Essential Linux File Management Commands (Part 1)

Linux command line is a core skill for system operations. This article introduces the most frequently used file‑management commands.

ls – listing files

# list files in current directory
ls
# long format with permissions, owner, size, time
ls -l
# human‑readable sizes
ls -lh
# include hidden files
ls -a
# sort by size descending
ls -lSr
# recursive listing
ls -R
# show inode number
ll -i

cd – changing directories

# go to home directory
cd
# parent directory
cd ..
# previous directory
cd -
# explicit home directory
cd ~
# another user's home
cd ~es

pwd displays the absolute path of the current directory.

touch – creating or updating timestamps

# create new files
touch kk.txt gg.txt ll.txt
# update access time
touch -a -d "2026-01-19 18:00" 111.txt
# update modification time
touch -m -d "2026-01-19 18:00" 111.txt

mkdir – creating directories

# recursive creation with progress
mkdir -pv /aaa/bbb/ccc
# batch creation using brace expansion
mkdir -pv /aaa/{ddd,eee}/{fff,ggg}

rm – removing files or directories

# force recursive delete
rm -rf /aaa
# remove empty directory
rm -d /aaa

cp – copying files or directories

# archive copy preserving attributes
cp -a /aaa/* /tmp/
# recursive forced copy
cp -rf /a.txt /tmp/

mv – moving or renaming

# rename a file
mv kk.txt as.txt
# move between directories
mv /tmp/kk.txt /opt/