Command Cheatsheet

Utilities

Searchable terminal commands for Git, Node, Python, Docker, mobile and more.

892 commands in 42 sections · 554 hidden in collapsed sections · <placeholders> need replacing before you run a command

Git: everyday

Git & GitHub25

git status
Show changed, staged and untracked files
git add -p
Stage changes hunk by hunk, interactively
git commit -m "<message>"
Commit staged changes with a message
git diff
Show unstaged changes
git diff --staged
Show what is about to be committed
git diff main...HEAD
Show everything changed since the branch left main
git diff --stat
Summarise changes per file
git pull --rebase
Pull without creating a merge commit

Git: undo & fix

Git & GitHub21

git restore <file>destructive
Discard unstaged changes in a file
git restore --staged <file>
Unstage a file but keep the changes
git commit --amend --no-edit
Add staged changes to the last commit
git commit --amend -m "<message>"
Rewrite the last commit message
git reset --soft HEAD~1
Undo the last commit, keep its changes staged
git reset HEAD~1
Undo the last commit, keep its changes unstaged
git reset --hard HEADdestructive
Throw away every uncommitted change
git reset --hard origin/maindestructive
Make the branch exactly match the remote

Git: branches & history

Git & GitHub34

git log --oneline --graph --all
Compact commit tree across every branch
git log -p <file>
Full change history of one file
git log -S "<text>"
Find commits that added or removed some text
git log --author="<name>" --since="2 weeks ago"
Filter history by author and date
git show <sha>
Show one commit's message and diff
git blame -L 10,20 <file>
Who last changed lines 10 to 20
git bisect start
Binary-search commits to find the one that broke something
git shortlog -sn
Contributors ranked by commit count

Git: config

Git & GitHub14

git config --global user.name "<name>"
Set your commit author name
git config --global user.email "<email>"
Set your commit author email
git config --global init.defaultBranch main
Use main for new repositories
git config --global pull.rebase true
Rebase instead of merge on every pull
git config --global push.autoSetupRemote true
First push creates the upstream automatically
git config --global rerere.enabled true
Remember how you resolved a conflict and reuse it
git config --global core.editor "code --wait"
Use VS Code for commit messages and rebases
git config --global alias.st status
Create a shortcut: git st

GitHub CLI (gh)

Git & GitHub31

gh auth login
Sign in to GitHub from the terminal
gh auth status
Show which account and scopes are active
gh repo create <name> --private --source=. --push
Create a GitHub repo from the current folder and push it
gh repo clone <owner/repo>
Clone a repository
gh repo fork --clone
Fork the current repo and clone your fork
gh browse
Open the current repo in the browser
gh pr create --fill
Open a PR using your commit messages as title and body
gh pr create --draft
Open a draft PR

Files & search

Shell & OS39

ls -lah
List files with sizes, permissions and hidden files
tree -L 2 -I node_modules
Folder tree two levels deep, skipping node_modules
grep -rn "<text>" .
Search text in every file, with line numbers
rg "<text>"
Same search, much faster, respects .gitignore (ripgrep)
rg -l "<text>" -g "*.ts"
Only list TypeScript files that contain the text
find . -name "*.log"
Find files by name pattern
find . -type f -size +100M
Find files larger than 100 MB
find . -name "node_modules" -type d -prune -exec rm -rf {} +destructive
Delete every node_modules folder below here

Processes & ports

Shell & OS19

lsof -i :<port>
Which process is using a port
lsof -ti :<port> | xargs kill -9destructive
Kill whatever is using a port
lsof -iTCP -sTCP:LISTEN -n -PmacOS
Every port that is listening
ss -tulpnLinux
Every listening port and its process
netstat -ano | findstr :<port>Windows
Which PID is using a port
taskkill /PID <pid> /FWindowsdestructive
Force-stop a process
npx kill-port <port>
Free a port on any OS
kill <pid>
Ask a process to stop

Networking & SSH

Shell & OS30

curl -I <url>
Fetch only the response headers
curl -L <url>
Follow redirects
curl -sS <url> | jq
Fetch JSON and pretty-print it
curl -X POST <url> -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"a":1}'
Send a JSON POST request
curl -o /dev/null -s -w "%{http_code} %{time_total}s\n" <url>
Only the status code and total time
curl -o <file> <url>
Download a file
ping <host>
Is the host reachable, and how fast
dig <domain>
DNS lookup

Shell tricks

Shell & OS26

Ctrl+R
Search your command history as you type
!!
Repeat the last command; sudo !! reruns it as root
cd -
Go back to the previous folder
Ctrl+A / Ctrl+E
Jump to the start / end of the line
Ctrl+U / Ctrl+K
Delete to the start / end of the line
Ctrl+L
Clear the screen
<cmd1> && <cmd2>
Run the second command only if the first succeeds
<cmd1> || <cmd2>
Run the second command only if the first fails

macOS & Homebrew

macOSShell & OS23

brew install <formula>
Install a command-line tool
brew install --cask <app>
Install a desktop app
brew upgrade
Upgrade everything installed with Homebrew
brew cleanup
Delete old versions and free disk space
brew services start <service>
Run a service such as postgresql or redis in the background
brew doctor
Diagnose Homebrew problems
xcode-select --install
Install the Command Line Tools (git, make, clang)
open .
Open the current folder in Finder

Text & data processing

Shell & OS21

awk '{print $1}' <file>
Print the first column of each line
awk -F, '{sum += $3} END {print sum}' <file>.csv
Sum a CSV column
cut -d, -f1,3 <file>.csv
Pick columns 1 and 3
sed -n '10,20p' <file>
Print lines 10 to 20
grep -v "<text>" <file>
Lines that do not match
grep -c "<text>" <file>
Count matching lines
grep -E "error|warn" <file>
Lines matching any of several patterns
cat <file> | xargs -n1 <command>
Run a command once per input line

Linux server

LinuxShell & OS17

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
Update package lists and upgrade everything
sudo apt install <pkg>
Install a package
cat /etc/os-release
Distribution and version
free -h
Memory and swap usage
lsblk
Disks and partitions
whoami && id
Current user and their groups
sudo -u <user> <command>
Run a command as another user
sudo adduser <user>
Create a user

Windows PowerShell

WindowsShell & OS17

Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter *.log
Find files by name (like find)
Select-String -Path *.ts -Pattern "<text>"
Search inside files (like grep)
Get-Content <file> -Tail 50 -Wait
Follow a log file (like tail -f)
Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort <port>
Which process is using a port
Get-Process <name>
Find running processes
Stop-Process -Name <name> -Forcedestructive
Kill processes by name
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force node_modulesdestructive
Delete a folder (like rm -rf)
$env:NODE_ENV = "production"
Set an environment variable for this session

VS Code & editors

Shell & OS10

code -r .
Open a folder in the current VS Code window
code -g <file>:<line>
Open a file at a specific line
code --diff <a> <b>
Compare two files side by side
code --install-extension <publisher.extension>
Install an extension
code --list-extensions > extensions.txt
Save your extension list
code --disable-extensions
Start without extensions to rule them out
cursor .
Open a folder in Cursor
export EDITOR="code --wait"
Editor used by git, crontab and other tools
:wq :q!
Vim: save and quit / quit without saving
nano <file>
Simple terminal editor (Ctrl+O saves, Ctrl+X exits)

Node.js

JavaScript21

node --watch <file>.js
Restart on file changes, no nodemon needed
node --env-file=.env <file>.js
Load a .env file without dotenv
node --run <script>
Run a package.json script faster than npm run (Node 22+)
node <file>.ts
Run TypeScript directly via type stripping (Node 22.18+ / 23.6+)
node --inspect <file>.js
Debug in Chrome DevTools at chrome://inspect
node --inspect-brk <file>.js
Same, but pause on the first line
node --test
Run tests with the built-in test runner
node --max-old-space-size=4096 <file>.js
Give Node 4 GB of heap

npm

JavaScript32

npm init -y
Create a package.json with defaults
npm ci
Clean install exactly from the lockfile (use in CI)
npm i <pkg>
Install a dependency
npm i -D <pkg>
Install a dev dependency
npm i <pkg>@latest
Upgrade one package to its latest version
npm uninstall <pkg>
Remove a dependency
npm run
List every script in package.json
npm run dev -- --port 4000
Pass extra arguments through to a script

pnpm, Yarn & Bun

JavaScript22

corepack enable
Use the pnpm or Yarn version pinned in package.json
pnpm i
Install dependencies (fast, disk-efficient)
pnpm add <pkg>
Add a dependency (-D for dev)
pnpm up -i --latest
Pick packages to upgrade interactively
pnpm dlx <pkg>
Run a package without installing it (like npx)
pnpm -r run build
Run a script in every workspace package
pnpm --filter <pkg> dev
Run a script in one workspace package
pnpm why <pkg>
Why a package is installed

TypeScript, ESLint & Prettier

JavaScript20

npx tsc --noEmit
Type-check without writing files
npx tsc --noEmit --watch
Type-check on every save
npx tsc --init
Create a tsconfig.json
npx tsc --showConfig
The final tsconfig after extends are applied
npx tsx <file>.ts
Run a TypeScript file directly
npx tsx watch <file>.ts
Run it and restart on changes
npm init @eslint/config@latest
Set up ESLint
npx eslint .
Lint the project

JS testing

JavaScript22

npx vitest
Run tests in watch mode
npx vitest run --coverage
Run once with a coverage report
npx vitest -t "<name>"
Only tests whose name matches
npx vitest related <file>
Only tests that import a given file
npx vitest -u
Update snapshots
npx jest --watch
Jest in watch mode
npx jest -t "<name>"
Only Jest tests whose name matches
npx jest --coverage
Jest coverage report

Next.js

Frameworks21

npx create-next-app@latest <name>
Create a new Next.js app
next dev
Dev server; Turbopack is the default from v16
next dev -p 4000
Dev server on another port
next dev -H 0.0.0.0
Reachable from your phone on the same network
next dev --experimental-https
Local HTTPS with a self-signed certificate
next build
Production build
next build --webpack
Build with webpack instead of Turbopack
next build --debug
Build output that also lists rewrites, redirects and headers

React & Vite

Frameworks13

npm create vite@latest
New React, Vue or Svelte app on Vite
npx vite
Vite dev server
npx vite --host
Dev server reachable on your network
npx vite build
Production build
npx vite preview
Serve the production build locally
npx shadcn@latest init
Set up shadcn/ui
npx shadcn@latest add <component>
Add a shadcn/ui component
npx storybook@latest init
Set up Storybook

Svelte & SvelteKit

Frameworks21

npx sv create <name>
New SvelteKit or Svelte project
npm run dev -- --open
Dev server and open the browser
npm run dev -- --host
Dev server reachable on your network
npm run build
Production build
npm run preview
Serve the production build locally
npx sv add
Pick integrations to add
npx sv add tailwindcss
Add Tailwind CSS
npx sv add eslint prettier
Add linting and formatting

Python

Python17

python3 --version
Python version
python -m <module>
Run a module with this exact interpreter (safer than a bare tool name)
python -i <file>.py
Run a script, then stay in the REPL with its variables
python -c "print(1 + 1)"
Run a one-line script
python -m http.server 8000
Serve the current folder over HTTP
python -m json.tool <file>.json
Pretty-print JSON
python -m pdb <file>.py
Run under the debugger
python -m cProfile -s time <file>.py
Which functions are slow

Python: env & packages

Python29

python -m venv .venv
Create a virtual environment
source .venv/bin/activate
Activate it on macOS or Linux
.venv\Scripts\activateWindows
Activate the virtual environment
deactivate
Leave the virtual environment
python -m pip install <pkg>
Install into the active interpreter, never the wrong one
pip install -r requirements.txt
Install from a requirements file
pip install -e .
Install your own project in editable mode
pip freeze > requirements.txt
Pin current versions to a file

Python: lint & test

Python18

ruff check .
Lint very quickly
ruff check . --fix
Lint and fix
ruff format .
Format (Black-compatible)
black .
Format with Black
mypy .
Type-check your Python code
pyright
Faster type checker, the engine behind Pylance
pre-commit install
Run hooks before every commit
pre-commit run --all-files
Run every hook on the whole repo

Django

Python18

django-admin startproject <name> .
New project in the current folder
python manage.py startapp <app>
New app folder with models, views and admin
python manage.py runserver
Dev server on port 8000
python manage.py makemigrations
Create migrations from model changes
python manage.py migrate
Apply migrations
python manage.py showmigrations
Which migrations are applied
python manage.py sqlmigrate <app> <number>
SQL a migration will run
python manage.py createsuperuser
Create an admin user

FastAPI, Flask & Alembic

Python13

fastapi dev main.py
FastAPI dev server with reload; docs at /docs
fastapi run main.py
FastAPI in production mode
uvicorn main:app --reload
Any ASGI app with auto-reload
uvicorn main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 --workers 4
Production-style Uvicorn
flask --app app run --debug
Flask with debugger and reload
flask --app app routes
List every Flask route
gunicorn app:app -w 4 -b 0.0.0.0:8000
Production server for Flask or Django (WSGI)
gunicorn main:app -k uvicorn.workers.UvicornWorker -w 4
Gunicorn managing Uvicorn workers for FastAPI

Go

More languages14

go mod init <module>
Start a new module
go run .
Build and run the package in this folder
go build -o bin/app .
Build a binary into bin/app
GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64 go build -o bin/app .
Cross-compile for Linux servers
go test ./...
Run tests in every package
go test -run <TestName> -v ./...
Run matching tests with output
go test -race ./...
Run tests with the race detector
go test -cover ./...
Test coverage per package

Rust & Cargo

More languages16

rustup update
Update the Rust toolchain
cargo new <name>
New binary project with Cargo.toml and src/main.rs
cargo run
Build and run the project (debug build)
cargo check
Type-check quickly without producing a binary
cargo build --release
Optimised build in target/release
cargo test
Run unit, integration and doc tests
cargo test <name> -- --nocapture
Run matching tests and show println! output
cargo add <crate>
Add a dependency

Java, Maven & Gradle

More languages13

java -version
Installed Java version
jshell
Interactive Java shell
sdk install java
Install the default JDK with SDKMAN! (sdk list java shows other versions)
export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v 17)macOS
Switch the active JDK
mvn clean install
Build, test and install to the local repository
mvn test -Dtest=<Class>
Run one test class
mvn dependency:tree
Maven dependency tree; find version conflicts
./mvnw spring-boot:run
Run a Spring Boot app with the Maven wrapper

.NET

More languages12

dotnet new list
Available project templates
dotnet new webapi -n <name>
New Web API project
dotnet run
Build and run the project in this folder
dotnet watch
Run with hot reload
dotnet build
Compile the project or solution
dotnet test
Run tests in the solution
dotnet add package <package>
Add a NuGet package
dotnet restore
Restore dependencies

PHP, Composer & Laravel

More languages12

php -S localhost:8000
Built-in development server
composer install
Install from composer.lock
composer require <vendor/package>
Add a dependency
composer update
Update dependencies
composer dump-autoload
Rebuild the autoloader after adding classes
php artisan serve
Laravel dev server
php artisan migrate
Apply migrations
php artisan migrate:fresh --seeddestructive
Drop every table, migrate and seed

React Native & Expo

Mobile23

npx @react-native-community/cli init <name>
New bare React Native project
npx create-expo-app@latest <name>
New Expo project
npx react-native start --reset-cache
Metro with a cleared cache
npx react-native run-android
Build and launch on Android
npx react-native run-ios --simulator="iPhone 16"
Build and launch on a specific simulator
npx react-native doctor
Check your environment and fix problems
npx react-native info
Environment details for bug reports
npx expo start -c
Expo dev server with a cleared cache

Android, adb & Gradle

Mobile24

adb devices
Connected devices and emulators
adb reverse tcp:8081 tcp:8081
Let a USB device reach Metro on your machine
adb logcat *:E
Only error logs
adb logcat | grep ReactNativeJS
Only JavaScript logs from a React Native app
adb shell input keyevent 82
Open the React Native dev menu
adb install -r <file>.apk
Install or reinstall an APK
adb uninstall <package>
Uninstall an app
adb shell am start -W -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "<url>"
Test a deep link

iOS, Xcode & CocoaPods

macOSMobile17

cd ios && pod install
Install native iOS dependencies
cd ios && pod install --repo-update
Same, with fresh pod specs
cd ios && rm -rf Pods Podfile.lock && pod install
Reinstall pods from scratch
xcrun simctl list devices
Available simulators
xcrun simctl openurl booted "<url>"
Test a deep link on the running simulator
xcrun simctl io booted screenshot screen.png
Screenshot the simulator
xcrun simctl erase alldestructive
Reset every simulator
rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData
Clear Xcode's build cache

Docker

Infra & Data27

docker ps -a
All containers, including stopped ones
docker images
Local images
docker build -t <name> .
Build an image from the Dockerfile here
docker run --rm -p 3000:3000 <image>
Run an image, map a port, remove it on exit
docker run --rm -it <image> sh
Poke around inside an image
docker exec -it <container> sh
Shell into a running container
docker logs -f <container>
Follow a container's logs
docker stats
Live CPU and memory per container

Kubernetes

Infra & Data27

kubectl config get-contexts
Clusters you can talk to
kubectl config use-context <context>
Switch to another cluster
kubectl get pods -A
Pods in every namespace
kubectl get all -n <namespace>
Everything in a namespace
kubectl describe pod <pod>
Pod details and events; start here when debugging
kubectl logs -f <pod>
Follow a pod's logs
kubectl logs <pod> --previous
Logs from the crashed container before the restart
kubectl exec -it <pod> -- sh
Shell into a pod

Databases

Infra & Data29

psql -h <host> -U <user> -d <db>
Connect to Postgres
\dt \d <table> \l \q
psql: list tables, describe a table, list databases, quit
pg_dump <db> > backup.sql
Back up a Postgres database
psql <db> < backup.sql
Restore a Postgres backup
createdb <db>
Create a Postgres database
dropdb <db>destructive
Delete a Postgres database
mysql -u root -p
Connect to MySQL
mysqldump -u <user> -p <db> > backup.sql
Back up a MySQL database

Deploy & hosting

Infra & Data21

vercel
Deploy a preview to Vercel
vercel --prod
Deploy to production
vercel env pull
Download env variables to .env.local
vercel logs <url>
Logs for a deployment
netlify deploy --prod
Deploy to Netlify
npx wrangler deploy
Deploy to Cloudflare Workers
npx wrangler dev
Run a Worker locally
firebase deploy
Deploy to Firebase

Security & auditing

Infra & Data13

openssl rand -hex 32
Random 256-bit secret
openssl rand -base64 32
Random secret in Base64
npx gitleaks detect
Find secrets committed to the repo
npm audit --omit=dev
Vulnerabilities in production dependencies only
pip-audit
Vulnerabilities in Python dependencies
docker scout cves <image>
Vulnerabilities in a Docker image
npx lighthouse <url> --view
Performance, accessibility and SEO audit
shasum -a 256 <file>
SHA-256 checksum of a file

AWS, cloud CLIs & Terraform

Infra & Data20

aws configure
Set up access keys and a default region
aws sso login --profile <profile>
Sign in with AWS SSO
export AWS_PROFILE=<profile>
Use a profile for this shell
aws sts get-caller-identity
Which account and role you are actually using
aws s3 ls s3://<bucket>
List a bucket
aws s3 cp <file> s3://<bucket>/
Upload a file
aws s3 sync ./dist s3://<bucket> --deletedestructive
Mirror a folder to a bucket, deleting extra files
aws logs tail <log-group> --follow
Follow CloudWatch logs

Common fixes

Troubleshooting30

rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json && npm i
Fixes most dependency install problems: a clean reinstall
npm i --legacy-peer-deps
Fixes ERESOLVE unable to resolve dependency tree
sudo chown -R $(whoami) ~/.npm
Fixes EACCES permission errors from npm
export NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=4096
Fixes JavaScript heap out of memory during builds
ulimit -n 65536
Fixes EMFILE: too many open files (Metro, Jest, watchers)
lsof -ti :<port> | xargs kill -9destructive
Fixes EADDRINUSE: address already in use
git rm -r --cached . && git add .
Fixes .gitignore not ignoring files that were already committed
git pull --rebase
Fixes push rejected because the remote contains work you don't have