Basic Linux File Management

Here is a concise guide on Basic Linux File Management, including archiving, directory and file manipulation, and file-searching tools:

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📁 Basic Linux File Management

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1. 📦 Common Archiving Tools

Tool	Command Example	Description
tar	tar -czvf archive.tar.gz folder/	Archive and compress files (gzip).
gzip / gunzip	gzip file.txt / gunzip file.txt.gz	Compress/decompress single files.
zip / unzip	zip archive.zip file1 file2 / unzip archive.zip	Create/extract ZIP archives.
xz / unxz	xz file / unxz file.xz	High compression ratio.
7z	7z a archive.7z file	7-Zip format (install p7zip).

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2. 📂 Making Directories

mkdir newdir               # Create a directory
mkdir -p dir/subdir        # Create nested directories

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3. 📄 Copy, Move, Delete Files and Directories

Copy

cp file1.txt file2.txt              # Copy a file
cp -r dir1/ dir2/                   # Copy directory recursively

Move (or Rename)

mv oldname.txt newname.txt         # Rename or move file
mv file.txt /path/to/destination/  # Move file

Delete

rm file.txt                        # Delete file
rm -r folder/                      # Delete directory and contents
rm -rf folder/                     # Force delete (use with caution)

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4. 🔍 Finding and Locating Files

Command	Description	Example
find	Searches files by name, size, type, etc.	find /home -name "*.txt"
locate	Uses a database to quickly find files	locate firefox
updatedb	Updates the locate database (needs mlocate)	sudo updatedb
whereis	Locates binary, source, and man pages	whereis ls
which	Shows the path of a command	which python3
type	Shows how a command is interpreted	type cd

Config file for updatedb: 📄 /etc/updatedb.conf — Exclude specific paths from locate indexing.

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