This table contains brief descriptions of some frequently-used UNIX commands. If you would like more help with UNIX, please contact the Advanced Research Computing group for assistance.
|
Command |
Usage |
Description |
|
alias |
alias [name (command)] |
creates an alias for a command or shows which aliases exist |
|
bg |
bg [job] |
continues a stopped job in the background |
|
cat |
cat filename |
displays a file on the screen |
|
cd |
cd [directory] |
changes to another directory |
|
chmod |
chmod [-R] permissions filenames |
changes the permissions for a file |
|
clear |
clear |
clears the screen |
|
cp |
cp [-l] oldfiles newfiles |
copies one or more files |
|
date |
date |
tells you the current date and time |
|
exit |
exit |
logs you out |
|
fg |
fg [%job] |
continues a stopped job by running it in the foreground |
|
file |
file names |
tells you whether something is a file, directory or something else |
|
finger |
finger [usernames] |
lists the people on the system, with their real names |
|
grep |
grep [-l] [-v] text filenames |
finds lines in files that contain a certain word or phrase |
|
history |
history |
lists the last 20 or so commands you typed |
|
irc |
irc |
Inter Relay Chat - talk to many users at once |
|
jobs |
jobs |
Lists all jobs running in the background or foreground |
|
kill |
kill %job OR kill [-9] pid |
cancels a job you don't want to continue |
|
ls |
ls [-a] [-l] [-p] [-r] [-R] [-t] [-x] [pathnames] |
lists the files in a directory |
|
man |
man [-k keywords] topic |
displays reference manual page about a UNIX command |
|
mkdir |
mkdir directory |
creates a new directory |
|
more |
more [-l] [-r] [-s] [-u] [+ linenumber] [+ /text] [filename] |
displays information one screen at a time |
|
mv |
mv [-i] oldname newname |
renames a file or moves it from one directory to another |
|
nn |
nn |
Usenet newsreader |
|
passwd |
passwd |
changes your password |
|
pine |
pine |
electronic mail reader |
|
ps |
ps [-a] [-l] [-u] [-x] |
displays information about your processes (jobs) |
|
pwd |
pwd |
displays the name of the current working directory |
|
rm |
rm [-l] [-r] filenames |
deletes/removes a file permanently |
|
rmdir |
rmdir directory |
deletes/removes a directory permanently |
|
mesg |
mesg [n/y] |
lets you control interruption by on-screen messages |
|
talk |
talk user [@internet.address] |
talk to another user by typing messages to each other on-sreen in a real-time format |
|
who |
who [-q] [am I] |
tells you who else is using the system |
|
write |
write username [terminal] |
displays a message on the screen of another user |
