Unix Reference Guide
Unless you have a Unix machine sitting on your desktop, you're probably accessing it through telnet or a command-line shell. This interface may be a little intimidating to new users who are usually a tad more comfortable with a point-and-click interface. But it's really not as hard as it looks.
This reference sheet gives you the basic commands you'll need, focusing especially on file management. You can also learn how to combine commands and become a real power user. If you need more help getting started, take a look at Pam's excellent introduction entitled "Enough Unix for Your Résumé." Between that article and this guide, you'll be on your way to becoming a Unix master. Soon you'll be wondering how you got along without it.
cat
Reading and printing multiple files
cd
Changing directories, moving around
chmod
Changing permissions on a file or directory
chown
Changing ownership of files and directories
cp
Copying files
date
Displaying and setting dates
diff
Differences between files
exit
Stopping a process and coming back home
find
Searching for files that meet specified conditions
finger
Gathering information about users
grep
Searching for lines that match regular expressions
head
Printing the beginning of a file
kill
Terminating processes
less
Displaying files
lprm
Removing printer queue requests
ls
Listing files
man
Using the online manual
mkdir
Making directories
more
Displaying files
mv
Moving and renaming files
passwd
Creating or changing passwords
ps
Active processes
pwd
Printing the pathname
rlogin
Logging into remote systems
rm
Removing files and directories
rmdir
Removing directories
su
Logging in as another user
tail
Printing the end of a file
telnet
Communicating with other hosts
who
Displaying information about a system
