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List of Unix commands

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Unix command" redirects here. For other uses, see Command (computing).

This is a list of Unix commands as specified by IEEE Std 1003.1-2008, which is part of the Single UNIX Specification
(SUS). These commands can be found on Unix operating systems and most Unix-like operating systems.

Contents
1 List
2 See also
3 Footnotes
4 External links

List

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List of Unix commands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unix_commands

IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 utilities

First
Name Category Description
appeared
admin SCCS Create and administer SCCS files PWB UNIX
alias Misc Define or display aliases
Version 1
ar Misc Create and maintain library archives
AT&T UNIX
asa Text processing Interpret carriage-control characters System V
Version 7
at Process management Execute commands at a later time
AT&T UNIX
Version 7
awk Text processing Pattern scanning and processing language
AT&T UNIX
Return non-directory portion of a pathname; see also Version 7
basename Filesystem
dirname AT&T UNIX
batch Process management Schedule commands to be executed in a batch queue
Version 6
bc Misc Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language
AT&T UNIX
bg Process management Run jobs in the background
Version 5
cal Misc Print a calendar
AT&T UNIX
Version 1
cat Filesystem Concatenate and print files
AT&T UNIX
IEEE Std
cc/c99 C programming Compile standard C programs
1003.1-2001
Version 6
cd Filesystem Change the working directory
AT&T UNIX
cflow C programming Generate a C-language call graph System V
chgrp Filesystem Change the file group ownership PWB UNIX
Version 1
chmod Filesystem Change the file modes/attributes/permissions
AT&T UNIX
Version 1
chown Filesystem Change the file ownership
AT&T UNIX
cksum Filesystem Write file checksums and sizes 4.4BSD
Version 1
cmp Filesystem Compare two files; see also diff
AT&T UNIX
Version 4
comm Text processing Select or reject lines common to two files
AT&T UNIX
command Shell programming Execute a simple command

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List of Unix commands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unix_commands

First
Name Category Description
appeared
compress Filesystem Compress data 4.3BSD
Version 1
cp Filesystem Copy files
AT&T UNIX
crontab Misc Schedule periodic background work System V
csplit Text processing Split files based on context PWB UNIX
ctags C programming Create a tags file 3BSD
cut Text processing Cut out selected fields of each line of a file System III
cxref C programming Generate a C-language program cross-reference table System V
Version 1
date Misc Display the date and time
AT&T UNIX
Version 5
dd Filesystem Convert and copy a file
AT&T UNIX
delta SCCS Make a delta (change) to an SCCS file PWB UNIX
Version 1
df Filesystem Report free disk space
AT&T UNIX
Version 5
diff Text processing Compare two files; see also cmp
AT&T UNIX
Return the directory portion of a pathname; see also
dirname Filesystem System III
basename
Version 1
du Filesystem Estimate file space usage
AT&T UNIX
Version 2
echo Shell programming Write arguments to standard output
AT&T UNIX
Version 1
ed Text processing The standard text editor
AT&T UNIX
env Misc Set the environment for command invocation System III
ex Text processing Text editor 1BSD
expand Text processing Convert tabs to spaces 3BSD
Version 7
expr Shell programming Evaluate arguments as an expression
AT&T UNIX
Version 7
false Shell programming Return false value
AT&T UNIX
fc Misc Process the command history list
fg Process management Run jobs in the foreground
Version 4
file Filesystem Determine file type
AT&T UNIX

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List of Unix commands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unix_commands

First
Name Category Description
appeared
Version 1
find Filesystem Find files
AT&T UNIX
fold Text processing Filter for folding lines 1BSD
fort77 FORTRAN77 programming FORTRAN compiler XPG4
List process IDs of all processes that have one or more
fuser Process management System V
files open
gencat Misc Generate a formatted message catalog
get SCCS Get a version of an SCCS file PWB UNIX
getconf Misc Get configuration values
getopts Shell programming Parse utility options
Version 4
grep Misc Search text for a pattern
AT&T UNIX
hash Misc hash database access method
head Text processing Copy the first part of files PWB UNIX
iconv Text processing Codeset conversion HP-UX
id Misc Return user identity 4.4BSD
Remove a message queue, semaphore set, or shared
ipcrm Misc System V
memory segment identifier
ipcs Misc Report interprocess communication facilities status System V
jobs Process management Display status of jobs in the current session
Merges two sorted text files based on the presence of a Version 7
join Text processing
common field AT&T UNIX
Version 4
kill Process management Terminate or signal processes
AT&T UNIX
Version 7
lex C programming Generate programs for lexical tasks
AT&T UNIX
Version 1
link Filesystem Create a hard link to a file
AT&T UNIX
Version 1
ln Filesystem Link files
AT&T UNIX
locale Misc Get locale-specific information
localedef Misc Define locale environment
logger Shell programming Log messages 4.3BSD
logname Misc Return the user's login name 4.4BSD
lp Text processing Send files to a printer System V

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List of Unix commands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unix_commands

First
Name Category Description
appeared
Version 1
ls Filesystem List directory contents
AT&T UNIX
m4 Misc Macro processor PWB UNIX
Version 1
mailx Misc Process messages
AT&T UNIX
make Programming Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs PWB UNIX
Version 2
man Misc Display system documentation
AT&T UNIX
Version 1
mesg Misc Permit or deny messages
AT&T UNIX
Version 1
mkdir Filesystem Make directories
AT&T UNIX
mkfifo Filesystem Make FIFO special files 4.4BSD
more Text processing Display files on a page-by-page basis 3BSD
Version 1
mv Filesystem Move files
AT&T UNIX
Version 6
newgrp Misc Change to a new group (functionaliy similar to sg[1])
AT&T UNIX
Version 4
nice Process management Invoke a utility with an altered nice value
AT&T UNIX
nl Text processing Line numbering filter System III
Version 1
nm C programming Write the name list of an object file
AT&T UNIX
Version 4
nohup Process management Invoke a utility immune to hangups
AT&T UNIX
Version 1
od Misc Dump files in various formats
AT&T UNIX
Version 32V
paste Text processing Merge corresponding or subsequent lines of files
AT&T UNIX
patch Text processing Apply changes to files 4.3BSD
pathchk Filesystem Check pathnames
pax Misc Portable archive interchange 4.4BSD
Version 1
pr Text processing Print files
AT&T UNIX
printf Shell programming Write formatted output 4.3BSD-Reno
prs SCCS Print an SCCS file PWB UNIX

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First
Name Category Description
appeared
Version 4
ps Process management Report process status
AT&T UNIX
print working directory - Return working directory Version 5
pwd Filesystem
name AT&T UNIX
qalter Batch utilities Alter batch job
qdel Batch utilities Delete batch jobs
qhold Batch utilities Hold batch jobs
qmove Batch utilities Move batch jobs
qmsg Batch utilities Send message to batch jobs
qrerun Batch utilities Rerun batch jobs
qrls Batch utilities Release batch jobs
qselect Batch utilities Select batch jobs
qsig Batch utilities Signal batch jobs
qstat Batch utilities Show status of batch jobs
qsub Batch utilities Submit a script
read Shell programming Read a line from standard input
renice Process management Set nice values of running processes 4BSD
Version 1
rm Filesystem Remove directory entries
AT&T UNIX
rmdel SCCS Remove a delta from an SCCS file PWB UNIX
Version 1
rmdir Filesystem Remove directories
AT&T UNIX
sact SCCS Print current SCCS file-editing activity System III
sccs SCCS Front end for the SCCS subsystem 4.3BSD
Version 7
sed Text processing Stream editor
AT&T UNIX
Version 7
AT&T UNIX
(in earlier
versions, sh
sh Shell programming Shell, the standard command language interpreter
was either the
Thompson
shell or the
PWB shell)
Version 4
sleep Shell programming Suspend execution for an interval
AT&T UNIX

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List of Unix commands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unix_commands

First
Name Category Description
appeared
Version 1
sort Text processing Sort, merge, or sequence check text files
AT&T UNIX
Version 3
split Misc Split files into pieces
AT&T UNIX
strings C programming Find printable strings in files 2BSD
Version 1
strip C programming Remove unnecessary information from executable files
AT&T UNIX
Version 2
stty Misc Set the options for a terminal
AT&T UNIX
tabs Misc Set terminal tabs PWB UNIX
tail Text processing Copy the last part of a file PWB UNIX
talk Misc Talk to another user 4.2BSD
Version 5
tee Shell programming Duplicate the standard output
AT&T UNIX
Version 7
test Shell programming Evaluate expression
AT&T UNIX
Version 3
time Process management Time a simple command
AT&T UNIX
Version 7
touch Filesystem Change file access and modification times
AT&T UNIX
tput Misc Change terminal characteristics System V
Version 4
tr Text processing Translate characters
AT&T UNIX
Version 7
true Shell programming Return true value
AT&T UNIX
Version 7
tsort Text processing Topological sort
AT&T UNIX
Version 1
tty Misc Return user's terminal name
AT&T UNIX
Displays how a name would be interpreted if used as a
type Misc
command
ulimit Misc Set or report file size limit
umask Misc Get or set the file mode creation mask System III
unalias Misc Remove alias definitions
uname Misc Return system name PWB UNIX
uncompress Misc Expand compressed data 4.3BSD

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List of Unix commands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unix_commands

First
Name Category Description
appeared
unexpand Text processing Convert spaces to tabs 3BSD
unget SCCS Undo a previous get of an SCCS file System III
Version 3
uniq Text processing Report or filter out repeated lines in a file
AT&T UNIX
Version 1
unlink Filesystem Call the unlink function
AT&T UNIX
Version 7
uucp Network System-to-system copy
AT&T UNIX
uudecode Network Decode a binary file 4BSD
uuencode Network Encode a binary file 4BSD
uustat Network uucp status inquiry and job control System III
Version 7
uux Process management Remote command execution
AT&T UNIX
val SCCS Validate SCCS files System III
vi Text processing Screen-oriented (visual) display editor 1BSD
Version 4
wait Process management Await process completion
AT&T UNIX
Version 1
wc Text processing Line, word and byte or character count
AT&T UNIX
what SCCS Identify SCCS files PWB UNIX
Version 1
who System administration Display who is on the system
AT&T UNIX
Version 1
write Misc Write to another user's terminal
AT&T UNIX
xargs Shell programming Construct argument lists and invoke utility PWB UNIX
yacc C programming Yet another compiler compiler PWB UNIX
zcat Text processing Expand and concatenate data 4.3BSD

See also
GNU Core Utilities
List of GNOME applications
List of GNU packages
List of KDE applications
List of Unix daemons
List of web browsers for Unix and Unix-like operating systems
Unix philosophy
util-linux

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Footnotes
1. Stanfield, Vicki (2006). Linux System Administration (http://books.google.com/books?id=97nhEE7uqV0C). Craig Hunt Linux
Library. Roderick W. Smith (2 ed.). John Wiley & Sons. p. 152. ISBN 9780782152203. Retrieved 2012-11-27. "The command
sg is frequently a synonym for newgrp."

External links
IEEE Std 1003.1,2004 specifications (http://opengroup.org/onlinepubs
The Wikibook Guide to UNIX
/000095399/) has a page on the topic of:
IEEE Std 1003.1,2008 specifications (http://opengroup.org/onlinepubs Commands
/9699919799/)
Rosetta Stone For *Nix (http://bhami.com/rosetta.html) – Wikimedia Commons has media
configurable list of equivalent programs for *nix systems. related to Unix cheatsheets.
The Unix Acronym List (http://roesler-ac.de/wolfram/acro/index.htm)
– explains the names of many Unix commands.
The UNIX System Homepage (http://unix.org/)

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Categories: Lists of software System administration Unix SUS2008 utilities

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