Linux/Unix: File & Directory Operations – Manage Files, Folders & Links Efficiently

Introduction – Why Learn Linux File & Directory Commands?

Mastering file and directory operations in Linux/Unix is a must for developers, system administrators, and power users. Whether you’re navigating file systems, manipulating files, or understanding symbolic and hard links—Linux provides concise, powerful commands for every task.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• How to copy, move, and remove files
• How to navigate and manage directories
• How to use file system utilities like df, du, ln, and touch
• How file types, permissions, and usage statistics are handled

Topics Covered

Linux/Unix: File Management (cp, mv, rm)

cp – Copy Files or Directories

cp file1.txt backup/

Copies file1.txt into the backup folder.

mv – Move or Rename Files

mv report.txt old_report.txt

Renames or moves report.txt.

rm – Delete Files or Directories

rm temp.txt
rm -r folder/

Deletes a file or recursively removes a directory.

Caution: rm permanently deletes files—no recycle bin!

Linux/Unix: Directory Handling (ls, cd, mkdir, rmdir)

ls – List Directory Contents

ls -l /etc

Shows detailed contents including permissions, owners, sizes.

cd – Change Directory

cd /var/log

Navigates to /var/log.

mkdir – Create New Directory

mkdir new_project

Creates a folder named new_project.

rmdir – Remove Empty Directory

rmdir old_folder

Deletes a folder if it’s empty.

Use rm -r to remove non-empty directories.

Linux/Unix: File Links (ln), File System Basics (df, du, stat, file, touch)

ln – Create Links

• Hard Link:

ln original.txt link.txt

• Symbolic (Soft) Link:

ln -s original.txt shortcut.txt

Hard links share the same inode; symbolic links point to the file path.

df – Disk Free Space

df -h

Shows available and used disk space in human-readable format.

du – Directory Usage

du -sh *

Summarizes disk usage per file/folder.

stat – File Metadata

stat file.txt

Displays file size, permissions, timestamps, and inode info.

file – Detect File Type

file filename

Identifies if a file is ASCII text, binary, script, etc.

touch – Create/Update File Timestamp

touch newfile.txt

Creates a new empty file or updates the modification time.

Summary – Recap & Next Steps

File and directory operations form the core foundation of any Unix/Linux workflow. These commands are fast, scriptable, and give full control over files and system resources.

Key Takeaways:

• Use cp, mv, rm for file management
• ls, cd, mkdir, rmdir help manage directories
• ln creates links; df, du, stat, and file help inspect and audit
• touch is great for scripting placeholder files or resetting timestamps

Practical Use Cases:

• Backup and rename log files with cp and mv
• Clean up space using du and df
• Organize projects using mkdir and symbolic links

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between rm and rmdir?
rm removes files or directories (use -r for folders), while rmdir only removes empty directories.

What are symbolic vs hard links?
Hard links share the same inode; symbolic links are pointers to the original file path.

How do I check disk usage?
Use:

df -h       # For filesystem-level usage
du -sh *    # For per-directory usage