List of Unix commands

"Unix command" redirects here. For other uses, see Command (computing).

This is a list of Unix commands as specified by IEEE Std 1003.1-2008, which is part of the Single UNIX Specification (SUS). These commands can be found on Unix operating systems and most Unix-like operating systems.

List

IEEE Std 1003.1-2008 utilities
Name Category Description First appeared
admin SCCS Create and administer SCCS files PWB UNIX
alias Misc Define or display aliases
ar Misc Create and maintain library archives Version 1 AT&T UNIX
asa Text processing Interpret carriage-control characters System V
at Process management Execute commands at a later time Version 7 AT&T UNIX
awk Text processing Pattern scanning and processing language Version 7 AT&T UNIX
basename Filesystem Return non-directory portion of a pathname; see also dirname Version 7 AT&T UNIX
batch Process management Schedule commands to be executed in a batch queue
bc Misc Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language Version 6 AT&T UNIX
bg Process management Run jobs in the background
cc/c99 C programming Compile standard C programs IEEE Std 1003.1-2001
cal Misc Print a calendar Version 5 AT&T UNIX
cat Filesystem Concatenate and print files Version 1 AT&T UNIX
cd Filesystem Change the working directory Version 6 AT&T UNIX
cflow C programming Generate a C-language call graph System V
chgrp Filesystem Change the file group ownership PWB UNIX
chmod Filesystem Change the file modes/attributes/permissions Version 1 AT&T UNIX
chown Filesystem Change the file ownership Version 1 AT&T UNIX
cksum Filesystem Write file checksums and sizes 4.4BSD
cmp Filesystem Compare two files; see also diff Version 1 AT&T UNIX
comm Text processing Select or reject lines common to two files Version 4 AT&T UNIX
command Shell programming Execute a simple command
compress Filesystem Compress data 4.3BSD
cp Filesystem Copy files Version 1 AT&T UNIX
crontab Misc Schedule periodic background work System V
csplit Text processing Split files based on context PWB UNIX
ctags C programming Create a tags file 3BSD
cut Text processing Cut out selected fields of each line of a file System III
cxref C programming Generate a C-language program cross-reference table System V
date Misc Display the date and time Version 1 AT&T UNIX
dd Filesystem Convert and copy a file Version 5 AT&T UNIX
delta SCCS Make a delta (change) to an SCCS file PWB UNIX
df Filesystem Report free disk space Version 1 AT&T UNIX
diff Text processing Compare two files; see also cmp Version 5 AT&T UNIX
dirname Filesystem Return the directory portion of a pathname; see also basename System III
du Filesystem Estimate file space usage Version 1 AT&T UNIX
echo Shell programming Write arguments to standard output Version 2 AT&T UNIX
ed Text processing The standard text editor Version 1 AT&T UNIX
env Misc Set the environment for command invocation System III
ex Text processing Text editor 1BSD
expand Text processing Convert tabs to spaces 3BSD
expr Shell programming Evaluate arguments as an expression Version 7 AT&T UNIX
false Shell programming Return false value Version 7 AT&T UNIX
fc Misc Process the command history list
fg Process management Run jobs in the foreground
file Filesystem Determine file type Version 4 AT&T UNIX
find Filesystem Find files Version 1 AT&T UNIX
fold Text processing Filter for folding lines 1BSD
fort77 FORTRAN77 programming FORTRAN compiler XPG4
fuser Process management List process IDs of all processes that have one or more files open System V
gencat Misc Generate a formatted message catalog
get SCCS Get a version of an SCCS file PWB UNIX
getconf Misc Get configuration values
getopts Shell programming Parse utility options
grep Misc Search text for a pattern Version 4 AT&T UNIX
hash Misc hash database access method
head Text processing Copy the first part of files PWB UNIX
iconv Text processing Codeset conversion HP-UX
id Misc Return user identity 4.4BSD
ipcrm Misc Remove a message queue, semaphore set, or shared memory segment identifier System V
ipcs Misc Report interprocess communication facilities status System V
jobs Process management Display status of jobs in the current session
join Text processing Merges two sorted text files based on the presence of a common field Version 7 AT&T UNIX
kill Process management Terminate or signal processes Version 4 AT&T UNIX
lex C programming Generate programs for lexical tasks Version 7 AT&T UNIX
link Filesystem Create a hard link to a file Version 1 AT&T UNIX
ln Filesystem Link files Version 1 AT&T UNIX
locale Misc Get locale-specific information
localedef Misc Define locale environment
logger Shell programming Log messages 4.3BSD
logname Misc Return the user's login name 4.4BSD
lp Text processing Send files to a printer System V
ls Filesystem List directory contents Version 1 AT&T UNIX
m4 Misc Macro processor PWB UNIX
mailx Misc Process messages Version 1 AT&T UNIX
make Programming Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs PWB UNIX
man Misc Display system documentation Version 2 AT&T UNIX
mesg Misc Permit or deny messages Version 1 AT&T UNIX
mkdir Filesystem Make directories Version 1 AT&T UNIX
mkfifo Filesystem Make FIFO special files 4.4BSD
more Text processing Display files on a page-by-page basis 3BSD
mv Filesystem Move files Version 1 AT&T UNIX
newgrp Misc Change to a new group (functionaliy similar to sg[1]) Version 6 AT&T UNIX
nice Process management Invoke a utility with an altered nice value Version 4 AT&T UNIX
nl Text processing Line numbering filter System III
nm C programming Write the name list of an object file Version 1 AT&T UNIX
nohup Process management Invoke a utility immune to hangups Version 4 AT&T UNIX
od Misc Dump files in various formats Version 1 AT&T UNIX
paste Text processing Merge corresponding or subsequent lines of files Version 32V AT&T UNIX
patch Text processing Apply changes to files 4.3BSD
pathchk Filesystem Check pathnames
pax Misc Portable archive interchange 4.4BSD
pr Text processing Print files Version 1 AT&T UNIX
printf Shell programming Write formatted output 4.3BSD-Reno
prs SCCS Print an SCCS file PWB UNIX
ps Process management Report process status Version 4 AT&T UNIX
pwd Filesystem print working directory - Return working directory name Version 5 AT&T UNIX
qalter Batch utilities Alter batch job
qdel Batch utilities Delete batch jobs
qhold Batch utilities Hold batch jobs
qmove Batch utilities Move batch jobs
qmsg Batch utilities Send message to batch jobs
qrerun Batch utilities Rerun batch jobs
qrls Batch utilities Release batch jobs
qselect Batch utilities Select batch jobs
qsig Batch utilities Signal batch jobs
qstat Batch utilities Show status of batch jobs
qsub Batch utilities Submit a script
read Shell programming Read a line from standard input
renice Process management Set nice values of running processes 4BSD
rm Filesystem Remove directory entries Version 1 AT&T UNIX
rmdel SCCS Remove a delta from an SCCS file PWB UNIX
rmdir Filesystem Remove directories, if they are empty. Version 1 AT&T UNIX
sact SCCS Print current SCCS file-editing activity System III
sccs SCCS Front end for the SCCS subsystem 4.3BSD
sed Text processing Stream editor Version 7 AT&T UNIX
sh Shell programming Shell, the standard command language interpreter Version 7 AT&T UNIX (in earlier versions, sh was either the Thompson shell or the PWB shell)
sleep Shell programming Suspend execution for an interval Version 4 AT&T UNIX
sort Text processing Sort, merge, or sequence check text files Version 1 AT&T UNIX
split Misc Split files into pieces Version 3 AT&T UNIX
strings C programming Find printable strings in files 2BSD
strip C programming Remove unnecessary information from executable files Version 1 AT&T UNIX
stty Misc Set the options for a terminal Version 2 AT&T UNIX
tabs Misc Set terminal tabs PWB UNIX
tail Text processing Copy the last part of a file PWB UNIX
talk Misc Talk to another user 4.2BSD
tee Shell programming Duplicate the standard output Version 5 AT&T UNIX
test Shell programming Evaluate expression Version 7 AT&T UNIX
time Process management Time a simple command Version 3 AT&T UNIX
touch Filesystem Change file access and modification times Version 7 AT&T UNIX
tput Misc Change terminal characteristics System V
tr Text processing Translate characters Version 4 AT&T UNIX
true Shell programming Return true value Version 7 AT&T UNIX
tsort Text processing Topological sort Version 7 AT&T UNIX
tty Misc Return user's terminal name Version 1 AT&T UNIX
type Misc Displays how a name would be interpreted if used as a command
ulimit Misc Set or report file size limit
umask Misc Get or set the file mode creation mask System III
unalias Misc Remove alias definitions
uname Misc Return system name PWB UNIX
uncompress Misc Expand compressed data 4.3BSD
unexpand Text processing Convert spaces to tabs 3BSD
unget SCCS Undo a previous get of an SCCS file System III
uniq Text processing Report or filter out repeated lines in a file Version 3 AT&T UNIX
unlink Filesystem Call the unlink function Version 1 AT&T UNIX
uucp Network System-to-system copy Version 7 AT&T UNIX
uudecode Network Decode a binary file 4BSD
uuencode Network Encode a binary file 4BSD
uustat Network uucp status inquiry and job control System III
uux Process management Remote command execution Version 7 AT&T UNIX
val SCCS Validate SCCS files System III
vi Text processing Screen-oriented (visual) display editor 1BSD
wait Process management Await process completion Version 4 AT&T UNIX
wc Text processing Line, word and byte or character count Version 1 AT&T UNIX
what SCCS Identify SCCS files PWB UNIX
who System administration Display who is on the system Version 1 AT&T UNIX
write Misc Write to another user's terminal Version 1 AT&T UNIX
xargs Shell programming Construct argument lists and invoke utility PWB UNIX
yacc C programming Yet another compiler compiler PWB UNIX
zcat Text processing Expand and concatenate data 4.3BSD

See also

Footnotes

  1. Stanfield, Vicki (2006). Linux System Administration. Craig Hunt Linux Library. Roderick W. Smith (2 ed.). John Wiley & Sons. p. 152. ISBN 9780782152203. Retrieved 2012-11-27. The command sg is frequently a synonym for newgrp.
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