Using commands to work with directories and files

There are numerous shell commands you can use to create and work with directories and files. See the z/OS® shell summary section in z/OS UNIX System Services Command Reference for a list of them.

To get online help for using the shell commands, you can use the man command.

You can also use TSO/E commands to do certain tasks with the file system. Some of these are tasks that UNIX users traditionally perform while in the shell.

Command: Task
ISHELL: Invoke the ISPF shell. This is a panel interface for performing many user and administrator tasks. For more information, see Using the ISPF shell.
MKDIR: Create a directory. Unlike the mkdir shell command, this command does not create intermediate directories in a path name if they do not exist.
MKNOD: Make a character special file. To use this command, you must be a superuser.
MOUNT: Add a mountable file system to the file hierarchy. To use this command, you must have mount authority. (See the section on mount authority in z/OS UNIX System Services Planning.)
OBROWSE: Browse (read but not update) a z/OS UNIX file using the ISPF full-screen browse facility.
OCOPY: Copy data between sequential data sets, or PDS and PDSE members, and z/OS UNIX files.
OEDIT: Create or edit text using the ISPF editor.
OGET: Copy a z/OS UNIX file to an MVS™ sequential data set or partitioned data set member. You can specify text or binary data, and select code page conversion.
OGETX: Copy one or many files from a directory to a partitioned data set, a PDS/E, or a sequential data set. You can specify text or binary data, select code page conversion, allow a copy from lowercase file names, and delete one or all suffixes from the file names when they become PDS member names.
OPUT: Copy an MVS sequential data set or partitioned data set member to a z/OS UNIX file. You can specify text or binary data, and select code page conversion.
OPUTX: Copy one or many members from a partitioned data set, PDS/E, or a sequential data set to a directory. You can specify text or binary data, select code page conversion, specify a copy to lowercase file names, and append a suffix to the member names when they become file names.
OSTEPLIB: Build a list of files that are sanctioned as valid step libraries for programs that have the set-user-ID or set-group-ID bit set. To use this command, you must be a superuser.
UNMOUNT (or UMOUNT): Remove a file system from the file hierarchy. To use this command, you must have mount authority. (See the section on mount authority in z/OS UNIX System Services Planning.)

For information about existing TSO/E commands that you might commonly use, see z/OS TSO/E Command Reference.

To get online help for TSO/E commands, you can use either the TSO/E HELP command. See Entering a TSO/E command for information about entering TSO/E commands in TSO/E, the shell, and ISPF.