Command Reference

Complete reference for all built-in commands available in gosh

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Table of Contents

Built-in Commands

exit [code]

Exit the shell with optional exit code.

exit          # Exit with code 0
exit 1        # Exit with code 1

cd [dir]

Change directory. Defaults to home directory if no argument provided.

cd            # Change to home directory
cd /path/to/dir  # Change to specific directory
cd ..         # Change to parent directory

pwd

Print the current working directory.

pwd

echo [args...]

Print arguments to standard output.

echo "Hello World"
echo $MY_VAR
echo "Multiple" "arguments"

env

Show all environment variables.

env

export VAR=value

Set an environment variable that will be available to child processes.

export MY_VAR="Hello"
export PATH="$PATH:/new/path"

local VAR=value

Set a local variable that exists only within the current shell session (not exported to child processes).

local TEMP_VAR="temporary value"
local COUNT=42
local RESULT="$(date +%Y%m%d)"

unset VAR

Unset (remove) an environment variable.

unset MY_VAR

alias name=command

Create a command alias.

alias ll="ls -la"
alias grep="grep --color=auto"

unalias name

Remove an alias.

unalias ll

history

Show command history.

history

which cmd

Show the path to a command.

which ls
which python

help

Show help information.

help

functions

List all defined functions.

functions

type name

Show the definition of a function or command type.

type my_function
type ls

Cross-Platform File Operations

Gosh supports both Unix-style and Windows-style commands for file operations, making it easy to work across different platforms.

ls / dir - List Directory Contents

List files and directories. Both Unix (ls) and Windows (dir) style commands are supported.

# Unix style
ls
ls -l          # Long format
ls -la         # Long format with hidden files
ls -lh         # Long format with human-readable sizes

# Windows style  
dir
dir -l         # Long format
dir -la        # Long format with hidden files
dir -lh        # Long format with human-readable sizes

cat / type - Display File Contents

Display the contents of files. Both Unix (cat) and Windows (type) style commands work.

# Unix style
cat file.txt
cat file1.txt file2.txt    # Multiple files

# Windows style
type file.txt
type file1.txt file2.txt   # Multiple files

cp / copy - Copy Files

Copy files and directories. Supports both Unix and Windows syntax.

# Unix style
cp source.txt dest.txt
cp -r source_dir dest_dir  # Recursive copy

# Windows style
copy source.txt dest.txt
copy -r source_dir dest_dir

mv / move - Move/Rename Files

Move or rename files and directories.

# Unix style
mv oldname.txt newname.txt
mv file.txt /new/location/

# Windows style
move oldname.txt newname.txt
move file.txt /new/location/

rm / del - Remove Files

Delete files and directories.

# Unix style
rm file.txt
rm -r directory/           # Recursive removal
rm -rf directory/          # Force recursive removal

# Windows style
del file.txt
del -r directory/          # Recursive removal
del -rf directory/         # Force recursive removal

mkdir / md - Create Directories

Create new directories.

# Unix style
mkdir new_directory
mkdir -p path/to/nested/dir  # Create parent directories

# Windows style
md new_directory
md -p path/to/nested/dir     # Create parent directories

rmdir / rd - Remove Directories

Remove empty directories.

# Unix style
rmdir empty_directory

# Windows style
rd empty_directory

clear / cls - Clear Screen

Clear the terminal screen.

# Unix style
clear

# Windows style
cls

Command Features

Command Chaining

Execute multiple commands sequentially with ;:

cmd1; cmd2; cmd3
ls; pwd; echo "Done"

Unix Pipes

Connect commands with | to chain operations:

cmd1 | cmd2
ls | grep ".go" | wc -l

Input/Output Redirection

# Input redirection
cat < input.txt
sort < unsorted.txt

# Output redirection
echo "Hello" > output.txt
ls -la > file_list.txt

# Append to file
echo "World" >> output.txt
date >> log.txt

Background Execution

Run commands in background with &:

sleep 10 &
long_running_process &

Quote Handling

Support for single and double quotes:

echo "Hello World"
echo 'Single quotes'
echo "Variable: $HOME"

Comment Support

Lines starting with # are treated as comments in scripts:

# This is a comment
echo "This is not a comment"

Variable Expansion

Expand environment variables with $VAR and ${VAR} syntax:

echo $HOME
echo ${HOME}/Documents
echo "Path: $PATH"

Command Substitution

Execute commands and use their output with $(command) and `command`:

echo "Current directory: $(pwd)"
echo "Today is $(date +%Y-%m-%d)"
echo "Files: `ls | wc -l`"

Tilde Expansion

Expand ~ to home directory and user paths with cross-platform path separator support:

# Unix-style paths (work everywhere)
ls ~/Documents
cp file.txt ~/backup/
cd ~user/projects

# Windows-style paths (work on Windows)
ls ~\Documents
cp file.txt ~\backup\
cd ~user\projects

Glob Patterns

Use wildcards for filename matching:

# Match all .go files
ls *.go

# Match single character
rm temp_file_?.txt

# Character classes
echo [Hh]ello*
ls [abc]*

Functions

Define and use custom functions with positional parameters:

# Define a function
greet() {
    echo "Hello, $1!"
    echo "You passed $# arguments"
}

# Call the function
greet "World"
greet "Alice" "Bob" "Charlie"

# List functions
functions

# Show function definition
type greet

Examples

Cross-Platform File Operations

# List files (both styles work)
ls -la
dir -l

# Display file contents
cat README.md
type README.md

# Copy files
cp source.txt backup.txt
copy source.txt backup.txt

# Create and navigate directories
mkdir project
cd project
ls

Basic Operations

# Navigate and list files
cd /usr/local
ls -la
pwd

# Work with files
echo "Hello" > greeting.txt
cat greeting.txt
cp greeting.txt backup.txt

Pipes and Redirection

# Count Go files
ls | grep ".go" | wc -l

# Find and sort
find . -name "*.txt" | sort > text_files.txt

# Process logs
cat access.log | grep "ERROR" | tail -10

Environment Variables

# Set and use variables
export PROJECT_DIR="/Users/dev/projects"
cd $PROJECT_DIR
echo "Working in: $PROJECT_DIR"

# Modify PATH
export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/bin"
which my_script

Command Substitution

# Use command output
echo "Backup created: backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).tar"
mkdir "project_$(whoami)"
echo "Found $(ls *.go | wc -l) Go files"

Functions

# Define utility functions
backup_file() {
    cp "$1" "$1.backup.$(date +%Y%m%d)"
    echo "Backed up $1"
}

log_message() {
    echo "[$(date '+%H:%M:%S')] $@"
}

# Use functions
backup_file "important.txt"
log_message "Process started"
log_message "Processing" "multiple" "arguments"

Complex Workflows

# Backup and compress
tar -czf "backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz" ~/Documents

# Search and replace
grep -r "old_function" . | cut -d: -f1 | sort | uniq

# System monitoring
ps aux | grep gosh | awk '{print $2, $11}' | head -5