Windows ↔ Linux command cheatsheet

Switching from Windows? Every command you already know has a Linux equivalent. This is the reference page to bookmark — 87 commands across 9 categories.

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Jump to: Navigation & files Finding things System info Networking Packages & software Permissions & users Disk & storage Text & output Shutdown & power

Windows	Linux	What it does
`dir`	`ls -la`	List files in current directory
`cd <folder>`	`cd <folder>`	Change directory
`cd ..`	`cd ..`	Go up one directory
`cd %USERPROFILE%`	`cd ~ or cd`	Go to home directory
`mkdir <name>`	`mkdir <name>`	Create a new directory
`rmdir /s /q <name>`	`rm -rf <name>`	Delete a directory and its contents
`del <file>`	`rm <file>`	Delete a file
`copy <src> <dst>`	`cp <src> <dst>`	Copy a file
`move <src> <dst>`	`mv <src> <dst>`	Move or rename a file
`ren <old> <new>`	`mv <old> <new>`	Rename a file
`type <file>`	`cat <file>`	Print file contents to screen
`more <file>`	`less <file>`	View file contents page by page
`where <cmd>`	`which <cmd>`	Find the location of a command
`tree`	`tree`	Show directory tree (install if needed)

Finding things

Windows	Linux	What it does
`dir /s /b <pattern>`	`find . -name "<pattern>"`	Search for files by name
`findstr "<text>" <file>`	`grep "<text>" <file>`	Search for text in a file
`findstr /i "<text>" <file>`	`grep -i "<text>" <file>`	Case-insensitive search
`findstr /r /s "<text>" *`	`grep -r "<text>" .`	Recursive search in all files
`findstr /r /s /i "<text>" *`	`grep -ri "<text>" .`	Recursive, case-insensitive
`findstr /n "<text>" <file>`	`grep -n "<text>" <file>`	Show line numbers in results
`findstr /v "<text>" <file>`	`grep -v "<text>" <file>`	Show lines that do NOT match
`findstr /c:"<t1>" /c:"<t2>"`	`grep -E "<t1>\|<t2>" <file>`	Match multiple patterns (OR)
—	`grep -l "<text>" *`	List only filenames with a match
—	`grep -c "<text>" <file>`	Count matching lines
—	`grep -A 3 "<text>" <file>`	Show 3 lines after each match
—	`grep -B 3 "<text>" <file>`	Show 3 lines before each match
—	`grep -C 3 "<text>" <file>`	Show 3 lines either side of match
—	`grep -w "<word>" <file>`	Match whole words only
—	`grep -x "<line>" <file>`	Match entire lines only
—	`grep -P "<regex>" <file>`	Use Perl-compatible regex
—	`grep -o "<text>" <file>`	Print only the matched part
—	`grep -e "<p1>" -e "<p2>" <file>`	Multiple patterns in one command
—	`grep --include="*.php" -r "<t>" .`	Recurse only in matching file types
—	`grep -z "<text>" <file>`	Handle null-delimited input (e.g. find -print0)
`where /r . <name>`	`find` or `-name "<name>" 2>` or `dev` or `null`	Find a file anywhere on the system

System info

Windows	Linux	What it does
`systeminfo`	`uname -a` or `hostnamectl`	Show system information
`ver`	`uname -r`	Show OS / kernel version
`hostname`	`hostname`	Show computer name
`whoami`	`whoami`	Show current user
`echo %USERNAME%`	`echo $USER`	Print current username
`echo %PATH%`	`echo $PATH`	Print the PATH variable
`set`	`env` or `printenv`	List all environment variables
`set VAR=value`	`export VAR=value`	Set an environment variable
`tasklist`	`ps aux`	List running processes
`taskkill /PID <n> /F`	`kill -9 <PID>`	Force-kill a process by PID
`wmic cpu get name`	`lscpu`	Show CPU info
`wmic memorychip get`	`free -h`	Show memory info
`wmic diskdrive get`	`lsblk` or `df -h`	Show disk info

Networking

Windows	Linux	What it does
`ipconfig`	`ip addr` or `ifconfig`	Show network interfaces and IP addresses
`ipconfig /all`	`ip addr show`	Show full network details
`ipconfig /flushdns`	`sudo systemd-resolve --flush-caches`	Flush DNS cache
`ping <host>`	`ping <host>`	Ping a host
`tracert <host>`	`traceroute <host>`	Trace route to a host
`nslookup <host>`	`dig <host>` or `nslookup`	DNS lookup
`netstat -an`	`ss -tuln` or `netstat -tuln`	Show open ports and connections
`curl <url>`	`curl <url>`	Fetch a URL (curl available on both)

Packages & software

Windows	Linux	What it does
`winget install <pkg>`	`sudo apt install <pkg>`	Install a package (Debian/Ubuntu)
`winget install <pkg>`	`sudo dnf install <pkg>`	Install a package (Fedora/RHEL)
`winget install <pkg>`	`sudo pacman -S <pkg>`	Install a package (Arch)
`winget uninstall <pkg>`	`sudo apt remove <pkg>`	Remove a package
`winget upgrade --all`	`sudo apt upgrade`	Upgrade all packages
`winget list`	`apt list --installed`	List installed packages
`winget search <term>`	`apt search <term>`	Search available packages
—	`sudo apt update`	Refresh package list (run before install)

Permissions & users

Windows	Linux	What it does
`runas /user:Administrator`	`sudo <command>`	Run a command as administrator/root
`net user`	`cat` or `etc` or `passwd` or `getent passwd`	List user accounts
`net user <name> <pass> /add`	`sudo adduser <name>`	Add a new user
`net user <name> /delete`	`sudo deluser <name>`	Delete a user
`icacls <file>`	`ls -l <file>`	View file permissions
`icacls <file> /grant`	`chmod <perms> <file>`	Change file permissions
`takeown /f <file>`	`sudo chown <user> <file>`	Change file owner

Disk & storage

Windows	Linux	What it does
`chkdsk`	`fsck`	Check filesystem for errors
`format <drive>`	`mkfs.<type> <device>`	Format a drive
`diskpart`	`fdisk` or `parted` or `gparted`	Partition management
`df`	`df -h`	Show disk space usage
—	`du -sh <folder>`	Show folder size
`compact /c`	`gzip` or `tar`	Compress files

Text & output

Windows	Linux	What it does
`echo <text>`	`echo <text>`	Print text to screen
`cls`	`clear`	Clear the terminal
`<cmd> > file.txt`	`<cmd> > file.txt`	Redirect output to a file
`<cmd> >> file.txt`	`<cmd> >> file.txt`	Append output to a file
`<cmd1> \| <cmd2>`	`<cmd1> \| <cmd2>`	Pipe output to another command
`notepad <file>`	`nano <file>` or `vim <file>`	Edit a text file

Shutdown & power

Windows	Linux	What it does
`shutdown /s /t 0`	`sudo shutdown now` or `sudo poweroff`	Shut down immediately
`shutdown /r /t 0`	`sudo reboot`	Restart immediately
`shutdown /l`	`logout` or `exit`	Log out current user
—	`sudo suspend`	Suspend / sleep the system

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