1.
pwd Command -The pwd command is used to display the location of
the current working directory.
Syntax:pwd
2. mkdir Command - The mkdir command is used to create a new
directory under any directory.
Syntax: mkdir <directory name>
3. rmdir Command - The rmdir command is used to delete a directory.
Syntax: rmdir <directory name>
4. ls Command - The ls command is used to display a list of content of a
directory.
Syntax: ls
5. cd Command - The cd command is used to change the current
directory.
Syntax: cd <directory name>
6. touch Command
The touch command is used to create empty files. We can create multiple
empty files by executing it once.
Syntax:
1. touch <file name>
2. touch <file1> <file2> ....
7. cat Command
The cat command is a multi-purpose utility in the Linux system. It can be
used to create a file, display content of the file, copy the content of one
file to another file, and more.
Syntax:
1. cat [OPTION]... [FILE]..
To create a file, execute it as follows:
1. cat > <file name>
2. // Enter file content
Press "CTRL+ D" keys to save the file. To display the content of the file,
execute it as follows:
1. cat <file name>
Output:
cat Command Syntax
To use the cat command, follow the format:
cat [options] filename(s)
[options] – This lets you issue additional instructions to
the cat command. For example, to display the contents of a file with each
line numbered, use the –n option:
cat –n filename
filename(s) – Specify the name of the file (or files) that you want to
display. If you use more than one filename, each file will be displayed.
Linux Cat Command Examples
This article includes 15 cat commands and examples of how to use
them. To try out the commands, create a couple of sample files, and test
the cat commands listed below.
1. Create a New File
You can create new files and add content to them using
the cat command.
Create test1.txt and test2.txt, which you can use as sample files to test
out the other commands.
1. Open a terminal window and create the first file:
cat >test1.txt
2. The cursor moves to a new line where you can add the wanted text.
Type a simple sentence such as:
This is test file #1.
3. To exit the prompt and write the changes to the file, hold the Ctrl key
and press d.
4. Repeat the process to create test2.txt. Run:
cat >test2.txt
5. Type:
This is test file #2.
6. Press Ctrl+d.
2. Display Contents of a Single File
To display the contents of test1.txt using the cat command run:
cat test1.txt
The output displays the content as in the image below.
3. Display Contents of Multiple Files
To display the contents of both files, run the command:
cat test1.txt test2.txt
4. Redirect Contents of a Single File
Instead of displaying the contents of a file on the screen, cat can put
them in a file.
cat test1.txt > test3.txt
If the destination filename doesn’t exist, it will be created. If you
run cat on test3.txt, you should see the contents from test1.txt:
cat test3.txt
The output displays:
If a file is exported that already exists, this will overwrite the contents
of the file:
cat test2.txt > test3.txt
cat test3.txt
The test3.txt file now has the following content:
5. Redirect Contents of Multiple Files
You can redirect the contents of multiple file into one single file:
cat test1.txt test2.txt > test3.txt
Display the content of test3.txt with:
cat test3.txt
The output shows the contents of both files, as in the image below.
6. Display the Contents in Reverse Order
The cat command can display the content of a file in reverse order (by
lines). To do this, use tac (cat in reverse):
tac test3.txt
7. Append File Contents to Another File
The cat command can add the contents of a file to the end of another file.
Instead of using a single > sign, use a double >> sign:
cat test1.txt >> test3.txt
Open the test3 file by running:
cat test3.txt
The content of test3 followed by test1 should display.
Note: If you want to remove the sample files, take a look at how
to remove files and directories using the Linux command line.
8. Append Text to Existing File
You can use a similar command to append text to an existing file:
cat >> test1.txt
Add a new line to the file:
This is the second line in test file #1.
Hold Ctrl and hit d.
Check the content of the test1.txt file:
cat test1.txt
9. Combine Operations
The functions of the cat command can be combined. For example, to
combine the output of two files, and store the result in a new file:
cat test1.txt test2.txt > test4.txt
cat test4.txt
Alternately, you can append multiple files to the end of an existing file:
cat test2.txt test1.txt >> test4.txt
cat test4.txt
Note that the order specified is the order the files in which they are added
to the destination file.
Note: Once you have created multiple files, you may want to group them
in a single directory. Take a look at how to use mkdir command to make
or create a Linux directory.
10. More and Less Options (Manage Large Files)
If you use cat on a very large file, you’ll end up with a huge string of data
that’s hard to read. You can break it into pages using | more:
cat test4.txt | more
This displays a single page of the file. When you press a key, it will scroll
to the next page.
If you’d like the ability to scroll forward and backward through the display,
use | less.
cat test4.txt | less
Note: Learn how to use the Linux split command to easily manage text
files with many lines.
11. Show Line Numbering
You may find it useful to have line numbers in the output, especially for
large files. To enable line numbering, add the -n option to
the cat command:
cat –n test1.txt
The output should appear as in the image below:
12. Show the End of Line
You can instruct cat to highlight the end of each line and spaces between
lines with $.
To do so, use the command:
cat -e test1.txt
Since the sample file test1.txt has only one line, the output shows
one $ at the end of it.
13. Show TAB Separated Lines
The cat command has the option of displaying the file content along with
the tab space within the text.
To show tab separated lines for a sample run:
cat -t test4.txt
The tab space within the text is represented by ^I.
14. Remove Blank Lines
To omit blank lines from the output of cat with the –s option:
cat -t test4.txt
15. List All CAT Commands
If you have trouble remembering the options, use the --help command:
cat ––help
Conclusion
You should now have a good understanding of how to use
the cat command in Linux.
8. rm Command
The rm command is used to remove a file.
Syntax:
rm <file name>
Output:
9. cp Command
The cp command is used to copy a file or directory.
Syntax:
To copy in the same directory:
1. cp <existing file name> <new file name>
To copy in a different directory:
