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CLI Commands

Quick reference table of common CLI commands across Windows and Unix.

Unix
pwd
Description
Print working directory.
#
1
Windows
cd
Description
Change directory.
Unix
ls
Description
List files and directories in the current directory.
#
2
Windows
dir
Description
List files and folders.
Unix
cd
Description
Change directory.
#
3
Windows
cls
Description
Clear the screen.
Unix
touch
Description
Create an empty file.
#
4
Windows
md
Description
Create a new directory.
Unix
mkdir
Description
Create a new directory.
#
5
Windows
rd
Description
Remove a directory.
Unix
rmdir
Description
Remove an empty directory.
#
6
Windows
copy
Description
Copy files.
Unix
rm
Description
Remove files or directories.
#
7
Windows
move
Description
Move files.
Unix
cp
Description
Copy files or directories.
#
8
Windows
rename
Description
Rename files or folders.
Unix
mv
Description
Move or rename files and directories.
#
9
Windows
del
Description
Delete files.
Unix
cat
Description
Concatenate and display file content.
#
10
Windows
type
Description
Display the contents of a text file.
Unix
more
Description
Display file content page by page.
#
11
Windows
echo
Description
Display a message or enable/disable echoing.
Unix
less
Description
Display file content with backward navigation.
#
12
Windows
ipconfig
Description
Display network configuration.
Unix
head
Description
Display the beginning of a file.
#
13
Windows
ping
Description
Test network connectivity.
Unix
tail
Description
Display the end of a file.
#
14
Windows
netstat
Description
Display network statistics.
Unix
nano
Description
A simple text editor.
#
15
Windows
tracert
Description
Trace the route to a remote host.
Unix
vim
Description
A powerful text editor.
#
16
Windows
shutdown
Description
Shut down or restart the computer.
Unix
grep
Description
Search for text using patterns.
#
17
Windows
tasklist
Description
List running processes.
Unix
find
Description
Search for files and directories.
#
18
Windows
taskkill
Description
Terminate running processes.
Unix
locate
Description
Quickly find files by name.
#
19
Windows
systeminfo
Description
Display system information.
Unix
df
Description
Display disk space usage.
#
20
Windows
hostname
Description
Display the computer's hostname.
Unix
du
Description
Display directory space usage.
#
21
Windows
sfc /scannow
Description
Check and repair system files.
Unix
ps
Description
Display running processes.
#
22
Windows
chkdsk
Description
Check and repair disk errors.
Unix
top
Description
Monitor system processes.
#
23
Windows
format
Description
Format a disk.
Unix
kill
Description
Terminate processes.
#
24
Windows
xcopy
Description
Copy files and directories with extended options.
Unix
shutdown
Description
Shutdown or restart the system.
#
25
Windows
robocopy
Description
Robust file and directory copying tool.
Unix
reboot
Description
Reboot the system.
#
26
Windows
diskpart
Description
Disk partition management tool.
Unix
ifconfig
Description
Configure network interfaces.
#
27
Windows
net use
Description
Connect to or disconnect from shared resources.
Unix
ping
Description
Test network connectivity.
#
28
Windows
net user
Description
Manage user accounts.
Unix
ssh
Description
Securely log in to remote servers.
#
29
Windows
net group
Description
Manage groups.
Unix
scp
Description
Securely copy files between systems.
#
30
Windows
net view
Description
List shared resources on a network.
Unix
chmod
Description
Change file permissions.
#
31
Windows
net start
Description
Start a service.
Unix
chown
Description
Change file ownership.
#
32
Windows
net stop
Description
Stop a service.
Unix
tar
Description
Archive files and directories.
#
33
Windows
netsh
Description
Network configuration tool.
Unix
gzip
Description
Compress files.
#
34
Windows
sc
Description
Service Control Manager.
Unix
gunzip
Description
Decompress files.
#
35
Windows
regedit
Description
Registry Editor.
Unix
zip
Description
Create compressed zip archives.
#
36
Windows
gpupdate
Description
Update Group Policy settings.
Unix
unzip
Description
Extract files from zip archives.
#
37
Windows
taskmgr
Description
Open Task Manager.
Unix
wget
Description
Download files from the internet.
#
38
Windows
msconfig
Description
System Configuration Utility.
Unix
curl
Description
Transfer data with URLs.
#
39
Windows
calc
Description
Calculator.
Unix
ps aux
Description
List all running processes.
#
40
Windows
notepad
Description
Open Notepad.
Unix
passwd
Description
Change user password.
#
41
Windows
wmic
Description
Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line.
Unix
useradd
Description
Add a new user.
#
42
Windows
powercfg
Description
Power Configuration tool.
Unix
userdel
Description
Delete a user.
#
43
Windows
shutdown
Description
Shutdown or restart the computer.
Unix
groupadd
Description
Add a new group.
#
44
Windows
systeminfo
Description
Display detailed system information.
Unix
groupdel
Description
Delete a group.
#
45
Windows
eventvwr
Description
Event Viewer.
Unix
sudo
Description
Execute commands with superuser privileges.
#
46
Windows
gpedit.msc
Description
Group Policy Editor.
Unix
su
Description
Switch to a different user.
#
47
Windows
control
Description
Open Control Panel.
Unix
history
Description
View command history.
#
48
Windows
msinfo32
Description
System Information.
Unix
date
Description
Display the current date and time.
#
49
Windows
schtasks
Description
Task Scheduler.
Unix
cal
Description
Display a calendar.
#
50
Windows
subst
Description
Associate a path with a drive letter.
Unix
hostname
Description
Display or set the system's hostname.
#
51
Windows
netstat -an
Description
Display all active network connections.
Unix
who
Description
Display logged-in users.
#
52
Windows
telnet
Description
Telnet client for connecting to remote systems.
Unix
w
Description
Display information about users.
#
53
Windows
nslookup
Description
Look up IP addresses or domain names.
Unix
man
Description
Display manual pages for commands.
#
54
Windows
assoc
Description
Display or modify file extension associations.
Unix
which
Description
Display the location of a command.
#
55
Windows
attrib
Description
Display or change file attributes.
Unix
alias
Description
Create command shortcuts.
#
56
Windows
tree
Description
Display folder structure as a tree.
Unix
export
Description
Set environment variables.
#
57
Windows
fc
Description
Compare two files or sets of files.
Unix
echo
Description
Print text to the terminal.
#
58
Windows
find
Description
Search for text within files.
Unix
touch
Description
Create an empty file.
#
59
Windows
gpupdate /force
Description
Force an immediate Group Policy update.
Unix
uptime
Description
Display system uptime.
#
60
Windows
cipher
Description
Encrypt or decrypt files and folders.
Unix
df -h
Description
Display disk space usage in a human-readable format.
#
61
Windows
perfmon
Description
Performance Monitor.
Unix
du -h
Description
Display directory space usage in a human-readable format.
#
62
Windows
reg add
Description
Add a new registry entry.
Unix
whoami
Description
Display the current user.
#
63
Windows
reg delete
Description
Delete a registry entry.
Unix
free
Description
Display memory usage.
#
64
Windows
reg query
Description
Query the registry for information.
Unix
ln
Description
Create links between files.
#
65
Windows
reg export
Description
Export registry keys and values.
Unix
lspci
Description
List PCI devices.
#
66
Windows
reg import
Description
Import registry keys and values.
Unix
lsusb
Description
List USB devices.
#
67
Windows
reg save
Description
Save a copy of the registry.
Unix
lsmod
Description
List loaded kernel modules.
#
68
Windows
reg restore
Description
Restore the registry from a backup.
Unix
mount
Description
Mount filesystems.
#
69
Windows
sc config
Description
Configure a service.
Unix
umount
Description
Unmount filesystems.
#
70
Windows
sc delete
Description
Delete a service.
Unix
shutdown -h now
Description
Shutdown the system immediately.
#
71
Windows
sc query
Description
Query service status.
Unix
shutdown -r now
Description
Restart the system immediately.
#
72
Windows
sc start
Description
Start a service.
Unix
ip addr
Description
Display network interface information.
#
73
Windows
sc stop
Description
Stop a service.
Unix
netstat
Description
Display network connections.
#
74
Windows
sc create
Description
Create a new service.
Unix
route
Description
Display or manipulate the IP routing table.
#
75
Windows
convert
Description
Convert file systems (e.g., FAT to NTFS).
Unix
crontab
Description
Schedule recurring tasks.
#
76
Windows
sfc /verifyonly
Description
Verify system files without repairing them.
Unix
at
Description
Schedule one-time tasks.
#
77
Windows
tasklist /svc
Description
List processes with services.
Unix
df -i
Description
Display inode usage.
#
78
Windows
driverquery
Description
List installed device drivers.
Unix
chroot
Description
Change the root directory for a command.
#
79
Windows
wmic process
Description
Manage processes using WMI.
Unix
watch
Description
Execute a command repeatedly.
#
80
Windows
wmic logicaldisk
Description
Manage disk drives using WMI.
Unix
nc
Description
Netcat, for networking and port scanning.
#
81
Windows
wmic startup
Description
Manage startup programs using WMI.
Unix
dd
Description
Convert and copy files.
#
82
Windows
wmic useraccount
Description
Manage user accounts using WMI.
Unix
htop
Description
Interactive process viewer.
#
83
Windows
wmic bios
Description
Access BIOS information using WMI.
Unix
passwd [username]
Description
Change another user's password (requires sudo).
#
84
Windows
wmic os
Description
Access operating system information using WMI.
Unix
chmod +x
Description
Make a file executable.
#
85
Windows
wmic diskdrive
Description
Access disk drive information using WMI.
Unix
dd if=/dev/zero of=file bs=1M count=100
Description
Create a 100MB file of zeros.
#
86
Windows
wmic printer
Description
Manage printers using WMI.
Unix
mkfs
Description
Create a filesystem.
#
87
Windows
wmic service
Description
Manage services using WMI.
Unix
fsck
Description
Check and repair filesystems.
#
88
Windows
wbadmin
Description
Windows Backup and Restore tool.
Unix
lsof
Description
List open files and processes.
#
89
Windows
netsh firewall
Description
Configure Windows Firewall.
Unix
rename
Description
Rename files using patterns.
#
90
Windows
netsh wlan
Description
Manage wireless networks.
Unix
sed
Description
Stream editor for text manipulation.
#
91
Windows
netsh interface
Description
Configure network interfaces.
Unix
awk
Description
Text processing tool.
#
92
Windows
regsvr32
Description
Register or unregister DLL files.
Unix
grep -r
Description
Recursively search for text in files.
#
93
Windows
assoc
Description
Display or change file associations.
Unix
ls -l
Description
List files in long format (with details).
#
94
Windows
cacls
Description
Display or modify file or directory permissions.
Unix
tar -xvf
Description
Extract files from a tarball.
#
95
Windows
subst
Description
Map a drive letter to a folder path.
Unix
tar -cvf
Description
Create a tarball.
#
96
Windows
wmic product
Description
List installed software.
Unix
wc
Description
Word, line, character, and byte count.
#
97
Windows
wmic qfe
Description
List installed Windows updates.
Unix
uptime
Description
Show how long the system has been running.
#
98
Windows
bcdedit
Description
Edit boot configuration data.
Unix
history | grep [keyword]
Description
Search command history for a keyword.
#
99
Windows
chkntfs
Description
Check the NTFS file system.
Unix
chsh
Description
Change your default shell.
#
100
Windows
fsutil
Description
File and volume utilities.
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