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Cheatsheet

Here is a summary of the most useful commands and shortcut to know when you use the terminal.

Common commands

Some of the most useful commands to know:

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# List files and directories
ls

# Change directory
cd <directory>

# Print the working directory
pwd

# Create a directory
mkdir <directory>

# Create an empty file
touch <file>

# Remove a file
rm <file>

# Remove a directory
rm -r <directory>

# Copy a file
cp <source> <destination>

# Copy a directory
cp -r <source> <destination>

# Move a file
mv <source> <destination>

# Print the content of a file
cat <file>

# Print the content of a file with pagination
less <file>

Common terminal shortcut

Some of the most useful shortcut to know:

History

Ctrl+R - Search command history interactively.

Ctrl+P - Previous command in history.

Ctrl+N - Next command in history.

Cursor Movement

Ctrl+A - Move to the beginning of the line.

Ctrl+E - Move to the end of the line.

Alt+B - Move backward one word.

Alt+F - Move forward one word.

Editing

Ctrl+K - Delete (kill) from the cursor to the end of the line.

Ctrl+U - Delete from the cursor to the beginning of the line.

Ctrl+W - Delete the word before the cursor.

Alt+D - Delete the word after the cursor.

Ctrl+Y - Paste (yank) the last deleted text.

Various

Ctrl+L - Clear the screen (similar to clear command).

Ctrl+C - Interrupt/kill the current process.