Quick Reference of common Linux commands

Command	Description
pwd	print working directory
ls	list files and directories in the current directory
cd	change directory
cp	copy files or directories
mv	move or rename files or directories
touch	create an empty file
mkdir	make a new directory
rm	remove files or directories
wc	word count
less	view the contents of a file
head	view the first few lines of a file
tail	view the last few lines of a file
gzip	compress a file
gunzip	decompress a file
curl	download the contents of a website
echo	print text to the terminal
cat	concatenate and print files
man	view the manual for a command

Created by Ryan D. Najac for the Palomero Lab at the Institute for Cancer Genetics.
Page last updated on 2024-10-17.