For grown-ups and teens who want their first commands on one page

Your first commands on one page: a PowerShell cheat sheet

This PowerShell cheat sheet puts the terminal commands from the DayOneCode course on one printable page, with what each does, an example, the lesson that teaches it and, for most, a Try button.

Quick answer

Find your way: pwd says where you are, dir looks around, cd walks in and cd .. walks back.
Change things: mkdir, ni, copy, move, ren and rm cover most everyday jobs.
Rehearse with -WhatIf first: a file deleted with rm in PowerShell skips the Recycle Bin.
Short names such as ls, cat and rm are aliases that PowerShell sets up on Windows only.

The tables below hold every terminal command in the course’s Command Book, grouped by the job it does. Press Try to drop a command onto the practice terminal underneath: a pretend Windows PowerShell with a pretend disk, so your real files are never touched.

Press Try to put a command on the practice terminal below, then press Enter.

Moving around
Command	What it does	Example	Learn it
`pwd`also Get-Location	Says which folder the terminal is standing in: the working directory.	`pwd`	Lesson 8
`dir`also ls, Get-ChildItem	Lists what is in a folder. A d at the start of a line means a folder.	`dir`	Lesson 5
`ls`also dir	The same as dir. Add a folder name to peek inside without moving.	`ls images`	Lesson 9
`cd`also Set-Location	Walks into a folder. cd .. walks up one folder, cd ~ jumps home.	`cd Documents`	Lesson 5
`cd ~`	Jumps straight home, to C:\Users\you, from anywhere.	`cd ~`	Lesson 10

Making and reading files
Command	What it does	Example	Learn it
`mkdir`also md	Makes a new folder. Use a dash, not a space, in the name.	`mkdir games`	Lesson 11
`ni`also New-Item	Makes a new, empty file.	`ni ideas.txt`	Lesson 11
`echo`also Write-Output	Says words back. With > it writes them into a file; >> adds a line at the end.	`echo "Feed the fish" > fish.txt`	Lesson 12
`cat`also type, Get-Content	Shows what is inside a file.	`cat fish.txt`	Lesson 12
`cls`also clear	Clears the screen. Your files stay safe.	`cls`	Lesson 13

Copy, move, rename and delete
Command	What it does	Example	Learn it
`copy`also cp, Copy-Item	Makes a twin of a file. The second name is the twin, or a folder to put it in.	`copy notes.txt notes-backup.txt`	Lesson 16
`move`also mv, Move-Item	Takes a file on a trip into another folder. It leaves where it was.	`move notes.txt backups`	Lesson 16
`ren`also Rename-Item	Gives a file a new name in the same folder.	`ren list.txt shopping.txt`	Lesson 16
`rm`also del, Remove-Item	Deletes for good: the terminal has no recycle bin. Look with dir first.	`rm junk\old-1.txt`	Lesson 17
`-WhatIf`	A parameter: says what a command would do, and does nothing.	`rm notes.txt -WhatIf`	Lesson 18

Help and programs
Command	What it does	Example	Learn it
`help`also Get-Help	Shows a command and the parts it takes.	`help copy`	Lesson 18
`Get-Alias`also gal	Says which real command a nickname (an alias) runs.	`Get-Alias ls`	Lesson 19
`python`also py	Runs a Python program: a .py file full of steps.	`python hello.py`	Lesson 22

Key tricks
Command	What it does	Example	Learn it
`Tab`	Finishes a file or folder name for you. Type the start, then press Tab.	`cd Doc`	Lesson 13
`↑`	Brings back the last command, ready to run again.	`↑`	Lesson 13
`Ctrl+C`	The emergency stop: cancels the line, or stops a program that runs forever.	`Ctrl+C`	Lesson 13

Git save pointsStart with git init: the other Git commands need a Git project, so try them in order (init, status, add, commit, log).
Command	What it does	Example	Learn it
`git init`	Makes this folder a Git project (a repository), with a hidden .git folder for its save points.	`git init`	Lesson 52
`git status`	Says what changed: new files, changed files, and what is picked to save.	`git status`	Lesson 52
`git add`	Picks files for the next save point. A dot picks everything here.	`git add .`	Lesson 53
`git commit -m`	Makes a save point of the picked files, with a note saying what changed.	`git commit -m "Add my ideas"`	Lesson 53
`git log`also --oneline	Shows the save points, newest first.	`git log --oneline`	Lesson 53
`git diff`	Shows what changed since the last save, line by line: red out, green in.	`git diff`	Lesson 54
`git restore`	Undoes the changes to a file since the last save point.	`git restore index.html`	Lesson 54
`git checkout`	Visits an old save point. git switch main brings you back.	`git checkout HEAD~2`	Lesson 54
`git switch`also -c	Goes to a branch. With -c it makes a new branch first.	`git switch -c dark-mode`	Lesson 55
`git merge`	Brings a branch's save points into the branch you are on.	`git merge dark-mode`	Lesson 55
`git push`also git remote add	Sends your save points to GitHub (on the practice computer, a pretend one).	`git push -u origin main`	Lesson 56
`.gitignore`	A list of files Git must skip, like secrets and keys. On a real computer, make it in a text editor saved as UTF-8: Windows PowerShell 5.1's > writes a kind of text Git cannot read.	`echo secrets.txt > .gitignore`	Lesson 57

⌨️ Practice terminal: try any command from the sheet

Try:

Side by side: PowerShell, CMD and Mac

Windows offers PowerShell and Command Prompt (CMD), and a Mac or Linux terminal speaks a third dialect. Here are twelve everyday jobs in all three, so a command from a book or a forum can be matched to the window in front of you.

One warning: the PowerShell short names, such as ls, cat and rm, are set up on Windows only. In PowerShell on a Mac or Linux, ls runs the computer’s own ls program instead.

Job	PowerShell (Windows)	CMD	Mac or Linux
Where am I?	`pwd`	`cd` on its own	`pwd`
List what is here	`dir` or `ls`	`dir`	`ls`
Walk into a folder, then out	`cd images`, `cd ..`	`cd images`, `cd ..`	`cd images`, `cd ..`
Make a folder	`mkdir club`	`md club`	`mkdir club`
Make an empty file	`ni ideas.txt`	`type nul >> ideas.txt`	`touch ideas.txt`
Show what a file says	`cat story.txt` or `type story.txt`	`type story.txt`	`cat story.txt`
Copy a file	`copy story.txt story-2.txt`	`copy story.txt story-2.txt`	`cp story.txt story-2.txt`
Move a file into a folder	`move story.txt club`	`move story.txt club`	`mv story.txt club`
Rename a file	`ren todo.txt jobs.txt`	`ren todo.txt jobs.txt`	`mv todo.txt jobs.txt`
Delete a file	`rm old.txt` or `del old.txt`	`del old.txt`	`rm old.txt`
Clear the screen	`cls` or `clear`	`cls`	`clear`
Get help on a command	`Get-Help Copy-Item`	`help copy`	`man cp`

PowerShell or CMD: which one am I in? · Lesson 19: Dialects: PowerShell, CMD, Mac

Key tricks: Tab, the Up arrow and Ctrl+C

Tab, the Up and Down arrows and Ctrl+C also work in the practice terminal; Shift+Tab and Ctrl+R need a real PowerShell window.

Tab finishes a name you have started: enter cd im, press Tab, and it becomes cd .\images\. Press it again for the next match, or Shift+Tab to step back.
The Up arrow brings back your last command, to run again or mend. Press it again for older ones; the Down arrow comes forward.
Ctrl+R searches your history: press it, then enter a few letters of an earlier command.
Ctrl+C is the emergency stop: it interrupts a command that keeps waiting and cancels a half-written line (selected text gets copied instead). In a Mac’s Terminal, Apple gives Control-C the same stopping job.

Lesson 13: Speed tricks · Lesson 21: Stop signs

Safe habits before you press Enter

Look first: pwd names your folder and dir shows what is in it. A path is a home address, so check the street before you deliver.
Rehearse with -WhatIf at the end of a command. PowerShell reports what would happen and changes nothing, so rm notes.txt -WhatIf leaves notes.txt where it was.
Treat delete as final. In PowerShell, rm, del and Remove-Item are one command, and what it removes skips the Recycle Bin. Copy precious files somewhere safe first.
Mind the second name when copying: copy (Copy-Item) replaces a file of that name without asking.
Stay in an ordinary window, since nothing here needs Run as administrator, and skip any command you cannot explain, whoever suggested it.

Lesson 17: Delete carefully · Lesson 18: Commands have parts

Save points with Git: the first five commands

Git keeps save points for a project folder, so you can look back at earlier versions of your work. In the practice terminal, these five in order make your first save point, with nothing to install. The sheet above also lists the next steps: git diff, git restore, branches and git push.

Command	What it does
`git init`	Turns this folder into a new Git repository
`git status`	Shows what you are in the middle of doing
`git add .`	Picks everything under this folder for the next save point
`git commit -m "First save"`	Makes the save point, with a note saying what changed
`git log`	Shows what happened: the save points and their notes

Lesson 52: Why save points? · Lesson 53: Your first commit

Printing the sheet, or saving it as a PDF

Press Print the cheat sheet, above the tables. The paper copy keeps every group of commands and leaves out the Try buttons and the practice terminal; the rest of this page, side-by-side table included, prints after it. For a file instead of paper, look for Save as PDF in your browser’s print window.

How to read a row of the sheet

Each row gives the command, any other names it answers to in small print, what it does in a sentence or two, an example and the lesson that teaches it. On a narrow screen such as a phone, the example and lesson columns fold away.

Rows come in six groups, from moving around to Git save points. Keys, and a few Git commands that need earlier steps first, have no Try button. It all runs in your browser, free, with no account.

Open the full practice terminal · Race the commands in Command Racer · PowerShell for beginners

Questions and answers

What are the basic PowerShell commands?

A dozen cover most beginner work: pwd (Get-Location), dir (Get-ChildItem), cd (Set-Location), mkdir, ni (New-Item), cat (Get-Content), copy (Copy-Item), move (Move-Item), ren (Rename-Item), rm (Remove-Item), cls (Clear-Host) and Get-Help. The short names are aliases for the full names in brackets.

Is there a PowerShell cheat sheet PDF?

This page turns into one. Press Print the cheat sheet, then choose Save as PDF in your browser’s print window if it offers that. You get the whole sheet, each command with its meaning and lesson, minus the buttons, and can print a fresh copy whenever the course adds a command.

How do I see a list of PowerShell aliases?

Run Get-Alias to list the aliases in your PowerShell session. For one command’s nicknames, give its full name: on Windows, Get-Alias -Definition Get-ChildItem shows dir, gci and ls. To learn what one nickname runs, name it, as in Get-Alias ls, which works in the practice terminal too.

What is the difference between rm and del in PowerShell?

On Windows, none. Both are aliases for Remove-Item, along with erase, ri, rd and rmdir. Whichever name you use, the file skips the Recycle Bin, so look with dir first and rehearse with -WhatIf, which reports what would be deleted and deletes nothing.

How do I stop a command in PowerShell?

Press Ctrl+C. It interrupts a command that keeps running, such as one waiting for a file to change. On a half-written line it cancels the line, which stays on screen unrun, and gives you a fresh prompt. With text selected, Ctrl+C copies it instead, so clear the selection first.

Sources

The facts on this page were checked against these pages (14 November 2026):

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