Basic (PuTTY) SSH commands help you navigate and work efficiently with the files in the Linux terminal. You can download PuTTY to connect with the Linux server. We’d handpicked a list of basic PuTTY commands, their options, and their usage in this guide.
| Commands | Use |
|---|---|
pwd | Check the present location. |
ls | This command used to display all the content in a folder or directory. |
cd | It stands for change directory. Type "cd /location" It helps you to navigate. |
cd . | Helps you to stay at the same directory. |
cd .. | Command will shift one directory back. |
cd - | Commands take you back to the previous location. For example, If you were at "/home" but you moved to "/dir". Typing the "cd -" command will take you back to "/home". |
mkdir | It helps you to make the new directory. |
mkdir directoryNamecp | The command used to copy a file in Linux. Syntax: cp filename.extension /dir/filename.extension. The above command copies the file extension and keeps at the location/dir with the same name file. |
cp -r *space[TargetLocation] | Copy all the folder content. |
cp -f space[Filename] space[Targetlocation] | If a file with the same name happens in the destination, then it will force the copy process by deleting the destination file. |
cp -i space[filename]space[Targetlocation] | Display the warning message before proceeding with the copy process. |
cp -u space[filename]space[Targetlocation] | If file have different content .It will update the file in the destination folder. |
cp -n space[Filename]space[Targetlocation] | Will first check whether the file exists. If it happens. It don't overwrite the file again. |
cp -a space[Filename]space[Targetlocation] | Archive the file. |
mv space[filename]space[destinationlocation] | This command moves the file from one place to another. (Syntax: mv filename.extension /dir/filename.extension) "mv filename.extension /dir/filename1.extension” is used to move and rename a file. |
mv filename .. | Used to move file one folder back. |
touch space[Filename] | This command creates a new file with any extension you want like text, HTML, PHP, etc. in your current directory. Syntax: touch filename. the extension helps to create a file extension without any extension. |
rm -f space[filename] | Remove command will delete a file from a server. Its Syntax: rm filename.extension. |
rm * [foldername] | Delete all the files or content in a directory. |
rmdir | Remove the complete directory or folder. |
rm -r [foldername] | Delete the folder as well as the folders inside it. |
cat space[filename] | To display content of a file on the screen. It also copy standard input to standard output. Syntax: cat filename.extension. |
| cat command also allows scrolling if the displayed text doesn't fit the screen completely. | |
cat > filename.extension | cat command also used to create a new file. Syntax: cat > filename.extension It is also used to concatenate two files. Syntax: catfile1.txtfile2.txt>mergedfile.txt ">" is the output redirection character |
head | Allow you to read the first ten lines of the content available inside the folder. Syntax:head filename.extension |
| You can also update the number of lines you would like to display on the screen. Syntax: head -n15 /temp/filename Above Syntax will display the first fifteen lines of the content from the given file. |
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tail | Gives the last ten lines of content from the file. Syntax: tail filename.extension The tail command can provide multiple file names. It shows the last ten lines from each of the mentioned files. Syntax: tail /dir/file1 /dir/file2 |
| The tail command allows you to change the number of lines you want to be displayed, other than the default number. Syntax: tail -n15 /temp/filename |
|
| Display the last fifteen lines of content from the given file. | |
zip -r [foldername].zip [foldername] | Compress the file size. The zip Syntax: zip -r foldername.zip folder name |
zip -d [filename].zip [filename] | Delete the file from the zip archive by the following command "zip -d filename.zip filename" |
zip -u [filename].zip [filename] | The following command can update the specified list of files. "zip -u filename.zip filename" |
zip -m [filename].zip [filename] | To delete the original file after creating its zip archive. By the following command, "zip -m filename.zip filename" |
unzip [filename].zip | This command is used to decompress a file. Syntax: unzip filename.zip |
| Multiple numbers of data are undone by using power. "unzip file1.zip file2.zip file3.zip" |
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| Syntax: unzip filename.zip -x excludedfile.zip Syntax: unzip filename.zip -x excludedfile.zip |
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tar | to compress and decompress folders, the tar command is used. |
| The command for compressing"folder". tar -czvf folder1.tar.gz |
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| The command for decompressing. tar -xvf folder1.tar.gz |
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chmod | It allows you to change permissions of a file or directory. It stands for change mode. Syntax: chmod 754 filenames. Permissions can be represented either by numbers from 0 to 7 or with alphanumeric characters. |
| 4 represents reading permission 2 represents writing permission 1 represents executing permission 0 represents no permission |
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| 5 is a combination of 4, 0, and 1. It suggests the read, no write, and execute an agreement. | |
| 4 are a combination of 4, 0, and 0. It indicates read, no write and no execute permission. | |
| "chmod -r" allows you to change the permission of a folder and all the files inside it. | |
grep | This command enables you to search for a particular string inside a file or folder. If it finds the perfect match, it will return the whole line containing the phrase. |
grep -i "string" [filename] | The command "grep -i "string" filename."Allow you to search for a string case-insensitively in the file. |
grep -c "string" [filename] | The command "grep -c "string" filename." Allow you to count the number of appearances of a string in the given file. |
grep -l "string" [filename] | The command "grep -l "string" *".-> display the filename that contains a particular pattern or string. |
grep -n "string" [filename] | The command "grep -n "string" filename".-> display the line number along with the result. |
find | It searches for a file inside a folder. The Syntax: find. -name filename.extension. By this Syntax, you can find files by permissions, users, groups, file type, size, etc. |
| The command "find /directory -name filename.extension" find a file in some directory. |
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| The power "find. type f -name filename.php". You can look for any type of data, say a PHP file by using this command. |
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vi | It allows you to enter a text editor. Syntax: vi filename The Syntax will open the data on the screen, and if the file doesn't exist, it will create a new one with the same name. |
| The escape key → allows you to cancel any command which has started in the vi editor mode. | |
| To exit the vi editor, type ":q." If in case you haven't done any changes to the file. |
|
| Type ":q!" to exit If you want to undo the changes in a file. |
Basic SSH (PuTTY) commands are beneficial for a user to manage the basic functionalities. These commands help handle the files and folders on a Linux web server.