| Meaning | Context | Example |
| current directory |
When used in a path |
ls . |
| hidden file |
When used as the first character of a file name. Will not show up in an ls unless the -a flag is used. |
.bash_profile |
| matches any single character |
In a regular expression (note that dot does not have a special meaning when matching filenames with metacharacters). |
.*
matches 0 or more of any char
|
| repeat the last vi command |
Note that you must be in command mode. |
|
| "dot" a script |
Used to execute a script that updates your environment. |
. myenv |
| end input |
Some commands will stop reading from standard-in when . is typed. |