File Operations
File operations are essential when working with the command line. This section covers the basic commands for creating, copying, moving, and deleting files and directories.
touch
touch is used to create a new empty file or update the timestamp of an existing file.
touch filename.txt
In this example, I used touch to create a new file called filename.txt.
mkdir
mkdir is used to create a new directory.
mkdir new_directory
Here, I created a new directory called new_directory.
Here are some useful flags you can use with mkdir:
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
-p |
Create parent directories if they do not exist. |
cp
cp is used to copy files or directories from one location to another.
cp source_file.txt destination_file.txt
In this example, source_file.txt is copied to destination_file.txt.
Here are some useful flags you can use with cp:
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
-r |
Recursively copy directories and their contents. |
-i |
Prompt before overwriting an existing file. |
-u |
Copy only when the source file is newer than the destination file or when the destination file is missing. |
mv
mv is used to move or rename files and directories.
mv old_name.txt new_name.txt
In this example, old_name.txt is renamed to new_name.txt.
Here are some useful flags you can use with mv:
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
-i |
Prompt before overwriting an existing file. |
-u |
Move only when the source file is newer than the destination file or when the destination file is missing. |
rm
rm is used to remove files or directories.
rm filename.txt
Here, filename.txt is deleted.
Here are some useful flags you can use with rm:
| Flag | Description |
|---|---|
-r |
Recursively remove directories and their contents. |
-i |
Prompt before each removal. |
-f |
Force removal without prompt. |
rmdir
rmdir is used to remove empty directories.
rmdir empty_directory
In this example, empty_directory is removed because it is empty.
cat
cat is used to concatenate and display the content of files.
cat file.txt
In this example, the content of file.txt is displayed.
less
less is used to view the content of a file page by page.
less file.txt
In this example, less is used to view file.txt.
vim, vi and nano
These are text editors used to edit files directly from the terminal.
vim file.txt
vi file.txt
nano file.txt
In this example, vim is used to edit file.txt.
Note
Consider learning vim if you plan to do a lot of text editing in the terminal.
It has a steep learning curve but is very powerful once you get the hang of it.
Next Step
If you want to learn more about text processing, check out the Text Processing section in the Advanced Bash Commands guide.
But before that, let's move on to the next section on Variables to learn how to use variables in Bash scripts.