Unix cheat sheet
Excerpt from:
Open Source GIS: A GRASS GIS Approach, First Edition, 2002
www.grassbook.org
Table 2.1. List of important UNIX system commands
| Command | Important option(s) | Impact of the command | Impact of the option(s)/remarks |
| cat | file | display text file contents | |
| chgrp | <group> file | change group owner of file or directory | |
| chmod | <options> file | change permissions for file or directory | |
| chown | <owner> file | change owner of file or directory | |
| cp | source target | copy file | target may be a new file name or directory |
| df | -k partition | display free space on hard drive | -k: values in kilobyte, dot for current directory |
| exit | finish terminal session/program | e.g. to finish GRASS | |
| file | file | display file type (mime type) | displays, if file is in ASCII or binary format |
| ftp | hostname | file transfer via network | hostname: Internet address |
| grep | string file | search for string in file | string should be quoted |
| gunzip | file | uncompress file with “.gz” extension | |
| gzip | file | compress file | |
| head | -n file | display heading lines of text file | -n: number of lines to display |
| kill | -9 pid | remove hanging process from system | -9: force removal, find pid with ps command |
| lpr | -P printer file | print file on printer | |
| ls | -l or -la | list directory’s contents | -l: long, -la: hidden files as well |
| man | program | online manual | Usage: man program |
| mkdir | directory | make directory | |
| more | ascii_file | display text file page-wise | continue with <ENTER> to next page |
| mv | -i source target | move or rename file/directory | source and target: new filename or directory |
| ps | -aef (or -aux) | display running processes | display process data, especially pid (process-ID) |
| pwd | print working directory | ||
| rm | -i file resp. -ir directory | remove file/directory | -i: query interactively, -r: recursive |
| rmdir | directory | remove empty directory | |
| script | logfile | log session into text file | finish with <CTRL><D> |
| ssh | hostname | secure terminal for external hosts | hostname: Internet address |
| tar | xvf package.tar | extract files with directory structure | |
| tar | cvf newpack.tar source | package directory structure | -c silently overwrites existing packages |
Unix file permissions
GRASS GIS: possible data organization