Terminal Commands I Keep Forgetting

Navigation

cd folder-name       # enter a folder
cd ..                # go up one level
cd ~                 # go to home directory
cd -                 # go back to previous directory

Create & Move

mkdir my-folder                  # create a folder
mkdir -p a/b/c                   # create nested folders at once

mv file.txt folder/              # move file into folder
mv old-name.txt new-name.txt     # rename a file
mv *.jpg images/                 # move all jpg files into images/

Copy & Delete

cp file.txt backup.txt           # copy a file
cp -r folder/ backup-folder/     # copy entire folder

rm file.txt                      # delete a file
rm -rf folder/                   # delete folder and everything inside

List & Inspect

ls                  # list files
ls -la              # list all files including hidden, with details
pwd                 # print current directory path

Find Files

# find all .env files
find . -name ".env"

# find all files modified in the last 7 days
find . -type f -mtime -7

# find and delete all Zone.Identifier files (Windows metadata leftovers)
find . -type f -name '*:Zone.Identifier' -print -delete

Zone.Identifier files appear when you copy files from Windows into Linux (e.g. via WSL or a shared drive). They're safe to delete.

Useful One-liners

# count files in current folder
ls | wc -l

# show disk usage of each folder
du -sh */

# watch a file update in real time
tail -f app.log