cheatsheet/wsl-ubuntu-cheatsheet.md

WSL / Ubuntu Command-Line Cheat Sheet

Filesystem Navigation

Command	What it does	Example
pwd	Print the current directory (where you are)	pwd → /home/alice
ls	List files and folders	ls, ls -la (detailed view)
cd	Change directory	cd Documents, cd ~ (home), cd .. (up one)
mkdir	Create a new directory	mkdir projects
rmdir	Remove an empty directory	rmdir old_folder

File Operations

Command	What it does	Example
touch	Create an empty file	touch notes.txt
cp	Copy a file	cp notes.txt backup.txt
mv	Move or rename a file	mv notes.txt ~/Documents/
rm	Delete a file (⚠️ no trash bin)	rm temp.txt
rm -r	Delete a folder and everything inside	rm -r old_project/
cat	Print a file's contents to the terminal	cat notes.txt
less	View a file page-by-page (press q to quit)	less long_file.txt
head	Show the first 10 lines	head data.csv
tail	Show the last 10 lines	tail -n 20 data.csv
nano	Edit a file in the terminal	nano notes.txt

Viewing & Finding

Command	What it does	Example
file	Show what type of file something is	file notes.txt
find -name	Find files by name	find ~ -name "*.md"
grep	Search inside files	grep "error" log.txt

Permissions

Command	What it does	Example
chmod	Change file permissions	chmod +x script.sh (make executable)
sudo	Run a command as admin (root)	sudo apt update

Package Management (apt)

Command	What it does	Example
sudo apt update	Refresh the list of available packages	Run before installing anything
sudo apt install	Install a package	sudo apt install clang
sudo apt upgrade	Upgrade all installed packages	sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt remove	Uninstall a package	sudo apt remove clang
apt search	Search for a package	apt search image editor

Pipes & Redirection

Command	What it does	Example
cmd1 | cmd2	Send output of cmd1 into cmd2	ls | grep ".txt"
>	Redirect output to a file (overwrite)	echo "hello" > hello.txt
>>	Redirect output to a file (append)	echo "world" >> hello.txt

WSL-Specific Tips

• Your Windows files are under /mnt/c/ — e.g. /mnt/c/Users/YourName/Documents
• Your Linux home is at /home/yourname (type ~ as a shortcut)
• Drag a file from Windows Explorer into the terminal to paste its WSL path
• Use explorer.exe . to open the current Linux folder in Windows File Explorer

Useful Shortcuts

Shortcut	What it does
Ctrl + C	Cancel the current command
Ctrl + D	Exit the terminal / close session
Tab	Auto-complete file and folder names
↑ / ↓	Scroll through command history
Ctrl + L	Clear the screen

Quick Reference — First Steps

# Where am I?
pwd

# What's in this folder?
ls -la

# Make a project folder and go inside
mkdir my_project
cd my_project

# Create a file and edit it
touch hello.txt
nano hello.txt

# Come back home
cd ~