The command line is a text-based computer interface. It's a program that receives commands and sends them to the computer's operating system for execution.

 

You may navigate your computer's files and directories from the command line, just like you would with Windows Explorer or Finder on Mac OS. The command line differs in that it is entirely text-based.

 

Here's a list of frequently used commands.

 

pwd Print Working Directory

The shell command pwd displays the file path from the root directory to the current working directory.

$ pwd
/Users/Downloads

 

mkdir Make Directory

The shell command mkdir is used to make a new directory in the filesystem according to its argument. If a file path is specified, the new directory is appended to the end. Otherwise, a new directory will be created in the current working directory.

$ mkdir new-directory
$ ls 
old-directory    new-directory

rmdir - remove a directory (only work on empty folders)

$rmdir my-folder

 

ls List

The shell command ls is used to list the contents of a directory. If no arguments are given, it will list the contents of the current working directory.

$ ls Desktop
resume.pdf
photo.png

 

cd Change Directory

The shell command cd is used to move throughout the filesystem of a computer. It accepts a variety of arguments:

• Full file paths.
• Names of children of the current directory.
• .. the parent of the current directory.

$ cd some-directory
$ cd ..

 

touch Create New File

The shell command touch creates a new file in the current working directory with the name provided.

$ touch shoping-list.txt

rm - Remove / Delete a File (forever)

rm shoping-list.txt

rm -rf - Remove recursive force / Delete a directory add all file nested in the directory (also other directories)

 

Helper Commands

Helper commands for the command line include:

 

-clear to clear the terminal

-tab to autocomplete the line

-↑ and ↓  to cycle through previous commands