The man command is used to access the detailed user manual for any other command. It provides comprehensive information about the command's syntax, options, and usage examples. For instance, man ls shows everything about the ls command.

• Displays the manual (documentation) for other commands.

• Lists the contents of a directory (files and folders).

• Changes the current working directory.

• Prints the full path of the current/working directory.

The ls command lists files and directories. The -l option provides a detailed list with permissions, owner, size, and modification time. The -a option includes hidden files (those starting with a dot). Combining them as ls -al is very common.

• Displays the manual (documentation) for other commands.

• Lists the contents of a directory (files and folders).

• Changes the current working directory.

• Prints the full path of the current/working directory.

The cd command is used to navigate between directories. cd folder moves into 'folder', cd .. moves up to the parent directory, and cd or cd ~ takes you directly to your home directory from anywhere.

• Changes the current working directory.

• Lists the contents of a directory (files and folders).

• Prints the full path of the current/working directory.

• Creates new directories.

The pwd command outputs the absolute path of the directory you are currently working in. This is essential for orientation within the complex Linux filesystem hierarchy.

• Changes the current working directory.

• Lists the contents of a directory (files and folders).

• Prints the full path of the current/working directory.

• Creates new directories.

The mkdir command creates new directories. The powerful -p option allows you to create an entire path of nested directories at once, even if the parent directories don't already exist.

• Creates new directories.

• Removes empty directories.

• Moves or renames files and directories.

• Copies files and directories.

The rmdir command is used to delete empty directories. It is a safe command as it will not delete a directory that contains any files or subdirectories, preventing accidental data loss.

• Creates new directories.

• Removes empty directories.

• Moves or renames files and directories.

• Copies files and directories.

The mv command has a dual purpose. It is used to move files/directories from one location to another. It is also used to rename them, as renaming is essentially moving the file to the same location with a new name.

• Moves or renames files and directories.

• Creates new directories.

• Removes empty directories.

• Copies files and directories.

The cp command creates a copy of a file. To copy an entire directory, including all its subdirectories and files, the -r (recursive) option must be used, as in cp -r dir1 dir2.

• Copies files and directories.

• Moves or renames files and directories.

• Creates new directories.

• Removes empty directories.

(Primarily for macOS) The open command is used to open a file with its default GUI application or to open a directory in the Finder. For example, open . opens the current folder.

• Opens a file or directory using the default application.

• Creates new directories.

• Removes empty directories.

• Copies files and directories.

The touch command's primary function is to update the access and modification timestamps of a file to the current time. A side effect is that if the file does not exist, touch will create a new, empty file with that name.

• Creates an empty new file or updates the timestamp of an existing file.

• Opens a file or directory using the default application.

• Removes empty directories.

• Copies files and directories.