1> AmigaDOS Cheatsheet
The 30 most important shell commands on one page — whether Workbench 1.3 or 3.2, these always work. Perfect for learning or as a reference on a second monitor.
Files & Directories
| Command | What it does |
|---|
| DIR | Show directory contents (like ls) |
| DIR ALL | Recursive, including subdirectories |
| LIST | Like DIR, with size/date/flags |
| CD DF0: | Change to root of disk in drive 0 |
| CD / | Up one level (not ..!) |
| MAKEDIR | Create new directory |
| COPY ... TO ... | Copy files (COPY DF0:#? TO RAM: = everything to RAM) |
| RENAME ... AS ... | Rename or move |
| DELETE | Delete (also recursive with ALL) |
| TYPE | Output text file to screen (cat) |
| INFO | All mounted devices with free capacity |
Disks & Volumes
| FORMAT DRIVE DF0: | Format floppy disk (NAME Empty QUICK = quick) |
| DISKCOPY FROM DF0: TO DF1: | 1:1 copy with 2 drives |
| INSTALL DRIVE DF0: | Install bootblock (make disk bootable) |
| RELABEL DF0: NewName | Change volume name |
| ASSIGN C: ram:c | Map logical device to path (core feature!) |
| MOUNT DEVICE | Mount from DEVS:Mountlist (e.g. CDROM) |
Processes & System
| STATUS | List running tasks/CLI processes |
| BREAK <nr> C | Abort task (send CTRL-C signal) |
| RUN program | Start in background, shell remains free |
| AVAIL | Free Chip/Fast RAM |
| VERSION | Kickstart/Workbench version |
| DATE | Show or set date/time |
| SETCLOCK OPT SAVE | Write current time to hardware clock |
Scripting & Shell
| EXECUTE script | Execute shell script |
| NEWSHELL | Open new shell window |
| ECHO "text" | Output text (suppress line break with NOLINE) |
| WAIT 5 | Wait 5 seconds (useful in scripts) |
| SET var=value | Set variable, access with $var |
| PATH DF0:C ADD | Extend search path |
💡 Pro tip: With COPY #?.info TO RAM: you copy all icon files at once. The #? is the AmigaDOS wildcard (like * in Unix).
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