Command line#
The command line (also called command-line interface, command prompt, shell), is a text-based application for viewing, handling, and manipulating files on your computer.
The general syntax of any command in the command line is: command + [optional parameters] + [optional flags]
Command: Name of the command, e.g. cd, git add
Parameter: Specifies the command, e.g.
cd DesktopDesktop specifies in which directory to move toFlag: Optional boolean parameter, e.g.
ls -lordir /b
Note: The commands, parameters and flags are always separated by whitespaces.
More important note: Avoid file names containing whitespaces, because that might lead to problems when executing commands, e.g.
$ cd ./my folder would be interpreted as a command with two parameters ./my and folder.
Setting quotation marks would solve the problem as well, but it’s better to generally avoid whitespaces in file paths.
Most common commands#
The commands on Windows and Unix (Max OS, Linux) systems are a bit different. If you want to use the Unix commands on Windows, use the PowerShell or the GitBash.
Windows command |
Mac OS / Linux command |
Description |
Example |
|---|---|---|---|
exit |
exit |
close the window |
exit |
cd |
cd |
change directory, When changing hard drives (C:\ to M:) execute M:\ afterwards |
cd M:\Documents |
cd |
pwd |
print working directory |
cd |
dir |
ls |
list directories/files |
dir |
copy |
cp |
copy file |
copy c:\test\test.txt c:\windows\test.txt |
move |
mv |
move file |
move c:\test\test.txt c:\windows\test.txt |
mkdir |
mkdir |
Make (new) directory |
mkdir testdirectory |
rmdir (or del) |
rm |
Remove directory |
del c:\test\test.txt |
rmdir /S |
rm -r |
Remove directory recursivly |
rm -r testdirectory |