not send things to a recycle bin. When something is removed, it’s gone. Read your command twice before you press enter.