UNIX command reference


Environment Control

Command                     Description
cd d                             Change to directory d
mkdir d                        Create new directory d
rmdir d                         Remove directory d
mv f1 [f2...] d               Move file f to directory d
mv d1 d2                      Rename directory d1 as d2
passwd                         Change password
alias name1 name2       Create command alias (csh/tcsh)
alias name1="name2"    Create command alias (ksh/bash)
unalias name1[na2...]    Remove command alias na
ssh nd                          Login securely to remote node
exit                              End terminal session
setenv name v              Set env var to value v (csh/tcsh)
export name="v"           Set environment variable to value v (ksh/bash)


Output, Communication, & Help

Command                     Description
lpr -P printer f               Output file f to line printer
lp -d printer f                Output file f to line printer
script  [f]                      Save terminal session to f
exit                              Stop saving terminal session
mailx username             Send mail to user
man name                     Unix manual entry for name


Process Control

Command                     Description
CTRL/c *                      Interrupt processes
CTRL/s *                      Stop screen scrolling
CTRL/q *                      Resume screen output
sleep n                         Sleep for n seconds
jobs                             Print list of jobs
kill %                           Kill job n
ps                                Print process status stats  
kill  -9 n                       Remove process n
CTRL/z *                      Suspend current process
stop  %n                      Suspend background job n
cmmd&                        Run cmmd in background
bg  [%n]                      Resume background job n
fg  [%n]                       Resume foreground job n
exit                              Exit from shell


Environment Status

Command                     Description
ls  [d]  [f...]                  List files in directory
ls -1  [f...]                    List files in detail
alias  [name]                Display command aliases
printenv  [name]           Print environment values
quota                           Display disk quota
date                             Print date & time
who                              List logged in users
whoami                        Display current user
finger  [username]        Output user information
chfn                             Change finger information
pwd                              Print working directory
history                          Display recent commands
! n                               Submit recent command n


File Manipulation

Command                     Description
vi  [f]                            Vi fullscreen editor
emacs  [f]                     Emacs fullscreen editor
ed  [f]                          Text editor
wc  f                             Line, word, & char count
cat  f                            List contents of file
more  f                         List file contents by screen
cat f1 f2 >f3                  Concatenates f1 & f2 into f3
chmod mode f               Change protection mode of f
cmp f1 f2                      Compare two files
cp f1 f2                         Copy file f1 into f2
sort f                            Alphabetically sort f
split  [-n]  f                   Split f into n-line pieces
mv f1  f2                      Rename file f1 as f2
rm f                             Delete (remove) file f
grep 'ptn'  f                  Outputs lines that match ptn
diff f1 f2                       Lists file differences
head f                          Output beginning of f
tail f                            Output end of f


Abbreviations used in this document

CTRL/x       hold down control key and press x
d               directory
env            environment
f                filename
n               number
nd             computer node
prtr            printer
ptn            pattern
var            variable
[y/n]         yes or no
[]             optional arg
...             list