
Linux Command Line
Linux is a free and open-source operating system that is widely used on servers, desktops, and mobile devices. It is based on the Unix operating system and is known for its stability, security, and flexibility. Linux is widely used in enterprise environments and is also the foundation for many other operating systems, such as Android and Chrome OS.
Linux commands are the instructions that users give to the Linux operating system to perform specific tasks. These commands are typed into the command-line interface (CLI) or terminal, and they perform various functions such as file and directory management, system administration, network management, and more. Some of the commands I have listed below include “ls” (lists the files and directories in a directory), “cd” (changes the current working directory), “rm” (removes a file or directory), “grep” (searches for a specific string in a file or multiple files), and “ping” (tests connectivity to a host).
Each command below is linked to a more detailed explanation and examples of use.
- adduser (Add a user)
- apropos (Search the manual page names and descriptions)
- apt (A package manager used on Debian bases systems to install, remove and update packages or software)
- at (Schedule a command to be executed at a later time)
- awk (A programming language for text manipulation, often used for data extraction and reporting)
- bunzip (Decompress files created by bzip)
- bzip (A data compressor that uses the Burrows-Wheeler algorithm)
- calendar (Displays a calendar and the date of the current day)
- cat (Concatenates and displays the contents of one or more text files)
- cd (Changes the current working directory)
- chmod (Changes the permissions of a file or directory)
- chown (Change the ownership of a file or directory)
- cp (Copies a file or directory)
- cron (A time-based job scheduler in Unix-like operating systems)
- curl (Transfer data from or to a server using one of the supported protocols)
- date (Shows the current date and time)
- dd (Convert and copy a file)
- deluser (Delete a user)
- diff (Show the differences between files)
- dig (Domain Information Groper, a network administration command-line tool for querying the Domain Name System)
- df (Show the filesystem usage on the system)
- dmesg (used to examine or control the kernel ring buffer.
- du (Show the disk usage of files and directories)
- env (Show the environment variables)
- find (Finds files and directories based on specific criteria)
- free (Show the amount of free and used memory in the system)
- ftp and sftp ((Secure) File Transfer Protocol client)
- grep (Searches for a specific string in a file or multiple files)
- gunzip (Decompress files created by gzip)
- gzip (A file compression and decompression tool)
- hostname (Displays the of the system)
- ifconfig (Shows the configuration of network interfaces on a system)
- ip (show / manipulate routing, devices, policy routing and tunnels)
- kill (Terminate a process by its pid)
- killall (Terminate all processes by its name)
- last (Show a list of last logged in users)
- ln (Create links between files)
- locate (find the location of a file or directory)
- lsof (List Open Files, a command-line utility that lists information about files that are open by processes)
- ls (Lists the files and directories in a directory)
- man (Show the manual page of a command)
- mkdir (Creates a new directory)
- mount (Mount a file system)
- mv (Moves or renames a file or directory)
- nano (A simple text editor)
- passwd (Change user password)
- ping (Tests connectivity to a host)
- ping6 (A network administration utility used to test the reachability of a host on an Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) network)
- ps (Lists the processes currently running on the system)
- path (Show the system path)
- reboot (Reboot the system)
- rm (Removes a file or directory)
- rsync (Synchronizes files and directories between
- sed (Stream Editor)
- service (Control the state of system services)
- shutdown (Shut down or reboot the system)
- sort (Sort lines of text files)
- ss (Socket statistics, a command-line tool that shows socket statistics such as the number of open sockets, routing information, and more.)
- su (Change the current user to another user)
- sudo (A way of running a command as a Super User or root user)
- tar (bundle files and folders, can be combined with gzip, bzip and other compression tools)
- telnet (A network protocol used to remotely access and manage devices)
- top (Show all running processes and their system usage)
- tracepath (Show the path that a packet takes to reach a specific host or IP address either IPv4 or IPv6)
- traceroute (Shows the path that a packet takes to reach a specific host or IP address)
- traceroute6 (Show the path that a packet takes to reach a specific host or IP address, using IPv6)
- uname (Show information about the system)
- unzip (Extract files from a zip archive)
- uptime (Show the system uptime and the load average)
- umount (Unmount a file system)
- vi (A text editor that is commonly used in the command line)
- wget (A network utility to retrieve files from the Web)
- which (Shows the location of a command in the system PATH)
- who (Show who is logged on the system)
- zip (Compress or expand files)