How to run multiple commands in linux terminal using special characters

In linux you can run two or more commands using some special characters like &&, ; and ||. It is very useful in bash scripting and saves time.

How to run multiple linux commands in a single terminal

Run multiple commands using special characters

Hello, guys Today I'm going to show you how to run two or more terminal commands at once in Linux.

Till now you have seen how you can use commands. But you haven't seen how to combine two commands and run them together.

So there are few options you can use to combine commands,

Method 1 (using semicolon)

Combine using a semicolon (;)

$command1 ; command2

The first option which you can use to combine command is a semicolon (;)  For example, I want to use the "cd" command and also I want to list all the directory. So I am going to use the "ls" command and in between, I have used this semicolon and press  ENTER.

This is going to combine these commands and then it is going to show us the output.

First, it has printed the output for the "cd" command and then it has executed the "ls" command. So in this way you can combine these commands using a semicolon (;).

Note:

whenever you use semicolon If you enter the wrong command (or) misspelled. It will show the error in the particular command and jump to next command.

It doesn't stop executing command if one command fails.

Method 2 (using &&)

Combine using &&

$command1 && command2 && command3

The second command to combine a few commands together is using this ampersand symbol (&&).

For example, I want to do "cd / && ls && cd" and press ENTER.

So it gives the same output first "cd /" next "ls" and last "cd". But what is the difference between semicolon (;) and ampersand (&&)?

• whenever you use this semicolon (;) it's going to run every command regardless of the success or failure of the previous command.
• But in ampersand (&&), If the previous command fails. It stops the execution.

Method 3 (using || )

Combine using ( || )

$command1 || command2 || command3

The next is the "OR" option. So you can use these vertical bar (||).

For example, you use the "cd / || ls" press ENTER.

The output is the combination of logical OR.

So if the first command is successful it's not going to the second command.

Example

Once the first command is not successful it's going to execute the next command so it's like a logical "OR" operation.

Conclusion

So these are the few options you can use to combine command in Linux.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial.

HAVE A NICE DAY💗

See also,

• date command in linux
• wc command in linux
• find command in linux