Navigating the Command Line

Basic Directory Navigation

• cd [directory] – Change to a specific directory
• cd .. – Move up one directory
• cd ~ – Go to the home directory
• cd - – Switch to the previous directory
• pwd – Print the current directory path

Listing Files and Directories

• ls – List files and directories
• ls -l – Long format listing (permissions, size, etc.)
• ls -a – Include hidden files (those starting with a dot)
• ls -lh – Human-readable file sizes

Path Shortcuts and Auto-Completion

• ~ – Home directory (e.g., cd ~/Documents)
• . – Current directory
• .. – Parent directory
• Tab – Auto-complete filenames and directories

Moving the Cursor Within a Command

• Ctrl + A – Move to the beginning of the line
• Ctrl + E – Move to the end of the line
• Alt + B – Move back one word
• Alt + F – Move forward one word
• Ctrl + U – Cut everything before the cursor
• Ctrl + K – Cut everything after the cursor
• Ctrl + W – Cut the word before the cursor
• Ctrl + Y – Paste (yank) the last cut text
• Ctrl + L – Clear the terminal screen

Command History Navigation

• ↑ / ↓ – Scroll through command history
• Ctrl + R – Reverse search through command history
• history – Show full command history
• !n – Re-run command number n from history
• !! – Repeat the last command

Quick Directory Jumps

• cd / – Jump to the root directory
• cd ../../ – Move up two directories
• cd ~/Desktop – Go directly to the Desktop