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File & Directory Operations

Let's learn how to create, copy, move, and delete files and directories.

mkdir - Create directories

mkdir stands for Make Directory. It creates new directories.

mkdir my_folder   # creates a folder called "my_folder"

Nested directories

mkdir -p projects/2024/reports

Without -p, you'd need: mkdir projects projects/2024 projects/2024/reports

touch - Creates files

touch creates an empty file. If the file already exists it updates its timestamp.

touch my_file_name.txt

cp - Copy files and directories

cp stands for Copy. It duplicates files.

cp original.txt backup.txt

Copy directories

Add -r (recursive) to copy folders and everything inside:

cp -r projects/ projects_backup/

Deep paths tip

Copying into deep paths is error-prone:

cp /long/source/path/file.txt /long/destination/nested/path/

Instead do this:

cd /long/destination/nested/path/ # cd to the folder you want to copy into
cp /long/source/path/file.txt .   # use . to say "right here"

mv - Move or rename

mv stands for Move. It moves or renames files and directories.

mv old.txt new.txt                  # rename
mv file1.txt file2.txt Documents/   # move

No -r needed for folders. Works the same.

rm - Removes files or directories

rm stands for Remove. It deletes permanently. No trash bin. No undo.

rm useless.txt

Common Options

Option Meaning Why you need it
-r Recursive Delete folders (and everything inside)
-f Force Skip confirmation prompts - dangerous but useful
-i Interactive Confirm each file before deletion - safe mode

Never run these!

rm -rf /   # Deletes your entire system
rm -rf ~   # Deletes all your personal files

rm -i file.txt   # Asks: "rm: remove regular file 'hello.txt'? y/n"

rmdir - Remove empty directories

rmdir removes empty directories only.

rmdir empty_folder
rmdir -p parent/child/

Less useful as rmdir refuses to delete folders with stuff inside. That's what rm -r is for.

Advanced Commands

Optional: Wildcards & Brace Expansion

These are powerful but you can still get around without knowing them.

Wildcards

Wildcard What it matches Example
* Anything (zero or more characters) rm *.txt
? Exactly one character file?.txt
[abc] One character from the set file[123].txt
[a-z] One character from the range file[a-c].txt

You can combine wildcards: *[0-9]*, backup*, ??? - What would these do?

Answers
  • *[0-9]* - any file containing a number (e.g., file1.txt, data2.log, 3notes.md)
  • backup* - any file starting with "backup" (e.g., backup.txt, backup_old.zip)
  • ??? - any file with exactly 3 characters (e.g., dog, 123, a-b)

Brace Expansion

Pattern What it generates Example
{a,b,c} Each item in the list touch {README,INSTALL}.md
{1..10} Sequence of numbers mkdir day_{1..7}
{a..z} Sequence of letters touch letter_{a..d}.txt

You can combine and nest brace expansions. What do these do? - {a,b}{1,2} - notes.txt{,.bak} - {src,docs}/{assets,data}

Answers
  • {a,b}{1,2} → a1 a2 b1 b2 (cartesian product)
  • notes.txt{,.bak} → notes.txt notes.txt.bak (backup pattern)
  • {src,docs}/{assets,data} → src/assets src/data docs/assets docs/data (nested directories)

Wildcards and brace expansion work with any command that accepts paths or arguments. For example: 

echo {1..10}   # Prints: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
ls *.txt       # List all text files

Command Options What it does
mkdir -p Create directory (+ parent folders)
touch - Create empty file
cp -r -i Copy file or directory (+ recursive for folders)
mv - Move or rename (folders too, no -r needed)
rm -r -f -i Delete permanently (+ recursive, + force, + interactive safe mode)
rmdir -p Remove empty directories (+ remove parent if empty)

Never run: rm -rf / or rm -rf ~

Check Your Understanding

Test yourself with these real terminal scenarios.

1. Create a nested project folder

You're starting a new project for 2024. You want to create this structure all at once:

projects/
└── 2024/
    └── data/

You don't want to type mkdir projects, then mkdir projects/2024, then mkdir projects/2024/data.

What command do you type?

Reveal Answer

mkdir -p projects/2024/data

The -p flag creates parent directories along the way.

2. Backing up a file before editing

You have notes.txt. You want to edit it, but first you want a backup copy called notes_backup.txt in the same folder.

What command do you type?

Reveal Answer

cp notes.txt notes_backup.txt

3. Copying a whole project folder

You have a folder called projects/ with many files inside. You want to duplicate the entire folder to projects_backup/.

What command do you type?

Reveal Answer

cp -r projects/ projects_backup/

The -r (recursive) flag is needed to copy folders.

4. You made a typo in the filename

You created a file called reedme.md but you meant to call it README.md.

How do you rename it?

Reveal Answer

mv reedme.md README.md

5. Cleaning up old files

You have a file called useless.txt that you don't need anymore. You want to delete it permanently.

What command do you type?

Reveal Answer

rm useless.txt

Remember: rm deletes permanently. No trash bin.

6. Deleting an old project folder

You have an old project folder called old_projects/ with files inside. You want to delete the whole thing.

What command do you type?

Reveal Answer

rm -r old_projects/

The -r flag deletes folders and everything inside them.

7. Moving a file to organize

You have file.txt sitting in your home directory. You want to move it into your Documents/ folder.

What command do you type?

Reveal Answer

mv file.txt Documents/

8. Creating a README

You're starting a new project and need an empty README.md file.

What command do you type?

Reveal Answer

touch README.md

9. Set up your exercise workspace - Optional

You want to organize your work for the day. You need a parent folder called exercises with 5 subfolders inside it: exercise_1, exercise_2, exercise_3, exercise_4, exercise_5.

What single command creates the entire structure at once?

Reveal Answer

mkdir -p exercises/exercise_{1..5}