A Summary of Basic Terminal Commands

Terminal

3 months ago

Here are the basic terminal commands you'll use often in macOS (zsh/bash), Windows PowerShell, and CMD.

Purpose	macOS	PowerShell	CMD
Show the current location	`pwd`	`pwd`	`cd`
List items	`ls -al`	`ls` / `dir`	`dir`
Go to a specific folder	`cd ~/apple/banana`	`cd $HOME\apple\banana`	`cd /d C:\apple\banana`
Go to the parent folder	`cd ..`	`cd ..`	`cd ..`
Go to the home folder	`cd ~`	`cd ~`	`cd %USERPROFILE%`
Clear the screen	`clear`	`cls`	`cls`
Create a folder	`mkdir -p apple/banana`	`mkdir apple\banana`	`mkdir apple\banana`
Create an empty file	`touch cherry.md`	`ni cherry.md`	`type nul > cherry.md`
Copy	`cp -r apple banana`	`cp -r apple banana`	`xcopy /E /I apple banana`
Move and rename	`mv apple banana`	`mv apple banana`	`move apple banana`
Delete a folder	`rm -rf apple`	`rm -r -fo apple`	`rmdir /s /q apple`
Print contents	`cat cherry.md`	`cat cherry.md`	`type cherry.md`
Command location	`which claude`	`gcm claude`	`where claude`

If a path contains spaces, wrap it in quotes, like cd "C:\My Project".
type nul > cherry.md erases all the contents of a file with the same name if it already exists, leaving an empty file.

What the path symbols mean:

Symbol	Meaning
`~`	Home folder (macOS, PowerShell)
`$HOME`	Variable that holds the home folder path (PowerShell)
`%USERPROFILE%`	Environment variable that holds the home folder path (CMD)
`..`	Parent folder of the current location

What the flags mean:

Flags start with - in macOS and PowerShell, and with / in CMD.
In macOS, you can combine ls -a -l into ls -al.

Flag	Example	Meaning
`-a`	`ls -a`	Shows all items, including hidden files
`-l`	`ls -l`	Shows details (Long) such as permissions, size, and modification date
`-p`	`mkdir -p apple/banana`	Also creates the intermediate folders (Parents) if they don't exist
`-r`	`cp -r`, `rm -rf`	Processes everything inside the folder recursively
`-f`	`rm -rf`	Deletes forcibly without asking for confirmation
`-fo`	`rm -r -fo`	Forced deletion; in PowerShell, `-f` is ambiguous with other options, so it's shortened to `-fo`
`/d`	`cd /d C:\apple\banana`	Needed to move to a drive other than the current drive
`/E`	`xcopy /E /I apple banana`	Copies all subfolders, including empty ones
`/I`	`xcopy /E /I apple banana`	Creates the destination folder if it doesn't exist, then copies
`/s`	`rmdir /s /q apple`	Deletes all subdirectories and files too
`/q`	`rmdir /s /q apple`	Quiet mode that doesn't ask for confirmation before deleting

Terminal shortcuts:

Key	Action
`Tab`	Autocomplete paths and commands
`↑` / `↓`	Recall previous commands
`Ctrl + C`	Stop the running command