Updated 28 Feb 2014
cd
cp
ls
man
mkdir
mv
pwd
rm
touch
cd changes directory
~ to the home directory
- to the previous directory
cp copies a file or directory
-R recursively (contents of directories are also copied)
-i with interactive confirmation
-v in verbose mode (prints each operation to screen)
ls lists directory contents
-R recursively (contents of subdirectories are also listed)
-1 in a single column
-m comma-separated
-a showing all files and directories (hidden filenames begin with ".")
-F showing file type (* executable, / directory, @ symlink, | FIFO, = socket)
-l in long format
-r in reverse order
-X sorted by extension
-t sorted by date and time
-S sorted by size
-h in human-readable form
man shows the (help) manual for a command
-k apropos (shows possible commands based on a search)
-f gives a brief synopsis of the command
-u updates (rebuilds) the man pages for a command
mkdir makes a new directory inside the current directory
-p with parents (simultaneously creates subdirectories)
-v in verbose mode (prints each operation to screen)
mv moves and/or renames a file or directory
pwd prints the working directory to screen
rm removes a file or directory
touch updates a file's access and modification datetimes.
If no file is specified, a new file is created.
Thus, touch is also used to create a file.
-a updates only the access datetime
-m updates only the modification datetime
-t lets you specify the update datetime as YYYYMMDDhhmm(ss)