Linux Command Line Cheat Sheet
HPCs will be based on linux systems and the main way that you interact with them is through the command line. Here is a quick reminder of common commands that you will need:
ls list what is in the current directory
ls path/to/folder list what is in the directory you have given the path to.
ls -a list what is in the current directory including hidden files
cd path/to/folder change directory to the specified folder
cd .. change directory to the folder above the current folder
pwd print the file path of the current working directory (to find out where you are)
cp file1 file2 Make a copy of a file, in this example copy file1 and create a duplicate called file2. You can give a full file path to make a copy in a different location.
mv file1 new/location/file1 Move a file, in this case file 1 is moved to a new location in a subfolder.
mv file1 file2 If you move a file to the same directory, this will act to rename the file. This example will rename file1 to file2.
curl weblink download contents from a given location on the internet, replace ‘weblink’ with the location.
wget weblink download contents from a given location on the internet - this is not available on windows by default. An alternative to curl.
nano filename Open a file with the text editor nano. NB: nano commands are shown in the nano screen, with a ‘^’ meaning ctrl. E.g. ^x to exit means press ctrl x to exit.
Windows PowerShell Cheat Sheet
If you are using windows and don’t have a linux command line option available (e.g. git bash or linux subsystem for windows) then you can launch the windows powershell by searching programs for ‘cmd’. The below is a quick cheat sheet for common commands for using the windows power shell:
dir list what is in the current directory
cd as with linux, this will let you change directory
notepad filename nano is not installed by default on windows so if you need to edit a document from the powershell command line you will need to use notepad, unless you have an alternative installed.