Linux Commands - File and Directory Operations

Here is a compilation of the most useful Linux commands for File and Directory Operations

Navigate between directories

# go to root directory
cd


# go to previous directory
cd ..


# enter directory (absolute path)
cd /directory1/directory


# enter directory (relative path)
cd directory1/directory2


# go to user directory
cd ~


# go to last visited directory
cd -


# show current path
pwd

List files and directories

# show files and directories
ls


# show files and directories with details
ls -l


# show files and directories, including hidden ones
ls -a

File and directory manipulation

# rename or move a file or directory
mv source destination


# copy a file
cp file destination


# copy a directory
cp -r source destination


# delete the file named file
rm file


# delete directory if empty
rm -d directory


# delete directory and its contents
rm -r directory


# create new directory
mkdir directory


# create multiple directories simultaneously
mkdir directory1 directory2


# create directory path
mkdir -p /directory1/directory2


# create empty file
touch file


# change file date (year, month, day, and hour format)
touch -t 19901230000 file

Symbolic links

# create a symbolic link to the file or directory
ln -s file link1


# create a physical link to the file or directory
ln file link1

Encoding

# calculate the md5 checksum of a file
md5sum file


# encode file using GNU Privacy Guard
gpg -c


# decode file using GNU Privacy Guard
gpg file.gpg