Basic Commands

The Linux command line is a text interface to your computer

ls List files and directories

ls -l List files and directories with long format - shows permissions

ls -lh Shows file sizes in human readable format

ls -a List files and directories including hidden

ls -t sort by time & date

lsblk Listing block devices on a Linux system

pwd Check current working directory

cd Change current working directory

clear Clear terminal screen

mkdir Create directories

mv Move or rename files and directories

cp Copy files and directories

rmdir Remove Empty Directories in Linux

rm Delete Files and Directories in Linux

touch Change or Modify Timestamps of File or Directory

cat Print or View Contents of File

echo Print Line of Text or String

less Read Contents of Text File

tar Create and Extract Tar Archive Files

gzip Use the Gzip Command

grep Search Text or String in Files

head Print First 10 Lines of Files

tail Print Last 10 Lines

cut Cut Sections of Line in File

tee Use ‘tee’ Command

sort Sort Files Based on Sizes

uniq Remove Duplicate Lines

service Linux command to start and stop services

ps List currently nunning Linux processes

kill and killall Kill active processes by process ID or namerocess

chown Change File Owner and Group

chgrp Change the group ownership of files and directories

chmod Change the access permissions of files and directories

ifconfig Configure Network Interface

ip Configure Network Interface

netstat Check Network Listening Ports in Linux

nmap A Network and Security Auditing Tool for Linux

traceroute Trace all the network hops to reach the destination

dig Query DNS in Linux

nslookup Query Internet Domain Name Servers

ufw Firewall command

iptables Base firewall for all other firewall utilities to interface with

wget Download Files from Network

curl Transfer Data From or To a Server

apt Install Packages in Debian-based Systems

apt-get Manage Packages in Debian-based Systems

yum Install Software Packages in RHEL-based Systems

dnf Install Software Packages in Fedora

rpm Install RPM Packages in RHEL-based Systems

alias Create and Use Alias Command in Linux

top Monitor Running Linux Processes

useradd Create New Users in Linux

usermod Change existing user data

passwd Create or update passwords for existing users

chage Manage User Password Expiration and Aging in Linux

sleep Use “sleep” Command in Linux

screen Getting Started with Linux Screen Command

pv Monitor Progress of Data in Linux

fgrep Search for Strings in Linux

dir Create New Directories in Linux

egrep Search Patterns in Files in Linux

ssh Basic SSH Command Usage and Configuration in Linux

fd A Simple and Fast Alternative to Find Command

lsof List Open Files in Linux

dd Learn dd Command in Linux

df Check Disk Usage of Linux File System

du Find Disk Usage of Files and Directories

tree List Directory in Tree-like Format in Linux

ss Monitor Network Connection Statistics in Linux

partx List Disk Partitions in Linux

uptime Check the Running Time of Linux System

tr Translate or Delete Characters in Linux

ping Check Network Connectivity Between Hosts in Linux

zcat View Contents of Compressed File in Linux

xargs Build and Execute Commands from Standard Input

stat Check File or File System Status in Linux

who Print information about users who are currently logged in

whoami Print effective username of the user who ran whoami

whereis Locate the binary, source, and manual pages for a command

whatis Find what a command is used for

locate Find Files by Name in Linux

host Find IP Address of Domain Name in Linux

find Find Files and Directories in Linux

fuser Find PIDs of Processes Using Files or Sockets in Linux

at Schedule a Command on Particular Time in Linux

fdisk Create and Manage Disk Partitions in Linux

parted Create, Resize, and Rescue Disk Partitions in Linux

wc Count Number of Lines, Words, Characters in Linux

dpkg Manage .deb Packages in Debian-based Systems

dmesg Troubleshoot and Collect Information of Linux Systems

chattr Make Important Files IMMUTABLE in Linux

free Check Memory Usage in Linux

cron Schedule tasks to run automatically at specific times or intervals

systemctl Powerful utility in Linux used to manage the systemd system and service manager

mysql Backup and Restore MySQL Databases in Linux

sdiff Check Difference Between Two Files in Linux

history View Previously Executed Linux Command

sftp Securely Transfer Files Between Linux Systems

tcpdump Analyzer Network Packets in Linux

scp Copy Files and Directories Between Remote Linux

rsync Sync Files and Directories Between Remote Linux

fsck Repair File System Errors in Linux

bc Do Basic Calculations in Linux

ffmpeg Convert Video, Audio, and Image in Linux

mknod Create Device Files in Linux

nano A user-friendly, command-line text editor

vim A powerful text editor in Linux, primarily used for creating and editing files