Handy-dandy command line shortcuts!

Cursor

Move the cursor around when typing commands.

• Ctrl + a: Go to the beginning of the line
• Ctrl + e: Go to the end the of the line
• Alt + b: Go back one word
• Alt + f: Go forward one word
• Ctrl + xx: Move between the beginning of the line and the current position of the cursor

Cut Paste

• Ctrl + w: Cut the word before the cursor
• Ctrl + u: Cut the line before the cursor
• Ctrl + k: Cut the line after the cursor
• Ctrl + y: Paste (yank) from the terminal's clipboard
• Alt + .: Recall the last arguments of the previous command

Deleting Text

Delete part of a line of text.

• Alt + d: Delete all characters after the cursor until the next whitespace

Fixing Typos

• Alt + t: Swap the current word with the previous word

History

Command history can be gone through via the ↑↓. In the middle of your history? Use Ctrl + c to get back to the start!

Here are some commands to further explore your bash history:

• Alt + r: Revert command pulled from history to its original form (undo changes to command)
• Ctrl + r: Recall (search) for the last instance of a command
• Enter: Run the searched command
• Ctrl + g: Leave the search without running a command

Processes

Manage running processes

• Ctrl + c: Kill the current running process
• Ctrl + z: Suspends the current running process and moves it to the background
• Use bg to start the process in the background
• Use jobs and fg %<Number> to bring it back to the foreground
• Ctrl + d: Send the EOF (End-Of-File) marker. If in bash, the terminal will exit

Screen

Control the screen

• Ctrl + l: Clear the screen
• Ctrl + s: Stop all output to the screen (nice when there is LOTS of output and you want to look at something now)
• Ctrl + q: Resume output to the screen