Unix Lab command reference

Understand the command before you run it.

Review the bounded commands used throughout the UNIX terminal operator track, then open a related course to practice each one in context.

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Command index

Bounded commands, clear jobs, related practice.

Use this page as a quick refresher. Lessons provide the exact task, explanation, common mistake, and evidence needed to build the habit.

help

Show the command list.

pwd

Print the current working directory.

ls [-la] [path]

List lab files and folders.

cd [path]

Change directories inside the lab filesystem.

man <command>

Read a short educational manual page.

which <command>

Locate command paths.

type <command>

Explain whether a command is built in or found on the simulated PATH.

env

Inspect a simulated environment.

uname|hostname|date

Inspect simulated host identity and time.

echo <text>

Print text or write lab notes with >.

printf <text>

Print formatted training text.

mkdir <name>

Create a folder.

touch <file>

Create an empty file.

nano <file>

Open a simulated nano editor.

cat <file>

Print text file contents.

less <file>

Page through a file.

head|tail [-n N] <file>

Read the beginning or end of a file.

grep [-i] <text> <file>

Find literal text inside a file.

awk '{print $N}' <file>

Print a whitespace-delimited field.

sed s/old/new/ <file>

Preview simple text substitutions.

cut -d <char> -f <n>

Extract delimited fields from text.

tr a-z A-Z

Transform piped text case.

tee <file>

Write piped text to a lab file and keep it on screen.

xargs echo|basename

Turn piped words into safe command arguments.

wc [-l] <file>

Count lines, words, and characters.

sort|uniq

Practice simple text pipelines.

diff <left> <right>

Compare two lab text files.

sha256sum <file>

Print a deterministic training checksum.

find [path] [-name text]

Search lab filesystem paths.

file <path>

Identify a simulated file, directory, link, or text format.

realpath <path>

Resolve a path to its canonical simulated location.

mktemp [-d] [template]

Create a bounded temporary file or directory inside the training lab.

nl [file]

Number lines from a file or supported text pipeline.

comm <left> <right>

Compare two sorted text files line by line.

basename|dirname <path>

Split paths into file and directory parts.

readlink <link>

Inspect a simulated symbolic link target.

test -e|-f|-d <path>

Check path type in a training-friendly way.

tar -cf|-tf <archive>

Create and list training archives.

ln -s <target> <link>

Create a simulated symbolic link.

cp <src> <dst>

Copy a file.

mv <src> <dst>

Move or rename a file.

rm <file>

Remove one lab file with safeguards.

chmod <mode> <path>

Change a simulated numeric permission mode.

chown <user:group> <path>

Change simulated owner/group labels.

chgrp <group> <path>

Change a simulated file group label.

stat <path>

Show lab file details.

whoami|id|groups

Inspect the learner account.

ps

Show training server processes.

top|pgrep|kill

Inspect simulated process health and signals.

lsof

Show simulated files and sockets opened by services.

systemctl status <service>

Inspect simulated service status.

journalctl -u <service>

Read simulated service journal entries.

nginx -t

Validate training nginx configuration.

ss|ip

Inspect simulated sockets and addresses.

mount|lsblk

Inspect simulated mounts and block devices.

crontab -l

List a simulated learner crontab.

logrotate -d <config>

Dry-run a simulated log rotation config.

launchctl list|print

Inspect simulated macOS service-launch metadata.

plutil -lint <plist>

Validate a simulated macOS plist file.

apt|dpkg|brew

Inspect simulated Linux and macOS package metadata.

ssh|scp|ssh-keygen

Practice SSH inspection and dry-run transfer shapes without network access.

ufw status

Inspect simulated firewall rules.

df|du|free|uptime

Inspect training resource and system health.

history

Show recent commands.

clear

Clear terminal output.

reset

Reset the lab.

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