# You Don't Need GUI
[](https://spectrum.chat/you-dont-need/GUI)
It's for noobs :)
Graphical user interfaces are super friendly to computer users. They were introduced in reaction to the perceived steep learning curve of command-line interfaces (CLIs).
However, they often require more resources, are less powerful and hard to automate via scripting.
As a computer expert, we want to be more efficient and do our jobs better. We know that command words may not be easily discoverable or mnemonic, so we try to list some common tasks that you might be tempted to do in GUI.
## Quick links
1. [copy a file](#copy-a-file)
1. [duplicate a file](#duplicate-a-file)
1. [copy a folder](#copy-a-folder)
1. [duplicate a folder](#duplicate-a-folder)
1. [move a file](#move-a-file)
1. [rename a file](#rename-a-file)
1. [move a folder](#move-a-folder)
1. [rename a folder](#rename-a-folder)
1. [merge folders](#merge-folders)
1. [create a new file](#create-a-new-file)
1. [create a new folder](#create-a-new-folder)
1. [show file/folder size](#show-filefolder-size)
1. [show file/folder info](#show-filefolder-info)
1. [open a file with the default program](#open-a-file-with-the-default-program)
1. [zip a folder](#zip-a-folder)
1. [unzip a folder](#unzip-a-folder)
1. [peek files in a zip file](#peek-files-in-a-zip-file)
1. [remove a file](#remove-a-file)
1. [remove a folder](#remove-a-folder)
1. [list folder contents](#list-folder-contents)
1. [tree view a folder and its subfolders](#tree-view-a-folder-and-its-subfolders)
1. [find a stale file](#find-a-stale-file)
1. [show a calendar](#show-a-calendar)
1. [find a future date](#find-a-future-date)
1. [use a calculator](#use-a-calculator)
1. [force quit a program](#force-quit-a-program)
1. [check server response](#check-server-response)
1. [view content of a file](#view-content-of-a-file)
1. [search for a text](#search-for-a-text)
1. [view an image](#view-an-image)
1. [show disk size](#show-disk-size)
1. [check performance of your computer](#check-performance-of-your-computer)
1. [Quick tips](#quick-tips)
1. [Hotkeys](#hotkeys)
1. [I can't remember these cryptic commands](#i-cant-remember-these-cryptic-commands)
## copy a file
**STOP DRAG AND DROPING A FILE, OR CMD/CTRL + C, CMD/CTRL + V A FILE** :-1:
Copy `readme.txt` to the `documents` folder
```shell
cp readme.txt documents/
```
## duplicate a file
**STOP RIGHT CLICKING AND DUPLICATE A FILE** :-1:
```shell
cp readme.txt readme.bak.txt
```
## copy a folder
**STOP DRAG AND DROPING A FOLDER, OR CMD/CTRL + C, CMD/CTRL + V A FOLDER** :-1:
Copy `myMusic` folder to the `myMedia` folder
```shell
cp -a myMusic myMedia/
# or
cp -a myMusic/ myMedia/myMusic/
```
## duplicate a folder
**STOP RIGHT CLICKING AND DUPLICATE A FOLDER** :-1:
```shell
cp -a myMusic/ myMedia/
# or if `myMedia` folder doesn't exist
cp -a myMusic myMedia/
```
## move a file
**STOP DRAG AND DROPING A FILE, OR CMD/CTRL + X, CMD/CTRL + V A FILE** :-1:
```shell
mv readme.txt documents/
```
**Always** use a trailing slash when moving files, [for this reason](http://unix.stackexchange.com/a/50533).
## rename a file
**STOP RIGHT CLICKING AND RENAME A FILE** :-1:
```shell
mv readme.txt README.md
```
## move a folder
**STOP DRAG AND DROPING A FOLDER, OR CMD/CTRL + X, CMD/CTRL + V A FOLDER** :-1:
```shell
mv myMedia myMusic/
# or
mv myMedia/ myMusic/myMedia
```
## rename a folder
**STOP RIGHT CLICKING AND RENAME A FOLDER** :-1:
```shell
mv myMedia/ myMusic/
```
## merge folders
**STOP DRAG AND DROPING TO MERGE FOLDERS** :-1:
```shell
rsync -a /images/ /images2/
```
## create a new file
**STOP RIGHT CLICKING AND CREATE A NEW FILE** :-1:
```shell
touch 'new file' # updates the file's access and modification timestamp if it already exists
# or
> 'new file' # erase the content if it already exists
```
## create a new folder
**STOP RIGHT CLICKING AND CREATE A NEW FOLDER** :-1:
```shell
mkdir 'untitled folder'
# or
mkdir -p 'path/may/not/exist/untitled folder'
```
## show file/folder size
**STOP RIGHT CLICKING AND SHOW FILE/FOLDER INFO** :-1:
```shell
du -sh node_modules/
```
## show file/folder info
**STOP RIGHT CLICKING AND SHOW FILE/FOLDER INFO** :-1:
```shell
stat -x readme.md
```
## open a file with the default program
**STOP DOUBLE CLICKING ON A FILE** :-1:
```shell
xdg-open file # on Linux
open file # on MacOS
```
## zip a folder
**STOP RIGHT CLICKING AND COMPRESS FOLDER** :-1:
```shell
zip -r archive_name.zip folder_to_compress
```
## unzip a folder
**STOP RIGHT CLICKING AND UNCOMPRESS FOLDER** :-1:
```shell
unzip archive_name.zip
```
## peek files in a zip file
**STOP USING WinRAR** :-1:
```shell
zipinfo archive_name.zip
# or
unzip -l archive_name.zip
```
## remove a file
**STOP RIGHT CLICKING AND DELETE A FILE PERMANENTLY** :-1:
```shell
rm my_useless_file
```
IMPORTANT: The rm command deletes my_useless_file permanently, which is equivalent to move my_useless_file to Recycle Bin and hit Empty Recycle Bin.
## remove a folder
**STOP RIGHT CLICKING AND DELETE A FOLDER PERMANENTLY** :-1:
```shell
rm -r my_useless_folder
```
## list folder contents
**STOP OPENING YOUR FINDER OR FILE EXPLORER** :-1:
```shell
ls -la my_folder
```
## tree view a folder and its subfolders
**STOP OPENING YOUR FINDER OR FILE EXPLORER** :-1:
```shell
tree # on Linux
find . -print | sed -e 's;[^/]*/;|____;g;s;____|; |;g' # on MacOS
```
## find a stale file
**STOP USING YOUR FILE EXPLORER TO FIND A FILE** :-1:
Find all files modified more than 5 days ago
```shell
find my_folder -mtime +5
```
## show a calendar
**STOP LOOKING UP WHAT THIS MONTH LOOKS LIKE BY CALENDAR WIDGETS** :-1:
Display a text calendar
```shell
cal
```
Display selected month and year calendar
```shell
cal 11 2018
```
## find a future date
**STOP USING WEBAPPS TO CALCULATE FUTURE DATES** :-1:
What is todays date?
```shell
date +%m/%d/%Y
```
What about a week from now?
```shell
date -d "+7 days" # on Linux
date -j -v+7d # on MacOS
```
## use a calculator
**STOP USING CALCULATOR WIDGET** :-1:
```shell
bc
```
## force quit a program
**STOP CTRL + ALT + DELETE and choose the program to kill** :-1:
```shell
killall program_name
```
## check server response
**STOP OPENING A BROWSER** :-1:
```shell
ping umair.surge.sh
```
## view content of a file
**STOP DOUBLE CLICKING A FILE** :-1:
```shell
cat apps/settings.py
```
## search for a text
**STOP CMD/CTRL + F IN A FOLDER** :-1:
```shell
grep -ir "Query" file.txt
```
## view an image
**STOP USING PREVIEW** :-1:
```shell
imgcat image.png
```
## show disk size
**STOP RIGHT CLICKING DISK ICON OR OPENING DISK UTILITY** :-1:
```shell
df -h
```
## check performance of your computer
**STOP OPENING YOUR ACTIVITY MONITOR OR TASK MANAGER** :-1:
```shell
top
```
## Quick tips
## Hotkeys
```
Ctrl + A Go to the beginning of the line you are currently typing on
Ctrl + E Go to the end of the line you are currently typing on
Ctrl + L Clears the Screen, similar to the clear command
Ctrl + U Clears the line before the cursor position. If you are at the end of the line, clears the entire line.
Ctrl + H Same as backspace
Ctrl + R Let’s you search through previously used commands
Ctrl + C Kill whatever you are running
Ctrl + D Exit the current shell
Ctrl + Z Puts whatever you are running into a suspended background process. fg restores it.
Ctrl + W Delete the word before the cursor
Ctrl + K Clear the line after the cursor
Ctrl + T Swap the last two characters before the cursor
Esc + T Swap the last two words before the cursor
Alt + F Move cursor forward one word on the current line
Alt + B Move cursor backward one word on the current line
Tab Auto-complete files and folder names
```
## I can't remember these cryptic commands
You can always google or `man` the commands you are not familiar with. Or, checkout [tldr](https://github.com/tldr-pages/tldr), a collection of simplified and community-driven man pages.