2.2.3Lesson 2.2.3: Options and help

The idea

A command has three parts:

$ ls -a projects

• ls: the command, what to do.
• -a: an option, how to do it.
• projects: the argument, what to do it with.

Options and the argument are optional. Without an argument, the command works in the folder you're in.

Options change

Here Linux and Windows part ways:

• Linux: one letter with one dash (-a) or a word with two (--all).
• Windows: a word with one dash (-Force).

An example: seeing hidden files, like the .git folder you'll meet in Git.

$ ls -a

.  ..  .bash_history  .bashrc  .profile  projects

PS> ls -Force

    Directory: C:\Users\ana

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
d--h--        10/20/2026      9:02                AppData
d-----        10/22/2026     10:15                projects

The h in d--h-- marks what's hidden. In PowerShell, ls -a is an error.

Help

Every command comes with its help:

• Linux: man ls opens the manual. Arrows to move, q to quit. Shorter: ls --help.
• Windows: help ls.

In PowerShell, ls is a nickname for Get-ChildItem. The help says so, and that's the name you'll find online.

Keys that save you

On Linux, Ctrl + C doesn't copy: it stops the command.

Try it

$ cd ~
$ ls -a
$ man ls

PS> cd ~
PS> ls -Force
PS> help ls

Summary

• A command: name, options and argument.
• Options: -a or --all on Linux; -Force on Windows.
• Help: man or --help on Linux, help on Windows.
• Ctrl + C stops what's running. Copy and paste differ between the two.