Files and Directories
This comprehensive guide covers file and directory operations in Linux, including management, permissions, and advanced operations.
📂 Basic File Operations
File Creation and Viewing
# Create files
touch file.txt # Create empty file
echo "content" > file.txt # Create with content
cat > file.txt # Create and input content
nano file.txt # Create/edit with text editor
# View files
cat file.txt # Display file content
less file.txt # Page through file
head -n 10 file.txt # Show first 10 lines
tail -n 10 file.txt # Show last 10 lines
tail -f file.txt # Follow file updatesFile Manipulation
# Copy files
cp source.txt dest.txt # Copy file
cp -r source_dir dest_dir # Copy directory
cp -p source.txt dest.txt # Preserve attributes
cp -i source.txt dest.txt # Interactive mode
# Move/rename files
mv old.txt new.txt # Rename file
mv file.txt /path/to/dir/ # Move file
mv -i source dest # Interactive mode
mv -u source dest # Update only if newer
# Delete files
rm file.txt # Remove file
rm -r directory # Remove directory
rm -f file.txt # Force remove
rm -i file.txt # Interactive mode📁 Directory Operations
Directory Management
# Create directories
mkdir directory # Create directory
mkdir -p path/to/directory # Create parent directories
mkdir -m 755 directory # Create with permissions
# Navigate directories
cd /path/to/directory # Change directory
cd .. # Go up one level
cd ~ # Go to home directory
cd - # Go to previous directory
# Remove directories
rmdir directory # Remove empty directory
rm -r directory # Remove directory and contents
rm -rf directory # Force remove directoryDirectory Information
# List contents
ls # List files and directories
ls -l # Long format listing
ls -a # Show hidden files
ls -R # Recursive listing
ls -lh # Human-readable sizes
# Directory size
du -sh directory # Directory size
du -h --max-depth=1 # Size of subdirectories
ncdu # Interactive disk usage🔍 File Search and Location
Find Command
# Search by name
find /path -name "pattern" # Find files by name
find /path -iname "pattern" # Case-insensitive
find /path -type f # Find only files
find /path -type d # Find only directories
# Search by attributes
find /path -mtime +7 # Modified more than 7 days ago
find /path -size +100M # Larger than 100MB
find /path -user username # Owned by user
find /path -perm 644 # With specific permissionsLocate and Which
# Quick file location
locate filename # Find files in database
updatedb # Update locate database
which command # Find command location
whereis command # Find command binary/manual📊 File Attributes
File Information
# View file details
stat file # Detailed file information
file filename # Determine file type
ls -l filename # Show file attributes
ls -i filename # Show inode number
# Timestamps
touch -a file # Update access time
touch -m file # Update modification time
touch -t 202312312359.59 file # Set specific timeFile Compression
# Compress files
gzip file # Compress with gzip
bzip2 file # Compress with bzip2
xz file # Compress with xz
# Decompress files
gunzip file.gz # Decompress gzip
bunzip2 file.bz2 # Decompress bzip2
unxz file.xz # Decompress xz
# Archive operations
tar -czf archive.tar.gz files/ # Create gzip archive
tar -xzf archive.tar.gz # Extract gzip archive🔒 File Permissions and Ownership
Permission Management
# Change permissions
chmod 755 file # Set numeric permissions
chmod u+x file # Add execute for user
chmod g-w file # Remove write for group
chmod o=r file # Set read-only for others
# Change ownership
chown user:group file # Change owner and group
chown -R user directory # Recursive ownership change
chgrp group file # Change group ownershipSpecial Permissions
# Set special permissions
chmod u+s file # Set SUID
chmod g+s directory # Set SGID
chmod +t directory # Set sticky bit
# View special permissions
ls -l /usr/bin/passwd # View SUID example
ls -ld /tmp # View sticky bit example🔗 Links and References
Link Creation
# Create links
ln -s target link # Create symbolic link
ln target link # Create hard link
# Manage links
readlink link # Show link target
unlink link # Remove link
ls -l link # Show link information💡 Best Practices
File Organization
Use meaningful names
Maintain consistent structure
Regular backups
Document file hierarchy
Security
Proper permissions
Regular permission audits
Secure file deletion
Access control
Performance
Regular cleanup
Optimize large directories
Monitor disk usage
Use appropriate filesystem
🔧 Troubleshooting
Common Issues
# Permission denied
ls -l file # Check permissions
namei -l /path/to/file # Check path permissions
lsattr file # Check special attributes
# Disk space issues
df -h # Check disk space
du -sh /* # Find large directories
lsof +L1 # Find deleted but open filesFile Recovery
# Recover deleted files
extundelete /dev/sda1 --restore-file path/to/file
# File system check
fsck /dev/sda1 # Check filesystem
e2fsck -f /dev/sda1 # Force check ext filesystems📝 Advanced Operations
File Monitoring
# Monitor file changes
inotifywait -m directory # Monitor directory
tail -f file # Follow file changes
watch -n 1 'ls -l file' # Watch file attributes
# Process file handles
lsof file # List processes using file
fuser file # Show file usersBatch Operations
# Batch rename
rename 's/\.txt$/\.md/' *.txt # Rename all .txt to .md
for f in *.txt; do mv "$f" "${f%.txt}.md"; done
# Batch processing
find . -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \; # Change all file permissions
find . -type f -name "*.txt" -exec sed -i 's/old/new/g' {} \;Last updated
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