Commands to use

You can run many commands and programs at the terminal, but there are only a few you really need to get started. The best thing to remember is that you can get help from each command using the --help argument.

• ls: Use the ls command to list files in a folder. Pass it arguments for the name of the folder to list, if you do not want the listing of the current folder. You can also pass it options for how to format the list -lha are good options to start with.
• cd: Use cd to move the shell to a new folder (directory). Pass it one argument, the path to the folder you want to move to.
• cp: The cp command lets you copy files. Pass it arguments for the source (what to copy) and the destination (where to put it).
• rm: Is used to remove aka delete a file or folder. To delete folders you need to pass in the -r option. Beware, there is no “recycle bin” here. When you remove a file, it is gone.
• mkdir: Can be used to create folders.

Using —help…

• will tell you want a command done.
• shows you what arguments the command expects.
• describes options you can pass to the command.

Tip

If you are not sure what command to use, you can search for it or use a generative AI engine to give you ideas. Include descriptions like “in bash”, “at the command line”, “cli”, or “shell command”.

Example

macOS

# move into the /Users/andrew/Documents/ folder
cd /Users/andrew/Documents

# Now we are in the Documents folder...
# move into the /Users/andrew/Documents/Code folder
cd Code

# We can make a folder for a project called HelloWorld
# Notice no space between Hello and World
mkdir HelloWorld

# Move into the new folder
cd HelloWorld

# Print out the location in the terminal
pwd

# Create some empty files
touch test.cpp
touch test.h

# List the files
ls -lha

# Move to your code folder
cd ~/Documents/Code

# Explore further to do things like...

# Get a word count of all of your C++ code
find . -name *.cpp -exec cat {} \; | wc -w

# Download and interact with files
curl https://programmers.guide/book/part-0-getting-started/00-0-introduction/ > intro.html

Windows (WSL) & Linux

# move into the /home/andrew/Documents/ folder (WSL users may need to create Documents folder)
cd /home/andrew/Documents

# Now we are in the Documents folder...
# move into the /home/andrew/Documents/Code folder
cd Code

# We can make a folder for a project called HelloWorld
# Notice no space between Hello and World
mkdir HelloWorld

# Move into the new folder
cd HelloWorld

# Print out the location in the terminal
pwd

# Create some empty files
touch test.cpp
touch test.h

# List the files
ls -lha

# Move to your code folder
cd ~/Documents/Code

# Explore further to do things like...

# Get a word count of all of your C++ code
find . -name *.cpp -exec cat {} \; | wc -w

# Download and interact with files
curl https://programmers.guide/book/part-0-getting-started/00-0-introduction/ > intro.html

Windows (MSYS2)

# move into the /c/Users/andrew/Documents/ folder
cd /c/Users/andrew/Documents

# Now we are in the Documents folder...
# move into the /c/Users/andrew/Documents/Code folder
cd Code

# We can make a folder for a project called HelloWorld
# Notice no space between Hello and World
mkdir HelloWorld

# Move into the new folder
cd HelloWorld

# Print out the location in the terminal
pwd

# Create some empty files
touch test.cpp
touch test.h

# List the files
ls -lha

# Move to your code folder
cd /c/Users/andrew/Documents/Code

# Explore further to do things like...

# Get a word count of all of your C++ code
find . -name *.cpp -exec cat {} \; | wc -w

# Download and interact with files
curl https://programmers.guide/book/part-0-getting-started/00-0-introduction/ > intro.html