Bash cheatsheet - Bash shortcuts you have to master

Bash cheatsheet

In this article I will present what are in my opinion the most useful and worth learning BASH shortcuts. Learning this bash cheatsheet can substantially make you more productive and work faster with the terminal.
This is not intended to be a full list of all possible BASH shortcuts, and if you need it you better check the bash documentation.

You can also download a printer-friendly BASH cheat sheet PDF that you can print and keep on your desk. You will find a link to it at the end of the article.

Command Editing Shortcuts

ShortcutDescription
Ctrl + ago to the start of the command line
Ctrl + ego to the end of the command line
Ctrl + kdelete from cursor to the end of the command line
Ctrl + udelete from cursor to the start of the command line
Ctrl + wdelete from cursor to start of word (i.e. delete backwards one word)
Ctrl + ypaste word or text that was cut using one of the deletion shortcuts (such as the one above) after the cursor
Ctrl + xxmove between start of command line and current cursor position (and back again)
Alt + bmove backward one word (or go to start of word the cursor is currently on)
Alt + fmove forward one word (or go to end of word the cursor is currently on)
Alt + ddelete to end of word starting at cursor (whole word if cursor is at the beginning of word)
Alt + ccapitalize to end of word starting at cursor (whole word if cursor is at the beginning of word)
Alt + umake uppercase from cursor to end of word
Alt + lmake lowercase from cursor to end of word
Alt + tswap current word with previous
Ctrl + fmove forward one character
Ctrl + bmove backward one character
Ctrl + ddelete character under the cursor
Ctrl + hdelete character before the cursor
Ctrl + tswap character under cursor with the previous one

Command Control Shortcuts

ShortcutDescription
Ctrl + lclear the screen
Ctrl + sstops the output to the screen (for long running verbose command)
Ctrl + qallow output to the screen (if previously stopped using command above)
Ctrl + cterminate the command
Ctrl + zsuspend/stop the command

Command Recall Shortcuts

ShortcutDescription
Ctrl + rsearch the history backwards
Ctrl + gescape from history searching mode
Ctrl + pprevious command in history (i.e. walk back through the command history)
Ctrl + nnext command in history (i.e. walk forward through the command history)
Alt + .use the last word of the previous command

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