Terminal Cheatsheet

Print-friendly reference for essential terminal commands

Navigation

Command	Description	Example
pwd	Print working directory	pwd
ls	List files and folders	ls
ls -la	List with details + hidden	ls -la
cd folder	Change directory	cd Documents
cd ..	Go up one level	cd ..
cd ~	Go to home directory	cd ~
cd -	Go to previous directory	cd -

File Operations

Command	Description	Example
touch file	Create empty file	touch index.js
mkdir folder	Create directory	mkdir src
cp source dest	Copy file	cp a.txt b.txt
cp -r src dest	Copy folder	cp -r old new
mv old new	Move or rename	mv old.txt new.txt
rm file	Delete file	rm temp.txt
rm -rf folder	Delete folder	rm -rf node_modules

DANGER

rm is permanent! There is no trash can.

Viewing Files

Command	Description	Example
cat file	Show file contents	cat package.json
head file	Show first lines	head -20 file.txt
tail file	Show last lines	tail -20 file.txt
less file	Scrollable view	less log.txt

Searching

Command	Description	Example
grep pattern file	Find in file	grep "error" log.txt
grep -r pattern dir	Find in folder	grep -r "TODO" src
find . -name "*.js"	Find files	find . -name "*.tsx"

Utilities

Command	Description	Example
clear	Clear screen	clear
history	Show command history	history
which cmd	Find command location	which node
echo text	Print text	echo "Hello"

npm Commands

Command	Description
npm init	Initialize new project
npm install	Install dependencies
npm install pkg	Add a package
npm run script	Run a script
npm run dev	Start dev server
npm run build	Build for production
npm run lint	Run linter

Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Tab	Autocomplete
Tab Tab	Show all options
↑ / ↓	Previous/next command
Ctrl + C	Cancel current command
Ctrl + L	Clear screen
Ctrl + R	Search history
Ctrl + A	Go to line start
Ctrl + E	Go to line end

Special Paths

Path	Meaning
.	Current directory
..	Parent directory
~	Home directory
/	Root directory

Combining Commands

# Run if previous succeeds
cmd1 && cmd2

# Run regardless
cmd1 ; cmd2

# Pipe output
cmd1 | cmd2

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