How to combine multiple commands in terminal?

Question

I have the following commands.

cd import
zcat urls1.sql.gz | mysql -u root -p urls
cd /var/www/project1/
nano 1.php

As of now I'm executing it one by one.

Is there a way to combine those commands in one line?

That was not my question. It is just that half a minute of googling would have given you the answer. Hence, I was wondering what you had already found, if anything. — don.joey, Aug 20, 2013 at 15:04
What makes you think I downvoted your question? I will neglect your anger. As a side-note, the question "which one is better: using ; or && to execute multiple commands in one line" is a lot better, has more research and would likely have attracted a great many upvotes. — don.joey, Aug 20, 2013 at 16:25
There is a more generic variant of this question available at askubuntu.com/questions/334994/…. It deal with exactly the question I mention in the previous comment. — don.joey, Aug 20, 2013 at 16:42
Don't worry Giri. The essence of the question is interesting. I took the effort of making a generic variant of it. — don.joey, Aug 20, 2013 at 16:44

Colyn1337 · Accepted Answer · 2013-08-20 14:41:38Z

41

Yes, separate with a semi-colon like so:

dir; ls -l

Most lanugauges/shells use the semi-colon to signify the end of a command and to start new while evaluating from left to right.

Or as @RobieBasak recommends, use && instead of ; to guard against coding accidents.

dir && ls -l

answered Aug 20, 2013 at 14:36

Colyn1337

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25

It's a good idea to use && instead of ;. This ensures that subsequent commands are only executed if previous commands have not failed. This avoids some awkward consequences. For example: cd /somewhere_else; rm -Rf * could do something disastrous if /somewhere_else doesn't exist or you mis-spell it; cd /somewhere_else && rm -Rf * protects you from this.
– Robie Basak
Aug 20, 2013 at 14:42
4

The '&&' solution is so good, it should be the first recommendation in this answer. Please edit your answer and promote the better answer to first place.
– Kerem Baydoğan
Mar 16, 2017 at 16:02

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Raphael · Accepted Answer · 2019-05-31 07:30:07Z

10

This illustrates more:

answered May 31, 2019 at 7:24

Raphael

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2 Answers 2