I thought I'd start a thread on what some of the commands mean people are typing when rooted and see if there was any interest in this. I searched but did not find a similar thread but if there is let me know. I'll also include some other commands you can try out that you may not have used, especially if you are not familar with Linux or Unix.

These are typed in the terminal emulator, available for free from the market place as Android Terminal Emulator. Once downloaded it shows as Terminal Emulator in your app drawer.

Don't just randomly try commands. Some delete things so know what you are doing.
  • chmod - give/take rights away from files. The numbers you see in the how-to's is a little complicated. It has to do with the rights you are assigning the file or folder. http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/Chmod for further reading.
  • cat - look at, modify, or combine a file. You can also copy files with this command by "reading" it to another file instead of to the screen.
  • cd - change from one directory to another
  • cp - Copy a file from one location to another
  • dd - copies exact locations to other locations. Can be an entire drive, a folder, etc. dd if=<file directory> of=<other directory>. uses an input file and an output file.
  • exit - exits the shell you are in. When you type su you start up a shell.
  • ls - lists all files with in a directory try ls - l too.
  • mv - Move a file from one location to another. At the same time you can rename a file.
  • su - Substitute User. We type this to switch to the root user. You need to type this command first to do a lot of the other commands.
  • tar - creates taped archives. Compresses files like winzip, 7zip, winrar and others tar /? for details.
  • rm - followed by a file name with delete the file
  • sync - synchronizes any data on disk with data in memory. We type this before rebooting to ensure we've got all data written
Other commands of interest:

  • df - how much free disk space. In linux you can add a switch "df -h" but the "-h" does nothing for me on Android.
  • top - like task manager, it displays running processes. in Linux the q key quits. On Android I don't know how to make it quit other than closing the app.
  • uptime - displays how long it has been since you last rebooted the system. Interestingly enough the "Menu Key > System > About Phone > Status > Up time" on my phone does not match "uptime" typed in the terminal emulator.

  • busybox - a tool that combines many linux commands into a single compact file. Typing this displays all the commands at your disposal.
    • busybox df - a much easier to read display of free diskspace. This display shows how full (use%) each file system is.
      • Search the internet for what some of the other busybox commands do by just searching for something like "linux df".