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#filesystem (17)

Cheat sheets (17)

mdfind — Spotlight Search From the Terminal

Query macOS's Spotlight index from the shell — fast name, content, and metadata search across the whole filesystem, with scope, attributes, and live-update modes.
mdfind macos search cli spotlight filesystem web-researched

xattr — Extended Attributes on macOS

Deep-dive on macOS extended attributes — listing, reading, writing, and removing xattrs with xattr(1); the Gatekeeper com.apple.quarantine flag; Spotlight metadata attributes; ACLs via ls -le and chmod +a; preserving attributes on copy with cp -p and rsync -X.
xattr macos cli filesystem security gatekeeper quarantine acl metadata web-researched

attrib — File Attribute Manager

View and modify Windows file attributes (hidden, read-only, system, archive) from the command line. Covers all attribute flags, recursive operations, and practical recipes for unhiding malware-hidden files and managing backups.
attrib windows cli filesystem scripting web-researched

cd — Change Directory

Navigate the Windows command prompt's current working directory. Covers drive switching, absolute and relative paths, UNC paths, and path-with-spaces quoting.
cd windows cli filesystem scripting web-researched

copy — Copy Files

Copy one or more files to a new location in the Windows command prompt. Covers single-file copy, wildcard batches, file concatenation, and binary vs ASCII modes.
copy windows cli filesystem scripting web-researched

del — Delete Files

Delete one or more files from the Windows command prompt. Covers wildcards, quiet mode, attribute overrides, recursive deletion patterns, and the distinction from rmdir.
del windows cli filesystem scripting web-researched

dir — List Directory Contents

Display files and folders in a directory with filtering, sorting, formatting, and recursive traversal options. The Windows cmd.exe equivalent of Unix ls.
dir windows cli filesystem scripting web-researched

mkdir / md — Make Directory

Create one or more directories from the Windows command prompt. Covers single and nested directory creation, batch patterns, and common scripting idioms.
mkdir windows cli filesystem scripting web-researched

move — Move and Rename Files

Move files to a new location or rename them within the Windows command prompt. Covers single files, wildcards, directory renames, overwrite control, and cross-drive behaviour.
move windows cli filesystem scripting web-researched

rmdir / rd — Remove Directory

Delete empty or entire directory trees from the Windows command prompt. Covers the /S and /Q flags, force-removing read-only trees, and safe deletion patterns.
rmdir windows cli filesystem scripting web-researched

robocopy — Robust File Copy

Production-grade file and directory synchronisation with mirroring, multi-threading, retry logic, logging, and exclusion filters. The go-to for backup scripts and deployment pipelines on Windows.
robocopy windows cli filesystem scripting backup sync web-researched

xcopy — Extended Copy

Copy files and directory trees with attribute preservation, date filtering, exclusion lists, and verification. The step between copy and robocopy for most scripting needs.
xcopy windows cli filesystem scripting backup web-researched

node:fs — File System

Node.js file system module — the three APIs (callback, sync, promises), reading and writing files, directory operations, watchers, atomic writes, and path module pairing.
javascript node filesystem fs language

df, du & duf — Disk Usage

Check filesystem free space (df), measure directory sizes (du), and view a colourful disk overview (duf). Covers all key flags, human-readable output, modern alternatives (dust, gdu, ncdu), and common sysadmin recipes.
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Filesystems — Inodes, Links, Journaling, ext4/XFS/Btrfs/ZFS/APFS/NTFS

Core filesystem concepts every operator should know: inodes, directory structure, hard vs symbolic links, journaling, copy-on-write, and a head-to-head of ext4, XFS, Btrfs, ZFS, APFS, and NTFS with mount options and pitfalls.
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pathlib — Object-Oriented File Paths

Work with filesystem paths using Python's built-in pathlib module. Covers Path creation, navigation, reading/writing files, glob patterns, and stat.
python pathlib files filesystem stdlib paths

find — File Search

POSIX file finder with powerful expression-based filters for name, type, size, time, permissions, and ownership. Covers exec actions, pruning, and real-world recipes.
find files search cli posix filesystem