List of Unix commands
List

List of Unix commands

Section Title: List
Table Section Text: None

Name	Category	Status (Option code)	Description	First appeared

admin	SCCS	Optional (XSI)	Create and administer SCCS files	PWB UNIX

alias	Misc	Mandatory	Define or display aliases

ar	Misc	Mandatory	Create and maintain library archives	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

asa	Text processing	Optional (FR)	Interpret carriage-control characters	System V

at	Process management	Mandatory	Execute commands at a later time	Version 7 AT&T UNIX

awk	Text processing	Mandatory	Pattern scanning and processing language	Version 7 AT&T UNIX

basename	Filesystem	Mandatory	Return non-directory portion of a pathname; see also dirname	Version 7 AT&T UNIX

batch	Process management	Mandatory	Schedule commands to be executed in a batch queue

bc	Misc	Mandatory	Arbitrary-precision arithmetic language	Version 6 AT&T UNIX

bg	Process management	Optional (UP)	Run jobs in the background

cc/c99	C programming	Optional (CD)	Compile standard C programs	IEEE Std 1003.1-2001

cal	Misc	Optional (XSI)	Print a calendar	Version 5 AT&T UNIX

cat	Filesystem	Mandatory	Concatenate and print files	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

cd	Filesystem	Mandatory	Change the working directory	Version 6 AT&T UNIX

cflow	C programming	Optional (XSI)	Generate a C-language call graph	System V

chgrp	Filesystem	Mandatory	Change the file group ownership	PWB UNIX

chmod	Filesystem	Mandatory	Change the file modes/attributes/permissions	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

chown	Filesystem	Mandatory	Change the file ownership	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

cksum	Filesystem	Mandatory	Write file checksums and sizes	4.4BSD

cmp	Filesystem	Mandatory	Compare two files; see also diff	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

comm	Text processing	Mandatory	Select or reject lines common to two files	Version 4 AT&T UNIX

command	Shell programming	Mandatory	Execute a simple command

compress	Filesystem	Optional (XSI)	Compress data	4.3BSD

cp	Filesystem	Mandatory	Copy files	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

crontab	Misc	Mandatory	Schedule periodic background work	System V

csplit	Text processing	Mandatory	Split files based on context	PWB UNIX

ctags	C programming	Optional (SD)	Create a tags file	3BSD

cut	Text processing	Mandatory	Cut out selected fields of each line of a file	System III

cxref	C programming	Optional (XSI)	Generate a C-language program cross-reference table	System V

date	Misc	Mandatory	Display the date and time	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

dd	Filesystem	Mandatory	Convert and copy a file	Version 5 AT&T UNIX

delta	SCCS	Optional (XSI)	Make a delta (change) to an SCCS file	PWB UNIX

df	Filesystem	Mandatory	Report free disk space	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

diff	Text processing	Mandatory	Compare two files; see also cmp	Version 5 AT&T UNIX

dirname	Filesystem	Mandatory	Return the directory portion of a pathname; see also basename	System III

du	Filesystem	Mandatory	Estimate file space usage	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

echo	Shell programming	Mandatory	Write arguments to standard output	Version 2 AT&T UNIX

ed	Text processing	Mandatory	The standard text editor	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

env	Misc	Mandatory	Set the environment for command invocation	System III

ex	Text processing	Optional (XSI)	Text editor	1BSD

expand	Text processing	Mandatory	Convert tabs to spaces	3BSD

expr	Shell programming	Mandatory	Evaluate arguments as an expression	Version 7 AT&T UNIX

false	Shell programming	Mandatory	Return false value	Version 7 AT&T UNIX

fc	Misc	Optional (UP)	Process the command history list

fg	Process management	Optional (UP)	Run jobs in the foreground

file	Filesystem	Mandatory	Determine file type	Version 4 AT&T UNIX

find	Filesystem	Mandatory	Find files	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

fold	Text processing	Mandatory	Filter for folding lines	1BSD

fort77	FORTRAN77 programming	Obsolescent (FD)	FORTRAN compiler	XPG4

fuser	Process management	Optional (XSI)	List process IDs of all processes that have one or more files open	System V

gencat	Misc	Mandatory	Generate a formatted message catalog

get	SCCS	Optional (XSI)	Get a version of an SCCS file	PWB UNIX

getconf	Misc	Mandatory	Get configuration values

getopts	Shell programming	Mandatory	Parse utility options

grep	Misc	Mandatory	Search text for a pattern	Version 4 AT&T UNIX

hash	Misc	Mandatory	hash database access method

head	Text processing	Mandatory	Copy the first part of files	PWB UNIX

iconv	Text processing	Mandatory	Codeset conversion	HP-UX

id	Misc	Mandatory	Return user identity	System V

ipcrm	Misc	Optional (XSI)	Remove a message queue, semaphore set, or shared memory segment identifier	System V

ipcs	Misc	Optional (XSI)	Report interprocess communication facilities status	System V

jobs	Process management	Optional (UP)	Display status of jobs in the current session

join	Text processing	Mandatory	Merges two sorted text files based on the presence of a common field	Version 7 AT&T UNIX

kill	Process management	Mandatory	Terminate or signal processes	Version 4 AT&T UNIX

lex	C programming	Optional (CD)	Generate programs for lexical tasks	Version 7 AT&T UNIX

link	Filesystem	Optional (XSI)	Create a hard link to a file	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

ln	Filesystem	Mandatory	Link files	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

locale	Misc	Mandatory	Get locale-specific information

localedef	Misc	Mandatory	Define locale environment

logger	Shell programming	Mandatory	Log messages	4.3BSD

logname	Misc	Mandatory	Return the user's login name	4.4BSD

lp	Text processing	Mandatory	Send files to a printer	System V

ls	Filesystem	Mandatory	List directory contents	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

m4	Misc	Mandatory	Macro processor	PWB UNIX

mailx	Misc	Mandatory	Process messages	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

make	Programming	Optional (SD)	Maintain, update, and regenerate groups of programs	PWB UNIX

man	Misc	Mandatory	Display system documentation	Version 2 AT&T UNIX

mesg	Misc	Mandatory	Permit or deny messages	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

mkdir	Filesystem	Mandatory	Make directories	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

mkfifo	Filesystem	Mandatory	Make FIFO special files	4.4BSD[dubious – discuss]

more	Text processing	Optional (UP)	Display files on a page-by-page basis	3BSD

mv	Filesystem	Mandatory	Move or rename files	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

newgrp	Misc	Mandatory	Change to a new group (functionaliy similar to sg)	Version 6 AT&T UNIX

nice	Process management	Mandatory	Invoke a utility with an altered nice value	Version 4 AT&T UNIX

nl	Text processing	Optional (XSI)	Line numbering filter	System III

nm	C programming	Optional (SD, XSI)	Write the name list of an object file	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

nohup	Process management	Mandatory	Invoke a utility immune to hangups	Version 4 AT&T UNIX

od	Misc	Mandatory	Dump files in various formats	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

paste	Text processing	Mandatory	Merge corresponding or subsequent lines of files	Version 32V AT&T UNIX

patch	Text processing	Mandatory	Apply changes to files	4.3BSD

pathchk	Filesystem	Mandatory	Check pathnames

pax	Misc	Mandatory	Portable archive interchange	4.4BSD

pr	Text processing	Mandatory	Print files	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

printf	Shell programming	Mandatory	Write formatted output	4.3BSD-Reno

prs	SCCS	Optional (XSI)	Print an SCCS file	PWB UNIX

ps	Process management	Mandatory	Report process status	Version 4 AT&T UNIX

pwd	Filesystem	Mandatory	present working directory - Return working directory name	Version 5 AT&T UNIX

qalter	Batch utilities	Obsolescent (BE)	Alter batch job

qdel	Batch utilities	Obsolescent (BE)	Delete batch jobs

qhold	Batch utilities	Obsolescent (BE)	Hold batch jobs

qmove	Batch utilities	Obsolescent (BE)	Move batch jobs

qmsg	Batch utilities	Obsolescent (BE)	Send message to batch jobs

qrerun	Batch utilities	Obsolescent (BE)	Rerun batch jobs

qrls	Batch utilities	Obsolescent (BE)	Release batch jobs

qselect	Batch utilities	Obsolescent (BE)	Select batch jobs

qsig	Batch utilities	Obsolescent (BE)	Signal batch jobs

qstat	Batch utilities	Obsolescent (BE)	Show status of batch jobs

qsub	Batch utilities	Obsolescent (BE)	Submit a script

read	Shell programming	Mandatory	Read a line from standard input

renice	Process management	Mandatory	Set nice values of running processes	4BSD

rm	Filesystem	Mandatory	Remove directory entries	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

rmdel	SCCS	Optional (XSI)	Remove a delta from an SCCS file	PWB UNIX

rmdir	Filesystem	Mandatory	Remove directories, if they are empty.	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

sact	SCCS	Optional (XSI)	Print current SCCS file-editing activity	System III

sccs	SCCS	Optional (XSI)	Front end for the SCCS subsystem	4.3BSD

sed	Text processing	Mandatory	Stream editor	Version 7 AT&T UNIX

sh	Shell programming	Mandatory	Shell, the standard command language interpreter	Version 7 AT&T UNIX (in earlier versions, sh was either the Thompson shell or the PWB shell)

sleep	Shell programming	Mandatory	Suspend execution for an interval	Version 4 AT&T UNIX

sort	Text processing	Mandatory	Sort, merge, or sequence check text files	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

split	Misc	Mandatory	Split files into pieces	Version 3 AT&T UNIX

strings	C programming	Mandatory	Find printable strings in files	2BSD

strip	C programming	Optional (SD)	Remove unnecessary information from executable files	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

stty	Misc	Mandatory	Set the options for a terminal	Version 2 AT&T UNIX

tabs	Misc	Mandatory	Set terminal tabs	PWB UNIX

tail	Text processing	Mandatory	Copy the last part of a file	PWB UNIX

talk	Misc	Optional (UP)	Talk to another user	4.2BSD

tee	Shell programming	Mandatory	Duplicate the standard output	Version 5 AT&T UNIX

test	Shell programming	Mandatory	Evaluate expression	Version 7 AT&T UNIX

time	Process management	Mandatory	Time a simple command	Version 3 AT&T UNIX

touch	Filesystem	Mandatory	Change file access and modification times	Version 7 AT&T UNIX

tput	Misc	Mandatory	Change terminal characteristics	System V

tr	Text processing	Mandatory	Translate characters	Version 4 AT&T UNIX

true	Shell programming	Mandatory	Return true value	Version 7 AT&T UNIX

tsort	Text processing	Mandatory	Topological sort	Version 7 AT&T UNIX

tty	Misc	Mandatory	Return user's terminal name	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

type	Misc	Optional (XSI)	Displays how a name would be interpreted if used as a command

ulimit	Misc	Optional (XSI)	Set or report file size limit

umask	Misc	Mandatory	Get or set the file mode creation mask	System III

unalias	Misc	Mandatory	Remove alias definitions

uname	Misc	Mandatory	Return system name	PWB UNIX

uncompress	Misc	Optional (XSI)	Expand compressed data	4.3BSD

unexpand	Text processing	Mandatory	Convert spaces to tabs	3BSD

unget	SCCS	Optional (XSI)	Undo a previous get of an SCCS file	System III

uniq	Text processing	Mandatory	Report or filter out repeated lines in a file	Version 3 AT&T UNIX

unlink	Filesystem	Optional (XSI)	Call the unlink function	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

uucp	Network	Optional (UU)	System-to-system copy	Version 7 AT&T UNIX

uudecode	Network	Mandatory	Decode a binary file	4BSD

uuencode	Network	Mandatory	Encode a binary file	4BSD

uustat	Network	Optional (UU)	uucp status inquiry and job control	System III

uux	Process management	Optional (UU)	Remote command execution	Version 7 AT&T UNIX

val	SCCS	Optional (XSI)	Validate SCCS files	System III

vi	Text processing	Optional (UP)	Screen-oriented (visual) display editor	1BSD

wait	Process management	Mandatory	Await process completion	Version 4 AT&T UNIX

wc	Text processing	Mandatory	Line, word and byte or character count	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

what	SCCS	Optional (XSI)	Identify SCCS files	PWB UNIX

who	System administration	Mandatory	Display who is on the system	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

write	Misc	Mandatory	Write to another user's terminal	Version 1 AT&T UNIX

xargs	Shell programming	Mandatory	Construct argument lists and invoke utility	PWB UNIX

yacc	C programming	Optional (CD)	Yet another compiler compiler	PWB UNIX

zcat	Text processing	Optional (XSI)	Expand and concatenate data	4.3BSD

Sentence(s)

Nice is used to invoke a utility of the process.

final_sentence: Nice is used to invoke a utility of the process.