Shell Tips¶

Keyboard shortcuts and tips for working more efficiently in the shell.

Command History¶

Navigate and reuse previous commands:

Key	Action
`↑` / `↓`	Cycle through command history
`Ctrl` + `R`	Reverse search history
`!!`	Gets replaced by the last command line
`!$`	Gets replaced by last argument of previous command line
`!:X`	Gets replaced by the X’th argument of previous command line

Auto-Completion¶

Speed up typing with tab completion:

Press Tab to auto-complete file and directory names
Press Tab twice to see all available options
Works for commands, files, directories, and users

Controlling Commands¶

Manage running processes:

Key	Action
`Ctrl` + `C`	Kill current command
`Ctrl` + `Z`	Pause current process (resume with `fg` or continue in background w/ `bg`)
`Ctrl` + `D` Or `exit`	Exit current shell
`Ctrl` + `L`	Same as running `clear`

Command Line Editing¶

Edit commands before running:

Key	Action
`Ctrl` + `A`	Move to beginning of line
`Ctrl` + `E`	Move to end of line
`Ctrl` + `U`	Cut from cursor to beginning
`Ctrl` + `K`	Cut from cursor to end
`Ctrl` + `W`	Cut word before cursor

Quick Tips¶

# Run command in background
command &

# Bring background job to foreground
fg

# List background jobs
jobs

# Redirect output to file
command > output.txt

# Append output to file
command >> output.txt

# Combine commands
command1 && command2    # Run command2 only if command1 succeeds
command1 || command2    # Run command2 only if command1 fails
command1 ;  command2    # Run command2 regardless of command1

History Management¶

history                 # Show command history
history 10              # Show last 10 commands
!123                    # Run command #123 from history
!grep                   # Run last command starting with 'grep'

Tips¶

Add export HISTSIZE=10000 to ~/.bashrc to keep more history
Use !! to quickly repeat a command you just ran