Bash Command Cheat Sheet¶

Keyboard shortcuts for terminal:

Tip

Keyboard presses with the Ctrl key are shown with a + to indicate that you press Ctrl and the other key together.

Bash	Description
`pwd`	path to current directory
`cd`	change directory
`ls`	list. `ls -lht` will list directory contents in human-readable (`-h`) file sizes and with time stamp (`-t`)
`history`	shows history of all commands you've entered. Note: the default command is `history 1` on zsh.
`less <file name>`	view file contents, scroll with up/down keys. exit view by typing `Q`
\|	a pipe that connects commands
`history \\| less`	view history
`nano -ET4 <file name>`	opens up the text editor `nano`, tab key = 4 spaces
`grep`	search files using regular expressions to pattern match. `grep rule Snakefile` will output all the lines in the file called Snakefile with the word 'rule' in them
`rm <file name>`	removes files forever, be careful!
`clear`	clear terminal window screen
`PS1='$ '`	change prompt symbol, e.g., to make it shorter. Note that if you are using a bash terminal, the prompt will end in an `$`. If you are using a zsh terminal, the prompt will end in an `%` by default.

Text editing with nano	description
`Ctrl`+`K`	cut text
`Ctrl`+`U`	paste text
`Ctrl`+`_`, enter line number, `Enter`	go to specific line number
`Ctrl`+`E`	go to end of line
`Ctrl`+`V`	scroll down page
`Ctrl`+`O` , edit file name if needed, `Enter`	saving changes (Write Out)
`Ctrl`+`X`	exit nano

# in text files = comments; these lines of text are not interpreted as code

Last update: April 2, 2021