Questions tagged [command-line]

An interface for interacting with a computer using typed commands in a text-oriented environment, as opposed to a graphical user interface (GUI).

Questions that should have this tag

  • Scripting questions
  • BASH or Windows command line commands
  • PowerShell items

Basic Syntax

  • { option1 | option2 } - Choose one or the other
  • [ option ] - Optional
  • COMMAND -The command itself
  • parameter - Parameters that are required to complete the command

Extra Information

  • Commands for questions should have a backtick (`, to the left of the 1 on most keyboards) before and after any commands to help with realizing where the commands are
    • Example: How do I use the DIR command?
  • Whenever possible, because of how extensive and powerful the CLI can be, if there are long commands or scripts, either use the <pre></pre> tag before and after the script, or indent each line with 4 spaces. Example below:
@echo off
echo Hello World!
  • When answering questions, if at all possible, show where other users can replace different variables for their own use
    • Example: Replace the name with the username you are trying to use:
      NET USER JohnSmith
13311 questions
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How can I display the contents of an environment variable from the command prompt in Windows 7?

In Windows 7, when I start the Command prompt, is there any command to display the contents of an environment variable (such as the JAVA_HOME or PATH variables)? I have tried with echo $PATH , echo PATH and $PATH but none of these work.
Jonas
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5 answers

How to find a directory on linux?

I have a VPS with Suse Linux 10.3 . I've logged in via SSH/putty and am trying to find where my web files are located. Since I'm uploading via FTP in a directory called httpdocs , I assume that this directory exists somewhere. My google searches…
627
votes
11 answers

How to use FFmpeg to cut up a video?

I am using ffmpeg to cut out a section of a large file like this: ffmpeg -i input.wmv -ss 60 -t 60 -acodec copy -vcodec copy output.wmv The -ss part works fine but the -t is ignored. It correctly removes the initial specified seconds specified with…
Neil
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605
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5 answers

How do I run multiple commands on one line in PowerShell?

In a cmd prompt, you can run two commands on one line like so: ipconfig /release & ipconfig /renew When I run this command in PowerShell, I get: Ampersand not allowed. The `&` operator is reserved for future use Does PowerShell have an operator that…
David
  • 9,992
593
votes
5 answers

How to turn off word wrap in less?

Short version: How can I make the less utility in Linux not wrap lines? Long version: Often I need to view huge CSV files using less with hundreds of columns. I frequently only care about the first couple columns. However, word wrap causes one line…
User1
  • 9,781
540
votes
18 answers

How to clear the contents of a file from the command line?

I have a log file that has a bunch of stuff in it that I don't need anymore. I want to clear the contents. I know how to print the contents to the screen: cat file.log I know how to edit the file, line-by-line: nano file.log But I don't want to…
Andrew
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519
votes
19 answers

Is there any 'sudo' command for Windows?

I always work on a non-administrator account on my Windows computer. Sometimes I need to install programs which requires administrator access. As I mostly use the Windows command prompt, is there a Windows command to escalate privileges, similar to…
ukanth
  • 10,830
504
votes
14 answers

Mac OS X equivalent of the Ubuntu "tree" command

Is there an equivalent to the Ubuntu tree command for Mac OS X?
501
votes
5 answers

How to open files in vertically/horizontal split windows in Vim from the command line

There must be a way, something like this: vim -[option] <file-list> to open files from command prompt and not from within Vim. split windows vertically or/and horizontally in separate tabs
447
votes
19 answers

How to encode base64 via command line in macOS/OS X?

Is there a terminal command in macOS/OS X which will base64 encode a file or stdin?
Josh
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435
votes
4 answers

What is the Windows equivalent of the Unix command cat?

I want to do exactly what unix "cat" does, but on my PC. Is there a simple equivalent command for the Windows command line? Specifically I want to create a file from all the files of a given type in a folder In Unix: cat *fna >all_fna_files.fna…
Kirt
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415
votes
4 answers

Go back to previous directory in shell

Is there a way to go back to previous directory we were in using bash,tcsh without using pushd/popd ? I'd like to type something like "back" and got returned to the previous directory I was in. Edit: "cd -" works, but only for current and previous…
Lydon Ch
  • 6,369
388
votes
15 answers

How do you list all processes on the command line in Windows?

Is there a command equivalent to 'ps' on Unix that can list all processes on a Windows machine?
readonly
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385
votes
8 answers

How to recursively delete directory from command line in windows?

What is the windows equivalent of rm -r [directory-name] ?
Eric Wilson
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375
votes
14 answers

How to get information about an image (picture) from the Linux command-line?

I'm working on a web app and currently migrating some stuff from an old app, but I hate that I have to open an image editor to get some info about images I'm migrating. Things like image dimensions. Is there a command line tool I can use for such…
JWL
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