Introduction

This article provides a basic understanding of Linux file management, covering essential commands and file attributes. We will explore practical exercises to solidify your understanding.

Commands

ls

Lists directory contents. Example: ls -l (lists in long format)

ls -l /home

cp

Copies files or directories. Example: cp file1.txt file2.txt

cp -r dir1 dir2 #recursive copy

mv

Moves or renames files or directories. Example: mv file1.txt newfile.txt

mv file.txt /home/user/documents

rm

Removes files or directories. Use with caution! Example: rm file1.txt

rm -rf directory  #force remove, recursive

touch

Creates an empty file. Example: touch myfile.txt

touch file1.txt file2.txt

cat

Displays the contents of a file. Example: cat myfile.txt

cat myfile.txt | grep "keyword"

File Attributes and Metadata

Files in Linux have attributes like permissions (read, write, execute), ownership, timestamps (creation, modification, access). These can be viewed using ls -l.

Hands-on: Creating and Managing Files/Directories

1. Create a directory: mkdir mydirectory
2. Create a file inside the directory: touch mydirectory/myfile.txt
3. Copy a file: cp myfile.txt mydirectory/myfile_copy.txt
4. List the contents of the directory: ls -l mydirectory
5. Remove the directory and its contents: rm -rf mydirectory

Summary

• Learned basic Linux file management commands (ls, cp, mv, rm, touch, cat).
• Understood file attributes and metadata.
• Practiced creating and managing files and directories.