Basic Linux/Unix Commands with Examples and Syntax

File Management becomes easy if you know the right basic command in Linux.

Sometimes, commands are also referred as “programs” since whenever you run a
command, it’s the corresponding program code, written for the command, which is
being executed.

Let’s learn the must know Linux basic commands with examples:

Listing files (ls)

Important Linux Commands for Beginners Linux Tutorial

If you want to see the list of files on your UNIX or Linux system, use the
‘ls’ command.

It shows the files /directories in your current directory.

Note:

 Directories are denoted in blue color.

 Files are denoted in white.
 You will find similar color schemes in different flavors of Linux.
Suppose, your “Music” folder has following sub-directories and files.

You can use ‘ls -R’ to shows all the files not only in directories but also
subdirectories
NOTE: These Linux basics commands are case-sensitive. If you enter, “ls – r” you
will get an error.

‘ls -al’ gives detailed information of the files. The command provides information in a
columnar format. The columns contain the following information:

1st Column File type and access permissions

2nd Column # of HardLinks to the File
3rd Column Owner and the creator of the file
4th Column Group of the owner
5th Column File size in Bytes
6th Column Date and Time
7th Column Directory or File name
Let’s see an example –

Listing Hidden Files

Hidden items in UNIX/Linux begin with – at the

start, of the file or directory.

Any Directory/file starting with a ‘.’ will not be seen unless you request for it. To view
hidden files, use the command.
ls -a
Creating & Viewing Files
The ‘cat’ server command is used to display text files. It can also be used for copying,
combining and creating new text files. Let’s see how it works.

To create a new file, use the command

1. cat > filename

2. Add content
3. Press ‘ctrl + d’ to return to command prompt.

How to create and view files in

Linux/Unix
To view a file, use the command –
cat filename
Let’s see the file we just created –

Let’s see another file sample2

The syntax to combine 2 files is –

cat file1 file2 > newfilename
Let’s combine sample 1 and sample 2.

As soon as you insert this command and hit enter, the files are concatenated, but you
do not see a result. This is because Bash Shell (Terminal) is silent type. Shell
Commands will never give you a confirmation message like “OK” or “Command
Successfully Executed”. It will only show a message when something goes wrong or
when an error has occurred.

To view the new combo file “sample” use the command

cat sample

Note: Only text files can be displayed and combined using this command.

Deleting Files
The ‘rm’ command removes files from the system without confirmation.

To remove a file use syntax –

rm filename

How to delete files using Linux/Unix Commands

Moving and Re-naming files

To move a file, use the command.
mv filename new_file_location
Suppose we want to move the file “sample2” to location /home/guru99/Documents.
Executing the command

mv sample2 /home/guru99/Documents

mv command needs super user permission. Currently, we are executing the

command as a standard user. Hence we get the above error. To overcome the error
use command.
sudo command_you_want_to_execute
Sudo program allows regular users to run programs with the security privileges of the
superuser or root.

Sudo command will ask for password authentication. Though, you do not need to
know the root password. You can supply your own password. After authentication,
the system will invoke the requested command.

Sudo maintains a log of each command run. System administrators can trackback the
person responsible for undesirable changes in the system.
guru99@VirtualBox:~$ sudo mv sample2 /home/quru99/Documents
[sudo] password for guru99: ****
guru99@VirtualBox:~$
For renaming file:
mv filename newfilename

NOTE: By default, the password you entered for sudo is retained for 15 minutes per
terminal. This eliminates the need of entering the password time and again.

You only need root/sudo privileges, only if the command involves files or directories
not owned by the user or group running the commands

Directory Manipulations
 Directory Manipulation in Linux/Unix
Enough with File manipulations! Let’s learn some directory manipulation Linux
commands with examples and syntax.

Creating Directories

Directories can be created on a Linux operating system using the following command
mkdir directoryname
This command will create a subdirectory in your present working directory, which is
usually your “Home Directory”.

For example,
mkdir mydirectory

If you want to create a directory in a different location other than ‘Home directory’,
you could use the following command –
mkdir
For example:
mkdir /tmp/MUSIC
will create a directory ‘Music’ under ‘/tmp’ directory
You can also create more than one directory at a time.

Removing Directories
To remove a directory, use the command –
rmdir directoryname
Example
rmdir mydirectory
will delete the directory mydirectory

Tip: Ensure that there is no file / sub-directory under the directory that you want to
delete. Delete the files/sub-directory first before deleting the parent directory.

Renaming Directory
The ‘mv’ (move) command (covered earlier) can also be used for renaming
directories. Use the below-given format:
mv directoryname newdirectoryname
Let us try it:

How to rename a directory using Linux/Unix Commands

Other Important Commands

The ‘Man’ command

Man stands for manual which is a reference book of a Linux operating system. It is
similar to HELP file found in popular software.

To get help on any command that you do not understand, you can type
man
The terminal would open the manual page for that command.

For an example, if we type man man and hit enter; terminal would give us information
on man command
The History Command
History command shows all the basic commands in Linux that you have used in the
past for the current terminal session. This can help you refer to the old commands
you have entered and re-used them in your operations again.

The clear command

This command clears all the clutter on the terminal and gives you a clean window to
work on, just like when you launch the terminal.
Linux Command List
Below is a Cheat Sheet of Linux/ Unix basic commands with examples that we
have learned in this Linux commands tutorial

Command Description

Lists all files and directories in the present working

ls
directory

ls – R Lists files in sub-directories as well

ls – a Lists hidden files as well

Lists files and directories with detailed information like

ls – al
permissions, size, owner, etc.

cat > filename Creates a new file

cat filename Displays the file content

Joins two files (file1, file2) and stores the output in a new
cat file1 file2 > file3
file (file3)

mv file “new file path” Moves the files to the new location

mv filename
Renames the file to a new filename
new_file_name

Allows regular users to run programs with the security

sudo
privileges of the superuser or root

rm filename Deletes a file

man Gives help information on a command

 Command Description

Gives a list of all past basic Linux commands list typed in

history
the current terminal session

clear Clears the terminal

Creates a new directory in the present working directory or

mkdir directoryname
a at the specified path

rmdir Deletes a directory

mv Renames a directory