File Manipulation

Core Idea

File manipulation means changing directory entries and file content deliberately: copy, move, rename, remove, and inspect before and after.

Operations

• Copy with cp: create another path with the same content.
• Move or rename with mv: change the path that points to the content.
• Remove with rm: remove a directory entry.
• Remove empty directories with rmdir: safer than recursive removal.

Safety Pattern

pwd
ls -la
cp -i source.txt backup.txt
mv -i draft.md final.md
rm -i old.txt

Practice in ~/playground so mistakes are contained.

Watch Out

The path is the thing you are changing. Read the full path before pressing Enter, especially with rm or mv.

Docs Pointers

• Read file, directory, path, and permissions.
• Read cp, mv, rm, and rmdir.