UNIX Commands
If you need further assistance with a command
listed below, or if you have a question about UNIX in general, don't hesitate
to contact our Technical Support Staff.
COMMAND LIST
cd [directory]
The cd command changes your current working directory to the directory you
specify.
pwd
The pwd command prints your current (or present) working directory. Simply
type "pwd" and hit return to display your current working directory.
ls [directory]
The ls command lists the files and subdirectories in the directory you
specify. If not directory is specified, a list of the files and subdirectories
in the current working directory is displayed. You can also add some
additional arguments to customize the list display.
If you type "ls -F" it will append a forward slash to the
subdirectory names so you can easily distinguish them from file names.
If you type "ls -a" it will show all "hidden files".
Hidden files begin with a ".", i.e. ".htaccess" files.
If you type "ls -l" it will show detailed information about each
file and directory, including permissions, ownership, file size, and when the
file was last modified.
You can mix the arguments, i.e. if you type "ls -aF" you will see a
list of all file names (including hidden files and a forward slash will be
appended to directory names.
mkdir [directory]
The mkdir command makes a new directory with the name, directory, that you
specify.
rmdir [directory]
The rmdir command removes the directory that you specify.
cp [source-file]
[target-file]
The cp command copies a source-file to a target-file. You can specify
pathnames as part of the file specification. If target-file exists then it is
overwritten.
mv [source-file]
[target-file]
The mv command renames a file or moves it to a new location. You can specify
pathnames as part of the file specification. If target-file exists then it is
overwritten.
rm [filename]
The rm command deletes (removes) a file. You can specify pathnames as part of
the file specification.
grep [pattern]
[filenames]
The grep command finds lines in files that match specified text patterns. You
can specify pathnames as part of the file specification. For example if you
want to search for a pattern "gif" in all html files in your current
working directory, you would type "grep gif *.html" and hit return.
The grep command would then list all occurrences of "gif" it finds
in .html files in the current working directory.
tar [options] [tarfile]
[files]
The tar command copies a file or files to or from an archive. To put all the
files in a directory into one tar format file, simply type "tar cvf
tarfile directory" at a telnet command prompt and replace tarfile with
the name you want to call your archived file, and replace directory with the
name of the directory that contains the files you want to tar.
To extract the files from a tar format archive, simply type " tar xvf
tarfile" at a telnet command prompt and replace tarfile with the name of
the archived file you are extracting.
For example, you could type "tar cvf pages.tar htdocs" at a telnet
command prompt to archive the files in the htdocs directory to a tar format
file called pages.tar.
To view the contents of the pages.tar tarfile without extracting them, type
"tar tvf pages.tar". This will display all files that are included
in the tar archive.
You could also type "tar xvf pages.tar" at a telnet command prompt
to extract into the current directory the files in the archive pages.tar.
zip [options] [zipfile]
[files]
The zip command compresses a file or list of files into a zip format archive
file. This command is compatible with pkzip on a PC. Simply type "zip
zipfile file1 file2 file3" at a telnet command prompt and replace zipfile
with the name you want to use for your compressed zip archive file, and
replace fileX with the name of the file(s) you want to compress into the zip
archive.
For example, type "zip backup.zip home.html index.html" at a telnet
command prompt to compress and archive the files called home.html and
index.html into the file called backup.zip.
unzip [options] [zipfile]
The unzip command extracts a zip format archive file. This command is
compatible with pkunzip files from a PC. Simply type "unzip zipfile"
at a telnet command prompt and replace zipfile with the name of your zip
format archive file.
For example, type "unzip -aL old.zip" at a telnet command prompt to
extract files contained in the archive called old.zip. The "-aL" are
options that are generally useful when unzipping files created on a PC.
compress [files]
The compress command shrinks a file or files into compressed versions to save
space on your Virtual Server. This command is good for you to use on your log
files when they get very large. Simply type "compress filename(s)"
at a telnet command prompt and replace filename(s) with the name of your files
you want to compress.
For example, type "compress access_log agent_log" at a telnet
command prompt to compress the access_log and agent_log files. The compressed
files will then be access_log.Z and agent_log.Z.
uncompress [files]
The uncompress command expands a compressed file or set of compressed files.
Simply type "uncompress filename(s)" and hit return.
du
Shows disk usage.
top
Displays all processes running.
w or who
See all the users that are logged in.
mesg y
Send a text message to a logged in user.
date
Shows the current date.
time
Shows the current time.
quota
Shows the "Quota" and limits of your Virtual Server.
man
A type of Unix help system which is used to display a manual page about a
command.
more
Displays the contents of a text file, press space bar if file is larger than
your screen.
pico
Starts the on line editor.
touch
Creates a new empty file, or updates the date that a exiting file was last
modified.
traceroute <domain_name>
Or
traceroute <IP_Address>
Runs a tracer route from your Virtual Server to a IP number or domain name
address.
More commands specific for our Virtual Server
system listed in the Telnet
section.