Kay Zeng

a folder practice

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

terminal intro

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

a folder practice

༶•┈┈୨♡୧┈┈•༶

terminal intro

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Basics

Basics

# pwd - Print Working Directory (where am I?)
pwd
# Output: /Users/kay/Desktop

# ls - List (what's here?)
ls
# Shows all visible files and folders

# cd - Change Directory (go somewhere)
cd Desktop
cd ..          # Go up one level
cd             # Go home

# mkdir - Make Directory (create a folder)
mkdir MyProject
mkdir "My Project"  # With spaces

# touch - Create empty file
touch notes.txt
touch "my notes.txt"  # With spaces

# rm - Remove (delete)
rm file.txt           # Delete file
rm -r MyFolder        # Delete folder (-r for recursive)

Use the tab key!! It auto-completes names AND handles spaces for you:

Use the tab key!! It auto-completes names AND handles spaces for you:

# Instead of typing the full name:
cd Documents

# Just type a few letters + Tab:
cd Doc[TAB]    # Auto-completes to: cd Documents/

# With spaces, Tab adds escapes:
cd My[TAB]     # Auto-completes to: cd My\ Project/

# Multiple matches? Press Tab twice:
cd D[TAB][TAB]  # Shows: Desktop/ Documents/ Downloads/

# Tab works with commands too:
mkd[TAB]       # Auto-completes to: mkdir

How to handle spaces in the path/folder name in Terminal

How to handle spaces in the path/folder name in Terminal

# If your file path or file name contains spaces, you need to add quotes to wrap it.
"this is a file name with spaces"
~/Desktop/"this is a file name with spaces"

# Or you can type \+space to represent the space

Path

Path

# Absolute path (full address from root)
/Users/kay/Desktop/MyProject/file.txt

# Relative path (from current location)
MyProject/file.txt        # Child folder
../Documents/file.txt     # Sibling folder  
../../file.txt           # Parent's parent

# Home path (shortcut)
~/Desktop/MyProject/file.txt

# Or you can drag the file to the terminal to get its path

Tips for beginners

Tips for beginners

Tab is your friend - Use it constantly
pwd when lost - Shows where you are
ls before acting - See what's there first
Quotes for spaces - When in doubt, use quotes
cd alone goes home - Easy reset
Careful with rm - No trash can in Terminal!
Drag from Finder - Auto-fills paths correctly

Tab is your friend - Use it constantly
pwd when lost - Shows where you are
ls before acting - See what's there first
Quotes for spaces - When in doubt, use quotes
cd alone goes home - Easy reset
Careful with rm - No trash can in Terminal!
Drag from Finder - Auto-fills paths correctly

Neko