r/linux4noobs • u/Signal_Care6558 • Jun 25 '26
shells and scripting Calling All DOS Warriors
Like all of you, I grew up on Windows.
But in my day, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 was king.
Yes, I am that old.
The GUI was fun to use, but MS-DOS 6.22 was infinitely faster and once you memorized the command variables you could fly across that keyboard like a true DOS Warrior. I spent all of my time in a full screen command window and only went into the GUI when I had to.
Here is my DOS to Linux alias list that I made and use every day...
Paste the following at the end of your .bashrc file which is located in your home directory.
# --- DOS WARRIOR ALIASES ---
# --- Directory & File Navigation ---
alias dir="ls -laF --color=auto"
alias ..="cd .."
alias ...="cd ../.."
alias ....="cd ../../.."
alias md="mkdir -pv"
alias rd="rmdir -v"
alias pu="pushd"
alias po="popd"
# --- File Operations (Safe & Verbose) ---
# -i = Interactive (ask before overwrite), -v = Verbose (show action)
alias copy="cp -iv"
alias move="mv -iv"
alias ren="mv -iv"
alias del="rm -iv"
alias erase="rm -iv"
# --- New File Actions ---
alias create="touch"
alias display="cat"
alias view="cat"
alias edit="nano"
# --- System & Utilities ---
alias cls="clear"
alias sysinfo="uname -a"
alias mem="free -h"
alias cpu="lscpu"
alias disk="df -h"
alias usage="du -sh *"
alias proc="ps auxf"
alias diffcmd="diff"
# --- ATTRIB Emulation ---
alias attrib="ls -l"
alias attrib+r="chmod -v a-w"
alias attrib-r="chmod -v u+w"
# --- Search & Paging ---
alias search="grep --color=auto"
alias more="less"
# --- Safety & Misc ---
alias del.="echo \"Error: Use del [filename] to delete files safely.\""
alias backup="cp --backup=numbered"
# - NOTE: In terminal type: source ~/.bashrc to system reload the file
If you would like to see my BASH Warrior Alias list please goto https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/comments/1uad462/calling_all_bash_warriors/
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u/JohnnyS789 Jun 25 '26
MS-DOS 6.22? Luxury! Decadence! Go back a bit further to the real old DOS versions, and try some EDLIN for funsies.
I work with too many *NIX systems to try to make them look like DOS. Besides, I don't want to risk getting triggered!
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u/Signal_Care6558 Jun 25 '26
Now that you mention it I do recall using EDLIN, which was an earlier version of the MS-DOS EDIT command which eventually evolved into NOTEPAD. Thanks for the memory!
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u/GrimpenMar Jun 25 '26
I remember edlin! After Windows came and DOS faded, I worked with Unix and one old system that ran CP/M as I recall. It was very DOS-like, but it had a vi-like text editor.
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u/yerfukkinbaws Jun 25 '26
alias cls="clear"
I've always set up alias clr="clear" and thought it was because of MS-DOS, but I guess not. Looking it up, it must actually be because of the C64/128, which were my first computers and had a CLR key. Amazing how these associations can last even longer than your memory of where they come from.
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u/Signal_Care6558 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
So very true. cls was meant as "Clear Screen" in DOS. clr was Commodores way of saying the same thing. I'm glad I could take you back in time when computing was new and exciting.
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u/9NEPxHbG Debian 13 Jun 25 '26
I don't think that diffcmd was ever a DOS command. I used to do fc /b.
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u/Signal_Care6558 Jun 25 '26
In early versions of Linux, diff was a reserved keyword to compare files line by line so I could not use that as an alias, hence, diffcmd.
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u/Simple_Hamster_4096 Jun 28 '26
If you grew up with Windows, you are not old, lol...
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u/Signal_Care6558 Jun 28 '26
I was born in '57 and didn't get into computers until the mid 80's after completeing 4 years in the military. But you are right in one regard... I am not that old (in my head, lol).
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u/KoldPurchase Jun 25 '26
Actually, I only need to save this post and refer to it now.
What an easy guide to follow!
Thank you!
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u/tblancher Jun 25 '26
DOS is at best niche now. I'm sure there are some DOS programs still running in production, but they're either running in a hypervisor on a guest VM, or running something like FreeDOS.
I cut my teeth on DOS, and was dragged kicking and screaming into the GUI realm on Windows 3.1 (just before 3.11). Hell, my first PC which wasn't my father's came with both Windows 3.11 and OS/2 Warp.
When I was first introduced to Linux on January 12, 1997, I was hooked. Your DOS aliases are just a crutch you don't need, I can't imagine you have a lot of these in muscle memory from when you ran DOS natively.
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u/Signal_Care6558 Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
I have fond memories of using DOS because that was my world back then. Muscle memory is a real thing, just as you have your own memories that you are fond of. There are many professionals who enjoy the nostalgia.
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u/tblancher Jun 26 '26
So install FreeDOS and have at it! Nostalgia is not practical on production systems, but you do you, boo!
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u/emmfranklin Jun 25 '26
Hi brother, from a fellow dos 6.22 user. Win 3.11 too. It was known as windows for workgroups And I'm a Linux user for the past 20 years. You remember using Norton commander in dos? I still use commander style file manager today in Linux.