> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://www.theprogrammershandbook.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://www.theprogrammershandbook.com/nix/commands.md).

# Commands

### The Usual Suspects

#### `man` - what does the \_\_\_\_ command do?

The `man` command allows the user to view the manual of any command that has one. Try it out with `man man`, you'll see a list of uppercase informative sections including NAME DESCRIPTION and OPTIONS. 

#### `cd` - how do i get around?

The change directory command lets you move between directories.

#### `ls` - show me everything in this directory

#### `pwd` - where am i?

#### `mv` - let's move this file

#### `rm` - i would like to destroy this file or directory

#### `alias` - i want to make my own cool linux commands

### The IO Stuff

#### `cat` - print all the things!

#### `less` - i want to look at a file in my terminal without using a text editor

#### `head` - only show me the top part

#### `tail` - only show me the bottom part

Prints out the last 10 lines of the input by default.

* `-n` specify the number of lines to output
* `-f` prevents `tail` from closing and waits for additional output; useful for printing out a file as it is appended to

### The Super Powerful Ones That Don't Make Sense

#### `sed` - i want to edit a stream of text