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commandlinefu.com is the place to record those command-line gems that you return to again and again. That way others can gain from your CLI wisdom and you from theirs too. All commands can be commented on, discussed and voted up or down.

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List the Sizes of Folders and Directories

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allow multiword translations

escape any command aliases
e.g. if rm is aliased for 'rm -i', you can escape the alias by prepending a backslash: rm [file] # WILL prompt for confirmation per the alias \rm [file] # will NOT prompt for confirmation per the default behavior of the command

Analyze awk fields
Breaks down and numbers each line and it's fields. This is really useful when you are going to parse something with awk but aren't sure exactly where to start.

resolving basic authentication problem(401) with wget
I have a server with a php requiring basic authentication, like this:

Create a CD/DVD ISO image from disk.

Find usb device in realtime
Using this command you can track a moment when usb device was attached.

Backup file, create dir and set perms in one shot
Prior to working on/modifying a file, use the 'install -m' command which can both copy files, create directories, and set their permissions at the same time. Useful when you are working in the public_html folder and need to keep the cp'd file hidden.

Extract a remote tarball in the current directory without having to save it locally

Create a new file


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