Command | Action |
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cd dirname | Used to change to the directory dirname. If the path is not specified, dirname is assumed to be relative to the current path. (See Chapter 8, "Working with the Shell.") |
ls | Lists the contents of the current directory. Popular options include -l to list the attributes of each entry, -a to list hidden files (which begin with dots), and -F to help differentiate between certain types of files. (See Chapter 8.) |
cp oldfile newfile | Copies oldfile to newfile. If no directory path is specified for either file, they are both assumed to be in the current directory. Common options include -R to recursively copy a directory, -p to preserve permissions and ownership information, and -i, to perform an interactive copy that prevents the clobbering of existing files. (See Chapter 8.) |
mv oldfile newfile | Moves oldfile to newfile. If no directory is specified for either file, they are both assumed to be in the current directory. Common options include -i, which performs an interactive copy that prevents the clobbering of existing files. This command is also used to rename files and directories. (See Chapter 8.) |
rm filename | Deletes (removes) filename. This is a non-reversible process. The -i option prompts you to confirm the process, and -f forces the deletion and suppresses the system's warnings. The -r option allows you to remove the contents of directories recursively. (See Chapter 8.) |
rmdir dirname | Removes the directory dirname, assuming that it is empty. (See Chapter 8.) |
touch filename | Updates the access time on filename. If the file does not already exist, it is created. (See Chapter 8.) |
mkdir dirname | Creates the directory dirname. The -p option creates all directories along the specified path if they don't already exist. (See Chapter 8.) |
ln file1 file2 | Creates a link named file2 that serves as an alternative name for file1. The -s option creates a symbolic link, similar to a shortcut in Windows, rather than a hard link. (See Chapter 8.) |
mount filesystem mountpoint | Mounts the filesystem represented by filesystem on the directory represented by mountpoint to make it available for use. (See Chapter 12, "The FreeBSD Filesystem.") |
umount mountpoint | Unmounts the filesystem mounted on the directory mountpoint, making it unavailable for use. (See Chapter 9, "Customizing the Shell.") |