Introduction To Utilities | Utilities

1. What are Command Line Utilities?

Command line utilities are programs that are run from a command line interface (CLI) rather than through a graphical user interface (GUI). These utilities are powerful tools for performing a variety of tasks such as file manipulation, system monitoring, and network configuration.

2. Accessing the Command Line

To use command line utilities, you need to open a terminal or command prompt window:

Windows: Press Win + R, type cmd, and press Enter.
macOS: Open Spotlight (Cmd + Space), type Terminal, and press Enter.
Linux: Open your application menu, search for Terminal, and open it.

3. Basic Commands

Here are some basic commands to get you started:

List files and directories:

ls (Linux/macOS)

dir (Windows)

example@machine:~$ ls
Desktop  Documents  Downloads  Music  Pictures  Videos

Change directory:

cd [directory]

example@machine:~$ cd Documents
example@machine:~/Documents$

Print working directory:

pwd

example@machine:~/Documents$ pwd
/home/example/Documents

4. File Manipulation

Command line utilities are powerful for file manipulation. Here are some examples:

Create a file:

touch filename (Linux/macOS)

type nul > filename (Windows)

example@machine:~/Documents$ touch newfile.txt

Remove a file:

rm filename (Linux/macOS)

del filename (Windows)

example@machine:~/Documents$ rm newfile.txt

Copy a file:

cp source destination (Linux/macOS)

copy source destination (Windows)

example@machine:~/Documents$ cp oldfile.txt newfile.txt

5. System Monitoring

Command line utilities can also be used to monitor system performance and processes:

Check disk usage:

df -h (Linux/macOS)

wmic logicaldisk get size,freespace,caption (Windows)

example@machine:~$ df -h
Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1        50G   15G   33G  32% /

Check memory usage:

free -h (Linux/macOS)

systeminfo | find "Available Physical Memory" (Windows)

example@machine:~$ free -h
              total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:           7.7G        2.2G        4.9G        150M        579M        5.1G

6. Network Configuration

Network-related tasks can also be managed via the command line:

Check network interfaces:

ifconfig (Linux/macOS)

ipconfig (Windows)

example@machine:~$ ifconfig
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:1c:42:2e:60:4a  
          inet addr:192.168.1.2  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0

Ping a server:

ping [hostname]

example@machine:~$ ping google.com
PING google.com (172.217.16.196) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from lga34s15-in-f4.1e100.net (172.217.16.196): icmp_seq=1 ttl=54 time=18.4 ms

7. Conclusion

This introduction has covered a few basic command line utilities to help you get started. The command line is a powerful tool that, once mastered, can greatly enhance your productivity and control over your computer system. Practice these commands and explore further to unlock the full potential of command line utilities.

Introduction to Command Line Utilities