Mastering the Shell: Essential Commands and their Uses

#shell #webdev #beginners #linux

Introduction

Hey there, fellow devs! If you're working with Linux or macOS, mastering shell commands is a must. Here's a list of essential shell commands and their uses to get you started:

Navigation

pwd: Print working directory. Shows the current directory you're in.
cd: Change directory. Navigate to a different directory.
cd ~: Takes you to your home directory.
cd ..: Takes you to the parent directory.

File Management

ls: List files and directories. Use -l for detailed information and -a for hidden files.
ls -ltr: list out all the directories/ files/folders in your VM
mkdir: Make a new directory.
rm: Remove files or directories. Use -r for recursive deletion.
cp: Copy files or directories.
mv: Move or rename files and directories.

File Editing

vi: Open a file in the Vim editor.
cat: Display the contents of a file.

System Information

free: Display memory and disk usage information. Use - g for gigabytes.
df: Display disk usage information.
top: Display system resource usage information.
nproc: Display the number of processing units available.

Miscellaneous

echo: Output text to the screen.
touch: Create a new empty file.
chmod: Change file permissions. -chmod 777: Grant permission to a file for every users. E.g chmod 777 then the name of the file, then do ./ or sh the name of the file
chmod 444: Grant access to you, your group, and everyone to read
chmod 222: granting access for you, your group and everyone to write the file
chmod 111: granting access to you, your group and everyone to execute the file