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Bash Commands

In the table below command arguments are described as <arg-info>, key presses are described by [key] and key combinations are described by [key-1]+[key-2]

Command Name Description
exit Exit Bash Session  terminate the current bash session.  - closes the window if this is the outermost session layer
man   Manual  show the manual entry for the specified command
 - once the manual entry opens, press q to quit
 - to navigate use up-arrow/down-arrow and page-up/page-down
ls   List  lists directory contents
 - use ls -l for a list with file properties
 - use ls -a to show hidden files
 - use ls -orth for a time-sorted list with the most recent files
   at the bottom of the list and clear file sizes (good for listing downloads)
pwd   Print Working Directory  prints the full file path of your current directory location
cd <directory>   Change Directory  move into the target directory
 - use cd .. to move up one directory
 - all files and directories are case sensitive
 - for names with spaces in them, use double quotes: cd "My Folder"
cat <target-file>   Concatenate  write the contents of the target file to terminal output  - multiple files can be listed with space separations and the output will be joined (concatenated)
 - output can be remapped with > to create a new file
clear Clear Terminal  removes all terminal output from visibility  - does not command erase history
history Command History  shows a list of all recent bash commands for this user
mv <original-file> <final-file>   Move (also rename)  relocate the specified file
 - both original and final file can contain path information
 - if final file is a directory name original is moved inside the directory
 - if final file is not a directory the original is renamed
 - if the final file name exists already it will be erased and replaced when the orignal is renamed
cp <original-file> <final-file>   Copy to new file  copy the specified file
 - both original and final file can contain path information
 - if final file is a directory name, original is coppied inside the directory
 - if final file is not a directory the copy will be renamed
 - if the final file name exists already it will be erased and replaced by the new copy
rm <target-file>   Remove  delete the target file
 - use rm -r to remove a directory and all of its contents
mkdir <name>   Make Directory  creates a directory with the specified name
nano <file-name>   Nano Text Editor  open nano text editor to begin reading and editing the specified file
 - hotkeys are listed at the bottom. Ctrl + X exits
 - if the file does not exist you can create it with Ctrl + O
gcc -o <program-name> <source-file>.c   GNU C Compiler  Attempt to compile target <source-file>.c and create an executable binary with <program-name>
Source files names must end in '.c' . The program name should have no file name extension in Linux or '.exe' in Windows.
Do not name the output <program-name> the same as the source file or it will overwrite (delete) your source code!
If the command executes with no output, compiling is typically successful.
If errors are output, no program will be created.