Bash Basics, Part 3: File Manipulation

If Daft Punk's digital age anthem Technologic ever gave you the urge to dive deeper into the technology world, you're in the right place! It's time we give our GUI a break and head over to the almost musical world of the command line. After all, with commands like 'zip', 'unzip', 'copy', and 'touch', you're orchestrating your own "Technologic" symphony right on your keyboard. It's time to upgrade your skills. Let's dive into learning how to move, copy, edit, delete, and add a bit of techno-funk into our everyday computing tasks.

mkdir

mkdir is used to make a directory.

$ mkdir bin/

rmdir

rmdir is used to remove a directory. Note that the directory will have to be empty for this to work.

$ rmdir bin/

touch

touch is used to create an empty file or to change the timestamp for an existing file to the current time.

$ touch file.txt

find

find lets you search for files on the local filesystem and prints the search results.

$ find / -name nginx.conf

nano

nano is one of the easiest-to-use command-line text editors for Unix-like operating systems.

# nano /etc/fstab

vim

vim is a more powerful text editor which can be installed on almost all Unix systems. It is known for its extensive features and numerous commands.

$ vim /var/www/index.html

rm

rm is used to remove files or directories. To remove directories and all their contents, the "-r" (recursive) flag is used.

$ rm file.txt
$ rm -r directory/

mv

mv is used to move or rename files or directories. It takes two arguments: the current name and the new name or location.

$ mv old-name.txt new-name.txt # renaming
$ mv file.txt new-dir/ # moving

cp

cp is used to copy files or directories. Like mv, it takes two arguments: the source and the destination.

$ cp file.txt copy-file.txt
$ cp -r original-dir copied-dir/

ln

ln is used to create links between files. By default, it creates a hard link, but with the "-s" option, it can create a symbolic (or soft) link. Symbolic links are like shortcuts in Windows.

$ ln file.txt link-file.txt
$ ln -s source-file symbolic-link

zip

zip is used to compress files into a zip archive.

$ zip archive.zip file.txt

unzip

unzip is used to extract files from a zip archive.

$ unzip archive.zip

tar

tar is used to archive files. Many Linux programs come in a "tarball", or a .tar.gz format. tar can also be used with other commands to compress files.

$ tar -cvf archive.tar file.txt
$ tar -xvf archive.tar # Whenever you need to extract files from a tar archive

scp

scp stands for secure copy. It's used to transfer files securely between local and remote systems. Just like cp, it needs a source and a destination.

$ root@192.168.1.55:/path/to/my/secrets.txt ~/Documents # Copying files from a server
$ scp ~/app.py user@example.com:/opt/myapp # Copying files to a server

These foundational commands will help you navigate the digital world, letting you control your computer in ways you might not have thought possible. But remember, mastering any new skill takes time and practice. So, don't feel discouraged if it doesn't sink in immediately.

I hope this blog post has helped break down the commands into a manageable list. Don't forget that playing around with these commands is the best way to get comfortable. If you haven't already, get started by setting up a Linux environment today!

And with enough practice, you too will soon be Harder, Better, Faster, and Stronger with Linux.