Common UNIX Commands

File Commands

cat filename - displays file on terminal

cat  file1 >> file2 - appends file1 to the bottom of file2

cp file1 file2 - copies file1 to file2 (file2 may optionally specify a different director: i.e., moves file to another directory)

mv file1 file2 - renames file1 to file2

rm  filename - deletes the file specified

rm –i filename - confirms before deleting files

head filename - displays the first ten lines of the file

tail filename - displays the last ten lines of the file

more filename - to view specified file on the screen

pg filename - similar to "more filename," but will page forward, backward, etc.

file filename - tells you what type of a file it is, whether ASCII or bin, etc.

Directory Commands

cd name_of_directory - goes to the specified directory

cd -  takes you back to the home directory

mkdir name_of_directory - creates a sub-directory of that name

pwd - shows the current working directory

rmdir name_of_directory - removes empty directory

rm -r name_of_directory - deletes directory and all sub-files and sub-directories

ls - displays file names.

ls –l - displays file names with permissions, site, owner, etc.

ls  -al - displays all files with their permissions, etc., including the hidden files

Help Commands

man commandname - on-line help for the command specified (Use for complete description).

whatis command - displays one line description of what the command does.

dirusage - shows sorted summary of space used by files and directories.

Miscellaneous Commands

who - to list who is currently logged in

last loginname - details of all  logins in the last couple of days for the loginname specified

lp –d printername filename - prints the specified file

cal - shows the current calendar month

cal month year - shows the calendar for the specified month and year

date - displays today’s date and current time

finger loginname - displays all information for that user including his/her login shell

name namepart - displays accounts (email addresses) on major NJIT systems where namepart may be a last name/first name/login name.

Mail Commands

pine -  A form of menu driven mail system

elm, mail & mush - 3 different types of mail also available on AFS

Note: You may find pine easier to use since it is menu driven.  See pine instructions further in this guide.  Pick ONE mail reader and use it exclusively. Mixing mail programs can cause data loss.

Editor Commands

pico filename - A menu driven text editor

vi filename - Another form of text editor

Note: You may find pico easier to use since it is menu driven