How to Manage Files and Directories in Bash

Understanding the Bash Shell

Bash, the Bourne-Again Shell, is a command-line interpreter that allows users to interact with an operating system by typing commands. It is commonly used on Unix-based systems such as Linux and macOS and offers a variety of tools for managing files and directories.

To start using bash, you will need to open the terminal:

• In Linuxlook for the terminal application in the applications menu.
• In Mac OSuse Spotlight search (Cmd + Space) and type “Terminal”.
• In WindowsYou can use Git Bash or Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).

Once you have the terminal open and at your disposal, we are ready to learn how to manage files and directories with bash. We will start with some basic navigation commands, and then move on to managing directories and files.

pwd – Print working directory

He pwd The command displays the current directory you are in. This is useful for confirming your location in the file system.

ls – Directory contents list

He ls The command lists the files and directories in the current directory. You can add options like -l for detailed information or -a to include hidden files.

mkdir – Create directories

Syntax: mkdir

Example: Create a directory called data

You can create multiple directories at once:

To create nested directories, use the -p option:

mkdir -p parent/child/grandchild

rmdir – Delete directories

Syntax: rmdir

Example: Delete an empty directory named data:

Note that rmdir Only works with empty directories. To remove non-empty directories, use rm -r.

cp – Copy files and directories

Syntax: cp

Example: Copy a file called file.txt toward backup directory:

To copy multiple files:

cp file1.txt file2.txt backup/

To copy directories, use the -r Option (recursive):

mv – Move/rename files and directories

Syntax: mv

Example: Moving a file named file.txt toward backup directory:

Rename file.txt to file_backup.txt:

mv file.txt file_backup.txt

He mv The command can move and rename files/directories.

rm – Delete files and directories

Syntax: rm

Example: Delete a file named file.txt:

To remove directories and their contents, use the -r Option (recursive):

For forced removal without warnings, add the -f (force) option:

Practical examples for data scientists

Creating a project directory structure

Example: Creating directories for a data science project

mkdir -p project/{data,scripts,results}

Organizing data files

Example: Move all .csv files to a data directory

Clean up unnecessary files

Example: Delete all .tmp files

Combining commands

Wearing && To chain commands

Example: Create a directory and move files in one command

mkdir backup && mv *.csv backup/

Using semicolons to execute sequentially

Example: List contents and then delete a file

Tips and best practices

Security with rm

Always double check routes before using them rm to prevent accidental deletion.

Using wildcards

Wildcards like * You can match multiple files, which makes commands more efficient. For example, *.csv matches all CSV files.

Backup important files

Before performing bulk operations, create backups to prevent data loss.

Quick reference

Below is a quick reference summary table that summarizes the syntax and usage of cp, mv, rmand mkdir.

Matthew May (twitter.com/mattmayo13″ rel=”noopener”>@mattmayo13) holds a master's degree in computer science and a postgraduate diploma in data mining. As editor-in-chief of KDnuggets & Statologyand contributing editor at Mastering Machine LearningMatthew aims to make complex data science concepts accessible. His professional interests include natural language processing, language models, machine learning algorithms, and exploring emerging ai. His mission is to democratize knowledge in the data science community. Matthew has been coding since he was 6 years old.