As a developer, the Bash Terminal is one of my most frequently used tools. It allows me to navigate projects, create files, manage folders, and run development servers efficiently.

This cheat sheet contains the most useful Bash commands I use in my daily workflow.

1. Navigation Commands

These commands help move between directories.

Command	Description	Example
`pwd`	Show current directory path	`pwd`
`ls`	List files and folders	`ls`
`ls -a`	Show hidden files	`ls -a`
`cd foldername`	Go into folder	`cd src`
`cd ..`	Go to parent folder	`cd ..`
`cd ~`	Go to home directory	`cd ~`
`clear`	Clear terminal screen	`clear`

Example:

cd Projects/my-app

2. Folder Creation Commands

Used to create project folder structures.

Command	Description	Example
`mkdir foldername`	Create folder	`mkdir src`
`mkdir folder1 folder2`	Create multiple folders	`mkdir components utils`
`mkdir -p folder/subfolder`	Create nested folders	`mkdir -p src/components/ui`
`mkdir -p src/{app,modules,middlewares}`	Create multiple nested folders	Creates structured folders

Example:

mkdir -p src/{controllers,models,routes}

3. File Creation Commands

Used to create files quickly.

Command	Description	Example
`touch filename`	Create file	`touch index.js`
`touch file1 file2`	Create multiple files	`touch app.js server.js`
`touch folder/file`	Create file inside folder	`touch src/app.ts`
`touch folder/{a,b,c}.js`	Create multiple named files	Creates 3 files
`touch file{1..5}.txt`	Create numbered files	Creates file1 to file5

Example:

touch src/{app.ts,server.ts}

4. File and Folder Delete Commands

Used to remove files and folders.

Command	Description	Example
`rm filename`	Delete file	`rm app.js`
`rm file1 file2`	Delete multiple files	`rm app.js server.js`
`rm -r foldername`	Delete folder	`rm -r src`
`rm -rf foldername`	Force delete folder	`rm -rf node_modules`

⚠️ Warning: rm -rf deletes permanently.

5. Move and Rename Commands

Used to organize project files.

Command	Description	Example
`mv old new`	Rename file	`mv app.js main.js`
`mv oldfolder newfolder`	Rename folder	`mv src source`
`mv file folder/`	Move file	`mv app.js src/`
`mv *.js src/`	Move all JS files	Move multiple files

Example:

mv server.js src/

6. File Listing Commands

Used to view folder contents.

Command	Description
`ls`	List files
`ls -l`	Detailed list
`ls -a`	Show hidden files
`ls -la`	Detailed + hidden

Example:

ls -la

7. Project Structure Creation (Real Developer Example)

Backend project structure creation:

mkdir -p src/{controllers,models,routes,middlewares}
touch src/{app.ts,server.ts}

Result:

src/
 ├── controllers/
 ├── models/
 ├── routes/
 ├── middlewares/
 ├── app.ts
 └── server.ts

8. Useful Development Commands

These commands are commonly used in Node.js and web development.

Command	Description
`npm init -y`	Initialize project
`npm install package`	Install package
`npm run dev`	Run development server
`node server.js`	Run Node.js file
`git init`	Initialize Git
`git add .`	Add all files
`git commit -m "message"`	Commit changes

Example:

npm run dev

9. My Most Frequently Used Commands (Daily Workflow)

These are the commands I personally use the most:

cd project-name
ls
mkdir src
touch src/app.ts
npm install
npm run dev
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"