Navigation & Files

pwd, ls, and cd are the three commands you’ll type more than any others, ever.

The three you’ll never stop typing #

Think of these as one loop you run constantly:

pwd                 # print working directory
ls                  # list what's in it
ls -la              # include hidden files + details
cd projects         # move into a folder
cd ..               # move up one level
cd ~                # jump home
cd -                # jump back to the previous directory

Special paths worth memorizing #

Creating, copying, moving, deleting #

mkdir projects              # create a directory
mkdir -p projects/app/config # -p creates any missing parents too
touch notes.txt              # create an empty file (or bump its timestamp)

cp file.txt backup.txt       # copy a file
cp -r project project-backup # copy a whole directory

mv file.txt documents/       # move a file
mv oldname.txt newname.txt   # mv is also how you rename

rm notes.txt                 # delete a file
rm -rf projects               # forcefully delete a folder + everything in it