Basic Linux commands Part 1: Navigation, folders and files

No GUI just text, Starting out with terminal can be confusing and daunting. Looking past the black console commands are actually fairly simple. Here are the basics in navigation and file & folder handling.

Finding your feet

To print your current directory use

pwd

To print out the files and folders in your current directory

ls

Moving

To move into a directory

cd directoryname

To go back (up)

cd ..

Creating and deleting

Create a folder with

mkdir newfoldername

Delete a folder with

rm -d foldername

Files

Print file contents with

cat filename

Move a file

mv currentfolder movehere

Copy a file

cp file copytohere

Rename a file with mv

mv oldname renameto

Delete a file

rm -d filename

To edit a file

nano filename

Ctrl + x

Then

y

To confirm saving the file.