4.2. An overview of commands

This section provides an overview of some commands that are used frequently on Linux systems.

Familiarity with these will help you navigate the file system and work with files, and directories.

• 4.2.1. Command options
• 4.2.2. Getting help on using commands
• 4.2.3. date — display current date and time
• 4.2.4. cd — change directory
• 4.2.5. mkdir — create new directory
• 4.2.6. rmdir — remove empty directory
• 4.2.7. ls — list files
• 4.2.8. cp — copy files
• 4.2.9. cat — display contents of files or combine them
• 4.2.10. less — view and navigate file contents
• 4.2.11. head — print first few lines of a file
• 4.2.12. tail — print last few lines of a file
• 4.2.13. mv — move a file or directory
• 4.2.14. rm — remove files or directories
• 4.2.15. echo — display text or values of variables