Toolbox for frequently used UNIX commands

cd {directory_path} to set current directory, to journey through your file system, or cd ~ to go back home; cd .. to retrace your step and go back on directory level

mkdir to make a new folder in your current directory

df command to see disk free space; use df -ah for all human readable disk spaces and their usages

du command to see file system disk usage; use du -sh for a summary in readable format

rm to remove directories or files; use rm -i for a confirmation before execution as rm is irreversible

pwd to see your current path in case you're lost

ls to list all files and directories in your current directory; use ls -l for detailed list format

cp {file A} {file B} to copy files

mv {file} {newfile} to rename file to newfile; use mv {file} {directory_path} to move the file to a different directory

find to find files, self-explanatory

man {command} to see the help manual for a command

ifconfig to see kernel configuration; try inconfig -a to display all available interfaces

chmod {file} to change file permissions; chmod u+rw {file} to give yourself, the user (u) permission to read (r) and write (w); chmod a+rw {file} to give everyone (a for all) permission to read and write

printenv to show environmental variables

whatis {command} for a shorter explanation of a command

mount to mount an external file system (USB drive, for example); sometimes needed for Linux distros

uname to get kernel information, including OS version

history to give a past log of terminal sessions

uptime to give active run time of your system

kill -l to list all available signal names to kill process

less {file} to see contents of a text file; hit q to quit viewing

more {file} view the file

cat > {file.txt} to create a new text file

grep 'pattern' {file} to search a text pattern (maybe a particular word?) in a text file

cut {file} to cut text files; use cut -c 1,2,3, {file.txt} to print first, second, and third characters from each line; use cut -f 1,2,3 to print first, second, and third fields from the file

sort {file} to sort the contents of a text file; use sort -r {file} to sort in reverse order; sort -n {file} to sort numerically line by line

nano {file} to open a lightweight text-editor and edit, save new text files

diff {fileA} {fileB} to show differences between the two files

wc {file} to give a word count; wc -l {file} to count number of lines in your file

echo "string" to echo a statement; use echo $PATH to show your full working path

touch {file} to create a file, like cat but this time it's empty; you can create multiple files at once

head {file} to see the first ten lines of a file; use head -n N {file} to see the first N lines instead