Lniux/Windows commands

cd

Change the current directory

dir

List directory contents

ipconfig

Displays the current IP configuration (IP address, subnet mask, default gateway) for all network adapters on the local machine — the basic "what's my network config" command

ipconfig /all

Expands on plain ipconfig — shows full details including MAC address, DNS servers, DHCP server, lease times, and adapter descriptions, not just the summary view

ipconfig /release

Releases the current DHCP-assigned IP address, leaving the adapter with no IP until renewed — used when troubleshooting a bad DHCP lease

ipconfig /renew

Requests a new IP address from the DHCP server — typically run right after /release to force a fresh address, fixing IP conflicts or stale leases

ipconfig /flushdns

Clears the local DNS resolver cache, forcing the system to look up hostnames fresh instead of using stored (possibly outdated) results — useful when a site's DNS record changed but the machine keeps resolving the old address

ping

Sends ICMP echo request packets to a target host to test basic connectivity and measure response time — the first troubleshooting step to confirm a device is reachable

ping -t

Pings continuously until manually stopped (Ctrl+C) — useful for watching a connection over time to spot intermittent drops

netstat

Displays active TCP/UDP connections and listening ports on the local machine — helps identify what's connected to your system or what services are listening

netstat -a

Shows all connections and listening ports, including ones not actively established

nslookup

Queries a DNS server directly to resolve a hostname to an IP address (or vice versa) — used to troubleshoot DNS resolution problems specifically, separate from general connectivity

tracert

Traces the full path (hop by hop) packets take to reach a destination, showing each router along the way and its response time — helps pinpoint where along a route a delay or failure occurs

pathping

Combines ping and tracert — sends multiple pings to each hop along the route and reports packet loss percentage per hop, giving a more detailed picture of where problems are occurring than tracert alone

net use

Maps or manages network drives/shared resources

net user

Displays or manages local user accounts

hostname

Displays the computer's network name

whoami

Displays the currently logged-in user

winver

Displays the Windows version installed

[command] /?

Displays help/usage information for any command

chkdsk

Check a disk for file system errors and bad sectors

chkdsk /f

Fixes file system errors found on the volume

chkdsk /r

Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information

diskpart

Command-line disk partitioning utility (create/delete/format partitions and volumes)

format

Applies a filesystem to a drive/partition

md

Creates a new directory

rmdir

Removes a directory

robocopy

Robust directory copy tool; preserves permissions, supports resume, and can mirror/sync two locations

xcopy

Legacy directory copy tool; copies subdirectories but doesn't preserve permissions or support resuming

sfc

Scan and repair corrupted protected system files

sfc /scannow

Runs System File Checker's full scan-and-repair pass on protected system files

DISM

Repairs the underlying Windows system image, often used alongside sfc when sfc alone can't fix corruption

gpupdate

Force a refresh of Group Policy settings

gpupdate /force

Forces a full refresh of all Group Policy settings, whether changed or not

gpresult

Display applied Group Policy settings

gpresult /r

Displays a summary of Resultant Set of Policy for a user/computer

bootrec /fixmbr

Repairs a corrupted master boot record

bootrec /fixboot

Writes a new boot sector when BOOTMGR is missing/corrupt

bootrec /rebuildbcd

Rebuilds the Boot Configuration Data store, scanning for installed Windows OSes

tasklist

Displays currently running processes

taskkill

Terminates a running process by name or PID

shutdown

Shut down, restart, or log off a system from the command line

shutdown /r

Restarts the system

shutdown /s

Shuts down the system

ls

List directory contents

pwd

Print the current working directory

mv

Move or rename files/directories

cp

Copy files or directories

rm

Delete files or directories

chmod

Change file/directory permissions

chown

Change the owner of a file/directory

grep

Search text for matching patterns

find

Search for files/directories matching criteria

fsck

Check and repair a Linux filesystem

mount

Attach a filesystem to the directory tree

su

Switch to another user account

sudo

Execute a command with elevated (superuser) privileges

apt

Package manager for Debian/Ubuntu-based distributions

dnf

Package manager for Red Hat-based distributions

ip

Display/configure network interfaces

curl

Transfer data to/from a server via URL

dig

Query DNS servers for domain information

traceroute

Trace the network path to a destination

man

Display the manual/help page for a command

cat

Display the contents of a file

top

Show live, real-time system resource usage

ps

Display currently running processes

du

Show disk usage of files/directories

df

Show available disk space on filesystems

Drive (iCloud Drive)

Apple's cloud file storage and sync service

Gestures (macOS)

Trackpad/multitouch gesture controls for navigation

Finder

macOS's default file manager

Dock

macOS's app-launching and window-management bar

Continuity

Apple feature enabling seamless handoff of tasks between Apple devices

Disk Utility

macOS tool for managing, formatting, and repairing disks

FileVault

macOS full-disk encryption feature

Terminal (macOS)

Command-line interface for macOS

Force Quit

macOS feature to forcibly close an unresponsive application

ls

Lists directory contents (Linux)

pwd

Prints the current working directory (Linux)

mv

Moves or renames files/directories (Linux)

cp

Copies files or directories (Linux)

rm

Deletes files or directories (Linux)

chmod

Changes file/directory permissions (Linux)

chown

Changes the owner of a file/directory (Linux)

grep

Searches text for matching patterns (Linux)

find

Searches for files/directories matching criteria (Linux)

fsck

Checks and repairs a Linux filesystem

mount

Attaches a filesystem to the directory tree (Linux)

su

Switches to another user account (Linux)

sudo

Executes a command with elevated (superuser) privileges (Linux)

apt

Package manager for Debian/Ubuntu-based Linux distributions

dnf

Package manager for Red Hat-based Linux distributions

ip

Displays/configures network interfaces (Linux)

curl

Transfers data to/from a server via URL (Linux)

dig

Queries DNS servers for domain information (Linux)

traceroute

Traces the network path to a destination (Linux)

man

Displays the manual/help page for a command (Linux)

cat

Displays the contents of a file (Linux)

top

Shows live, real-time system resource usage (Linux)