UNIX Command Cheat Sheets

UNIX Command Cheat Sheets

Command Description (short) Example Explanation

date Writes the current date to the screen date Mon Nov 20 18:25:37 EST 2000

sort infile Sorts the contents of the input file in sort names Sorts the contents of names in
alphabetical order alphabetical order

who Tells you who is logged onto your server who None

who am I Tells you your user information who am i None

whoami

clear Clears the window and the line buffer clear None

echo whatever I type Writes whatever I type to the screen. echo hey you! Writes hey you! to the screen

banner big words Does the same thing as echo only in BIG banner hey! Writes hey! in large letters on the
words screen

cat file1 file2 file3 Shows the three files in consecutive order as cat cheese milk This prints the cheese file to the
one document (can be used to combine files) screen first and immediately follows
it with the milk file.

df system Reports the number of free disk blocks df ~ Both commands will print the total kb
df $HOME space, kb used, kb available, and
%used on the home system (your
system).

head file Prints the first 10 lines of the file to the screen head addresses Prints the first 10 lines of addresses
to the screen
Number of lines can be modified head -25 addresses Prints the first 25 lines of addresses
to the screen

tail file Prints the last 10 lines of the file to the screen tail test.txt Prints the last 10 lines of test.txt to
the screen
Number of lines can be modified here, too tail -32 test.txt Prints the last 32 lines of test.txt to
the screen

more input This prints to screen whatever is inputuseful more groceries This will list the groceries file to the
because it only shows one screen at a time. screen.
scroll bar continues to the next screen
return moves one line forward
Q quits
G goes to the end
1G goes to the beginning
Ctrl u moves up screen
Ctrl d moves down screen

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 Command Description (short) Example Explanation
ls (-option-optional) Lists all the nonhidden files and directories ls Lists all nonhidden files and directories in
the current directory
ls bin Lists all nonhidden files and directories in
the bin directory
ls -l or ll Lists all nonhidden files and directories in long ls -l Lists all nonhidden files and directories in
format ll the current directory in long format
ls -l work Lists all nonhidden files and directories in
ll work the work directory in long format
ls -a Lists all files and directories including hidden ls -a Lists all files and directories, including
ones hidden, in the current directory
ls -a temp Lists all files and directories in the temp
directory.
ls -r Lists all files and directories in reverse ls -r Lists all nonhidden files and directories in
alphabetical order the current directory in reverse
alphabetical order
ls -r abc Lists all nonhidden files and directories in
the abc directory in reverse alphabetical
order
ls -t Lists all nonhidden files in the order they were ls -t Lists all the nonhidden files in the current
last modified directory in the order they were last
modified from most recent to last
ls -t work Lists all the nonhidden files in the work
directory in the order they were last
modified from most recent to last
ls -al Lists all files (including hidden (-a)) in
NOTE: Options can be combined using ls long format (-l)

Important
Characters pipe directs the output of the first ls -l | more Lists your files in long format one screen
| command to the input of another. at a time
Sends the output of a command to a ls -l > myfiles Prints your listing to a file named myfiles
> designated file Appends your filenames to the end of the
Appends the output of a command to a ls -l >> allfiles allfiles file
>> designated file Runs xclock (a clock) allowing you to
Runs command in the background; you can xclock & keep working
& still work in the window Writes your home directory to the screen
Designates the home directory ($HOME) echo ~ progA program gets its input from a file
~ Designates input from somewhere other than named input1
terminal progA < input1
<
Wildcards UNIX has a set of wildcards that it accepts.

* Any string of characters ls *.c Lists any file or directory (nonhidden)

ending with c
? Any one character ls file? Lists any file/directory with file and 1
character at the end
[ ] Match any character in the brackets (a hyphen is ls v[6-9]file Lists v6file, v7file, v8file, and v9file
used for ranges of characters)

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 Command Description (short) Example Explanation
cd directory Changes your current directory to the directory cd bin Changes directory to the bin
specified directory
cd .. Moves you to the directory that
cd ../.. contains the directory you are currently
in
Ex. Current
directory=/home/users/bob/bin
execute cd ..
New directory= /home/users/bob
or executing cd ../..
New directory= /home/users.
cd - Moves you to the directory you just
came from
cd ~ Both move you to your home
cd directory (the directory you start from
initially)

mkdir dirname Creates a directory mkdir junk Makes a directory named junk in
your current directory
You can also designate where the directory is to reside. mkdir ~/left Makes a directory in your home
directory named left

rm file1 file2 file3 Removes (deletes) file(s) rm xyz Deletes a file named xyz
rm xyz abc Deletes the files named xyz and abc
rm * Deletes everything nonhidden
rm -i file1 file2 Prompts before deletion of files rm -i * Prompts at each nonhidden file and
*******USE -i AT FIRST******* lets you decide whether or not to
delete it
rm -f file1 file2 Forces deletion without prompt regardless of rm -f program Removes the file program without
permissions regard to permissions, status, etc.
rm -r directory Remove a directory along with anything inside of it rm -r bin Each of these will remove the bin
rm -R directory rm -R bin directory and everything inside of it.
rmdir directory Removes a directory like rm -r does if the directory is rmdir bin Removes the bin directory if it is
empty empty
****dangerous**** This combination will force the removal of any file rm -Rf c_ya Forces removal without prompts of
rm -fR name and any directory including anything inside of it the c_ya directory and anything
rm -Rf name inside of it
rm -Ri directory Deletes the contents of a directory and the directory if rm -Ri rusure Deletes anything in the directory
it is empty by prompting the user before each deletion called rusure that you verify at the
prompt, and if you remove everything
in the directory, you will be prompted
whether you want to remove the
directory itself or not
NOTE: Options can be combined using rm
rmdir -p directory Removes a directory and any empty parent rmdir -p /home/bin/dir1 Deletes the dir1 directory; if bin
directories above it (-pi does the same thing but directory is empty, it is deleted, and if
it prompts before each removal) home directory is empty it is also
deleted

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 Command Description (short) Example Explanation
cp file1 newname Copies a file (file1) and names the cp old new Makes a copy of the file/directory
copy the new name (newname) named old and names the copy new,
all within the current directory
NOTE: If you copy a file to a newfile
name and newfile already exists, the
newfile contents will be overwritten.
cp file dir2/ Places a copy of file in dir2/ and it
retains its original name
cp ../dir1/* . Copies everything from the dir1
directory located just below where you
currently are and places the copy
here ( . ) in your current directory
cp -p name target Preserves all permissions in the cp -p execut1 execut2 Copies execut1 executable file and
original to the target calls the copy execut2, which also has
executable permissions
cp -R directory target Copies a directory and names the cp -R old/ junk/ Makes a copy of the directory named
copy the new name (target) old and names the directory copy junk
cp -f name target Forces existing pathnames to be none No example or description needed
destroyed before copying the file
mv initial final Renames files and directories mv temp script_1 Renames the file (or directory) temp to
the name script_1 in the current
directory
Also moves files to other mv script.exe ~/bin Moves the script.exe file to the bin
directories directory that is in the home (~) parent
directory and it keeps its initial name
You can do multiple moves. mv script_1 script.exe ~/bin Moves both script_1 and script.exe to
the bin directory

pwd Prints the current directory to the pwd May print something like /home/bob
screen

pr (option) filename Prints the specified file to the pr userlist Prints the contents of userlist to the
default printer (options are not default printer
required but can be combined in
any order)
pr +k filename Starts printing with page k pr +5 userlist Prints the contents of userlist starting
with page 5
pr -k filename Prints in k columns pr -2 userlist Prints the contents of userlist in 2
columns
pr -a filename Prints in multicolumns across the pr -3a userlist1 Prints userlist in three columns across
page (use with -k) the page
pr -d filename Prints in double space format pr -d userlist Prints userlist with double space
format
pr -h header filenamePrints the file with a specified pr -h users userlist Prints userlist with users as the
header rather than the filename header
NOTE: Options can be combined using pr

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 Command Description (short) Example Explanation
lpconfig printer_id queue Configures remote printers to a lpconfig prntr1 bobprt Configures a printer named prntr1
local print queue to accept print requests from a local
queue named bobprt
lpconfig -r queue Removes the said queue from the local lpconfig -r bobprt Removes bobprt queue from the
system local system if the person removing
the queue is the owner or root
lpconfig -d queue Makes the said queue the default queue lpconfig -d vpprnt Makes vpprnt the default print queue

lpstat (-options) Prints printer status information to screen lpstat Prints status of all requests made to
(options not required) the default printer by the current
server
lpstat -uuser1, user2 Prints the status of requests made by the lpstat -ubob Prints status of all requests made by
specified users the user with the id bob
lpstat s Prints the queues and the printers they print none None
to
lpstat -t Shows all print status information none None
lpstat -d Shows the default printer for the lp none None
command
lpstat -r Lets you know if the line printer scheduler none None
is running
lp (-option) file(s) Like pr, this prints designated files on the lp junkfile Prints the file junkfile to the default
connected printer(s) (options not required printer in default one-sided, single-
and options may be combined). sided, single-spaced format
lp -ddest file(s) Prints the file(s) to a specific destination lp -dbobsq zoom Sends the file zoom to the bobsq print
queue to print
lp -nnumber file(s) Allows user to designate the number of lp -n5 crash Prints five copies of crash in default
copies to be printed settings
lp -ttitle file(s) Places title on the banner page lp -tBobs cash Prints Bobs on the banner page of the
file printout named cash
lp -ooption file(s) Allows printer-specific options to be used lp -od output Prints the output file double-sided on
(i.e., double-sided or two pages per side, the printout
etc.)
lp -obold output Prints output in bold print
lp -ohalf output Divides the paper into two halves for
printing output
lp -oquarter output Prints four pages of output per side
of paper
lp -olandscape output Prints output in landscape orientation
lp -oportrait output Prints output in portrait orientation
NOTE: Options can be combined using lp

cancel request_id Stops print jobs or removes them from the cancel 5438 Stops the print job with the id 5438
queue (request_ids are obtained using whether it is printing or if it is sitting
lpstat) in the queue
cancel -a printer Removes all print requests from the current cancel -a bobsprt Removes all the requests from the
user on the specified printer current user to the printer named
bobsprt
cancel -u login_id Removes any print requests queued cancel -u bob Cancels all queued print requests for
belonging to the user user bob

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 Command Description (short) Example Explanation
ps Shows certain information about active ps Shows a listing of process IDs,
processes associated with the current terminal identifier, cumulative
terminal execution time, and command name
ps -e Shows information about all processes ps -e Shows a listing of process IDs,
terminal identifiers, cumulative
execution time, and command names
for all processes
ps -f Shows a full listing of information about ps -f Shows UID (user or owner of the
the processes listed process), PID (process ID--use this
number to kill it), PPID (process ID of
the parent source), C (processor
utilization for scheduling), STIME
(start time of the process), TTY
(controlling terminal for the process),
TIME (cumulative time the process
has run), and COMMAND (the
command that started the process)
ps -u user_id Shows all processes that are owned by the ps -u bob Shows all the processes that belong to
person with the pertinent user_id the person with the userid bob
ps -ef Shows all processes in a full listing ps -ef Shows all current processes in full
listing

kill process_id Stops the process with the said id kill 6969 Kills the process with PID 6969
kill -9 process_id Destroys the process with the said id kill -9 6969 PID # 6969 doesnt have a chance
here.

grep string file Searches input file(s) for specified string grep mike letter Searches for the string mike in the file
and prints the line with matches named letter and prints any line with
mike in it to the screen
grep -c string file Searches and prints only the number of grep -c hayes bankletter Searches the file bankletter for the
matches to the screen string hayes and prints the number of
matches to the screen
grep -i string file Searches without regard to letter case grep -i hi file1 Searches file1 for hi, Hi, hI, and HI
and prints all matches to the screen
grep -n string file Prints to the screen preceded by the line grep -n abc alpha Searches alpha for abc and prints the
number matches lines and line numbers to the
screen
grep -v string file All lines that do not match are printed grep -v lead pencils Prints all lines in pencils that do not
contain the string lead
grep -x string file Only exact matches are printed grep -x time meetings Prints only lines in meetings that
match time exactly
grep is useful when you use it in a | ps -ef | grep bob Finds all processes in full listing and
pipe then prints only the ones that match the
string bob to the screen
You can also redirect its output to a grep -i jan b_days>mymonth Searches the file b_days for case-
file. insensitive matches to jan and places
the matching lines into a file called
mymonth

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 Command Description (short) Example Explanation
vuepad filename Opens filename for editing/viewing in the vuepad none None
editor

vi filename Text editor that exists on every UNIX system in none None
the world

emacs filename Another text editor none None

compress filename Compresses the file to save disk space. none None
uncompress filename Expands a compressed file none None

awk UNIX programming language none None

eval `resize` Tells the target computer that youve resized the none None
window during telnet

chexp # filename Keeps the file(s) from expiring (being erased) on chexp 365 nr* Keeps the target computer from
the target computer for # days deleting all files starting with nr
for 1 year (365 days)
chexp 4095 nr* Makes all files whose name
starts with nr never expire or be
deleted (infinite)

qstat Displays the status of a process that has been qstat Shows the status of the requests
submitted the Network Queuing System (basically submitted by the invoker of the
a batch job) commandthis will print
request-name, request-id, the
owner, relative request priority,
and request state (is it running
yet?)
qstat -a Shows all requests
qstat -l Shows requests in long format
qstat -m Shows requests in medium-
length format
qstat -u bob Shows only requests belonging
to the user bob
qstat -x Queue header is shown in an
extended format

xterm Opens a new window (x-terminal) for you to work xterm This opens another window like
xterm -option -option sets the option the one you are currently
xterm +option +option resets the option to default working in.
USING XTERM WILL
ELIMINATE A LOT OF
DESKTOP CLUTTER. I
STRONGLY SUGGEST
YOU LEARN TO USE IT
IN YOUR SCRIPTS.
xterm -help Displays the xterm options xterm -help Shows the options available

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 Command Description (short) Example (Explanation)
xterm -e program Executes the listed program in the xterm -e myprog.exe This opens an xterm window and
new xterm windowwhen the executes the program myprog.exe
program is finished, the new xterm from that window so that you may
window goes away still work in your present window.
xterm -sb Opens an xterm that saves a set xterm -sb Puts a scroll bar on the right side of
number of lines when they go off the the page for reviewing past lines in
top of the page and makes them the window
accessible with a scroll bar NOTE: When clicking in the scroll
bar, the left button scrolls down, the
right scrolls up, and the middle
snaps the scroll bar to the mouse
position for dragging up and down.
xterm -sl number Specifies the number of lines to be xterm -sl 1000 The xterm will save 1,000 lines of
saved once they go off the top of the work once it has moved off the
screen (default is 64) immediate viewing area; it can be
accessed using the scroll bar.
xterm -geom xxy+px+py This option allows you to xterm -geom 80x80+0+50 The first command will open a
specify the size x pixels by y window 80 pixels wide by 80 pixels
pixels and placement position tall and position its top left-hand
x by position y of the new corner at 0 pixels to the right of the
window when it opens. left edge and 50 pixels down from
Position +0+0 is the top left- the top of the screen.
hand corner of the screen, and
the bottom right is approx.
+1200+1000 depending on
your resolution.
Note: The size of the window
takes precedence over position,
so if you position it too close to
the side of the screen, it will
position at the edge with the
correct size.

The second command will open a

xterm -geom 10x35+300+500 window 10 pixs wide by 35 pixs tall
and position its top left-hand corner
300 pixs from the left edge and 500
pixs down from the top.
The third command will make a 5 by
5 window and position its top left-
xterm -geom 5x5+0+0 hand corner at the top left-hand
corner of the screen.
xterm will not compromise size
when positioning.
xterm -title label Allows you to label your windows xterm -title SCRIPTS Opens an xterm window with the
top title bar title SCRIPTS (default is whatever
follows the -e option)

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xterm -(areas) color Allows you to modify different colors xterm -bg white The first command sets the
in your xterm window background color to white.
xterm -bd huntergreen The second command sets the
window border color to
xterm -fg red huntergreen.
The third command window sets the
text color to red.
xterm -fn font Sets the font in the new xterm xterm -fn courr18 Sets the font to courr18 (default is
window fixed)
xterm -iconic Starts the new xterm as an icon xterm -iconic -title xyz Opens an xterm in iconic form with
(double-click to maximize) the title xyz
NOTE: Options can be combined using xterm

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