UNIX Command Cheat Sheet

When learning a new operating system things can be quite daunting, for those people who have come to UNIX from a Microsoft background you will find quite a few similarities between the way UNIX and DOS behave, in reality DOS is very similar to UNIX as it is loosely based on it. If you are interested UNIX stands for UNiplexed Information and Computing, this catchy acronym and indeed the Operating system were dreamt up in 1969 by a team at Bell Labs consisting of Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna, more information here.

Below you will find a list of UNIX commands with their DOS equivalents, this page will also explain how Shell Commands can interact making them even more powerful and useful.

Action	DOS	UNIX
change directory	cd	cd
change file protection	attrib	chmod
compare files	comp	diff
copy file	copy	cp
delete file	del	rm
delete directory	rd	rmdir
directory list	dir	ls
edit a file	edit	vi/pico
environment	set	printenv
find string in file	find	grep
help	help	man
make directory	md	mkdir
move file	move	mv
rename file	ren	mv
show date and time	date, time	date
show disk space	chkdsk	df
show file	type	cat
show file by screens	type filename \| more	more
sort data	sort	sort

Help on any UNIX command.

man {command}	Type man ls to read the manual for the ls command.
man {command} > {filename}	Redirect help to a file to download.
whatis {command}	Give short description of command.
apropos {keyword}	Search for all UNIX commands that match keyword, eg apropos file.

List a directory

ls {path}	It's ok to combine attributes, eg ls -laF gets a long listing of all files with types.
ls {path_1} {path_2}	List both {path_1} and {path_2}.
ls -l {path}	Long listing, with date, size and permisions.
ls -a {path}	Show all files, including important .dot files that don't otherwise show.
ls -F {path}	Show type of each file. "/" = directory, "*" = executable.
ls -R {path}	Recursive listing, with all subdirs.
ls {path} > {filename}	Redirect directory to a file.
ls {path} \| more	Show listing one screen at a time.
dir {path}	Useful alias for DOS people, or use with ncftp.

Change to directory

cd {dirname}	There must be a space between.
cd ~	Go back to home directory, useful if you're lost.
cd ..	Go back one directory.
cdup	Useful alias, like "cd ..", or use with ncftp.

Make a new directory

mkdir {dir name}

e.g. mkdir test

Remove a directory

rmdir {dirname}	Only works if {dirname} is empty.
rm -r {dirname}	Remove all files and subdirs. Careful!

Print working directory

pwd	Show where you are as full path. Useful if you're lost or exploring.

Copy a file or directory

cp {file1} {file2}
cp -r {dir1} {dir2}	Recursive, copy directory and all subdirs.
cat {newfile} >> {oldfile}	Append newfile to end of oldfile.

Move (or rename) a file

mv {oldfile} {newfile}	Moving a file and renaming it are the same thing.
mv {oldname} {newname}

Delete a file

rm {filespec}

? and * wildcards work like DOS should. "?" is any character; "*" is any string of characters.

ls {filespec}

Good strategy: first list a group to make sure it's what's you think...

rm {filespec}

Good strategy: first list a group to make sure it's what's you think...

View a text file

more {filename}	View file one screen at a time.
less {filename}	Like more, with extra features.
cat {filename}	View file, but it scrolls.
cat {filename} \| more	View file one screen at a time.
page {filename}	Very handy with ncftp.
vi {filename}	Use text editor and don't save.

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