Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    Basic SSH Commands, Most used putty commands

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Off-Topic & Non-Support Discussion
    4 Posts 4 Posters 8.3k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • J
      JohnnieGaines
      last edited by JohnnieGaines

      1. How to find out where you are, the pwd command shows you present working directory.
        pwd

      2. Change directory
        cd

      The cd command is used to navigate into a specified directory on your server.

      Example: cd /home (moves you into the home folder)

      1. The same directory

      cd .
      Using this command you will remain in the same directory you were.

      1. Move me up one directory

      cd ..
      Above command will navigate two steps back from current directory

      1. Go to the previous directory

      cd –
      Above command will navigate to the previous directory.

      1. Go to Home folder

      cd ~
      Above command will navigate to the home directory on your server.

      1. Go to root

      cd /
      Above command will navigate to root.

      How to List Directories and Contents
      8) List files

      ls
      usage: ls [option] [file]
      Using the ls command in a folder will display all it’s content.

      Example: ls /home.

      Will return all content of the folder /home.

      1. Show me all files in a directory

      ls -a
      10) Show contents with file size

      ls -h
      If you wish to see a directory’s contents with file sizes just type ls -h

      1. How to see sub-directories recursively

      ls -r
      The ls -r command is used to see sub-directories recursively.

      1. How to see files by file size

      ls -is
      13) List all folders in directory with details

      ls -alh
      How to Copy files/folders with Putty Commands
      14) Copying a file

      cp
      To copy a file just use the cp ssh command.

      Example:

      cp filename.php /home/filename.php

      1. Copy a folder with all files

      cp -r
      This one is used to copy the entire folder with all it’s contents.

      1. Copy and rename

      cp filename.php /home/filename2.php
      How to Move files to different locations
      17) Moving a file

      mv
      Example: mv page.php /home/page.php

      1. Move and rename

      mv page.php /home/newpage.php
      19) Move file up one directory

      mv filename ..
      example: mv index.html/ ..

      How to Create files/folders using Putty Commands
      20) Create a folder

      mkdir

      example: mkdir new-folder

      1. Create a file

      touch
      Use the touch command to create different files and file extensions

      Example: touch index.php

      How to Compress/Uncompress files?
      22) Compressing folders

      zip -r foldername.zip foldername
      Example: zip -r newfolder.zip newfolder

      1. uncompressing folders

      unzip
      Example: unzip newfolder.zip

      1. Compressing folders using tar -czvf

      tar -czvf foldername.tar.gz foldername
      Example: tar -czvf wp-content.tar.gz wp-content

      1. uncompressing folders using tar -czvf

      tar -xvf foldername.tar.gz
      Example: tar -xvf wp-content.tar.gz

      How to Delete/Remove files?
      26) Delete a file

      rm
      To delete a file on your server just use the rm command.

      Example: rm index.php

      1. Delete all files from a directory

      rm *
      This command is used to delete all contents from a directory.

      Example: rm * foldername

      1. Delete a folder/directory

      rmdir
      Use this command to remove directories.

      How to change File permissions?
      29) Change file permissions

      chmod
      Example: chmod 775 newfolder

      1. Change permissions of folder and all files inside

      chmod 755 folder name -R
      Thanks for reading our article and we will keep updating the same articles with more useful commands in coming days. Keep checking this space for more Putty commands.

      https://www.puttygen.com/putty-commands

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • JKnottJ
        JKnott
        last edited by

        PuTTY commands? PuTTY is a terminal emulator. All the commands I see listed are shell commands. I often issue Linux shell commands, as well as BSD with pfSense. I do not normally use PuTTY and, as far as I've seen, it's not available for LInux, which is my desktop OS.

        PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
        i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
        UniFi AC-Lite access point

        I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • stephenw10S
          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
          last edited by

          PuTTY is available for Linux. I use it for serial connections all the time. Obviously little point in using it for SSH there except maybe login storage. There are better options for that though.
          But, yes, these are shell commands, there is nothing PuTTY specific about them. They are not SSH commands either. 🙄

          Steve

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • johnpozJ
            johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
            last edited by johnpoz

            For what possible reason does a someone post such a thing in their first post??

            Ah - its spam.. who removed the link that was in the original post? I see it in the revision history..

            An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
            If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
            Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
            SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.7.2, 24.11

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • First post
              Last post
            Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.