11/13/24, 10:03 AM Basic Linux Commands Cheat Sheet [Free PDF Download]
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Basic Linux Commands Cheat Sheet [Free
PDF Download]
Written by Reviewed by
Lamisa Musharrat Md. Ashakul Islam Sowad
Last updated: Feb 19, 2024
LINUX
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Linux command is a set of instructions for carrying out a certain action in
Linux. In this article, I will illustrate a basic Linux commands cheat sheet to
make your journey with the Linux command line easier. Type these
commands into the terminal to handle everything from files and directories
to processes and more.
Table of Contents
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What is a Linux Command?
A Linux command is a text-based interface that allows you to communicate
with the Linux operating system. The commands are inserted into a terminal
which is then passed to a shell that tells the operating system what to do.
Linux command is a great alternative to Graphical User Interface (GUI) as it
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is much faster and more efficient. You can perform all tasks with commands
that can be done using the GUI.
Basic Linux Commands List
Here I have categorized all the basic commands in Linux. You can also find
that some commands are mentioned with their necessary options. For your
better understanding, the structure of a Linux command is
Command -options arguments parameters
File and Directory Management
In this category, you will find commands that can be used to copy, make,
and remove files; create directories; and navigate through these.
Command Description
cp Copies files and directories
pwd Prints the current working directory
cd Changes current directory
cd.. Changes to the parent directory
cd – Changes to the previous directory
cd ~ Changes to the home directory
ls Lists contents of the current directory
Lists the files and directories in the current working
ls -l
directory in long format
ls -a Lists all files and directories including the hidden ones
ls -r Lists files/directories in reverse
mkdir Creates a new directory
rmdir Removes an empty directory
mv Moves or renames a file /directory
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Command Description
rm Removes a file/directory
rm -i Prompts system confirmation before deleting
rm -r Deletes a file/directory recursively
rm -d Deletes empty folders
File Manipulation
Under this section, you can find commands which will assist you in editing
your files and show contents in your desired ways.
Command Description
touch Creates an empty file/modify timestamp
cat Concatenates and prints file contents
cat -n Displays the contents of a file along with line numbers
tac Concatenates and prints file contents in reverse order
less Shows contents in a scrollable manner
head Displays the first ten lines of a file
tail Displays the last ten lines of a file
grep Searches for a specified pattern in one or more files
nano Edits and creates files
diff Compares two text files
sort Sorts lines of a text file
sort -r Sorts file reversely
sort -u Removes duplicates and sorts unique values
Permissions
Here, you will get to know how you can change the permission of a file or
directory:
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Command Description
Modifies a file or directory’s read, write, and execute
chmod
permissions
Changes the ownership of a file, directory, or symbolic
chown
link to a specified username.
chgrp Changes the group ownership of a file or directory
Control System
This section consists of commands that can be used to control the operating
system just by using the command line.
Command Description
poweroff Shuts down the system
reboot Restarts the system
shutdown Shuts down or reboots the system
System and Process Management
Commands for system and process management are:
Command Description
Allows a user to run a command with the privileges of
sudo
another user
ps Lists the running processes on a system
kill Terminates running processes on a system
killall Terminates all processes with a specified name
Displays the amount of disk space used and available on
df
a file system
du Estimates file space usage
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Package Installation
Commands for package installation are:
Command Description
apt install Installs software packages from the Ubuntu package
[package] repository
Performs package management tasks such as installing,
apt-get install
upgrading, and removing packages
File Compression
Commands for file compression are:
Command Description
tar Creates, views, and extracts files from an archive file
Creates, views, and extracts files from a compressed
zip
archive file
Extracts files from a compressed archive file in the ZIP
unzip
format
gzip Compresses files or directories to reduce their size
bzip2 Compresses files or directories to reduce their size
Search
If you are searching for a pattern in a file content or want to locate files in
your system these basic commands are here to help you.
Command Description
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grep ‘pattern’ Searches for a specified pattern or regular expression in
files one or more files and display the matching lines
Searches for a specified pattern or regular expression
grep -r
recursively in a directory and its subdirectories, and
pattern dir
display the matching lines.
locate Locates files and directories on the system
find Locates files and directories on the system
find -empty Searches for empty files
Help Documentation
Linux has huge commands and options to offer. It’s ok if you can’t memorize
all these. Use the built-in documentation command to get help.
Command Description
man Displays the manual page of a command or utility
System Information
Commands to get system information are:
Command Description
date Displays and sets system date and time
cal or ncal Displays the calendar of the current month
who Displays information about currently logged-in user
whoami Displays the user name of the current user logged in
Displays information about the current system and
uname
operating system
hostname Displays or set the hostname of the current system
Queries or modifies the hostname and related settings of
hostnamectl
the current system
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Displays a list of previously executed commands in the
history
terminal
history -c Clears the history list of previously executed commands
Shows information about both total and available space
df
on a file system
User Management
You can easily add or remove a user in your system using the following
commands.
Command Description
useradd Creates a new user account on the system
userdel Deletes a user account from the system
passwd Changes a user’s password
groupadd Adds a new group to the system
groupdel Deletes an existing group from the system
Displays the user and group IDs associated with the
Id
current user
su Switches to another user account
Miscellaneous
Finally, we have listed more commands that may help you in your Linux
journey.
Command Description
Displays a line of text or a variable value on the
echo
command line
clear Clears the terminal window
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Counts the number of lines, words, and characters in a
wc
file
vim Texts editor for editing text files
ping Checks the connectivity between two network devices
exit Exits the current shell session
htop Displays the system’s process real-time process activity
shred Securely deletes the files by overwriting multiple times
Displays information about the currently logged-in users
w
and their activities
ps Displays the running processes
whatis Displays a brief description of a command
wget Downloads files from the internet
Conclusion
If you are just starting or are still in the learning phase with Linux, these are a
few basic commands you will need to know. Furthermore, these commands
were comprehensive enough to cover virtually every job performed from the
Linux command line.
People Also Ask
What are the basic commands of Linux?
Some basic Linux commands are as follows:
ls: Lists files & directories.
cd: Changes directory.
pwd: Prints current working directory.
cp: Copies files and directories.
mv: Moves and renames files or directories.
rm: Removes files or directories.
mkdir: Creates directories.
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rmdir: Removes empty directory.
cat: Displays file contents.
echo: Displays a message or a variable.
grep: Searches for a pattern in a file.
chmod: Changes file permissions.
chown: Changes file ownership.
What is sudo in Linux?
In Linux, sudo stands for superuser do, it allows users to execute commands
as a superuser. And superuser is the root user in the Linux system having the
administrative privileges to perform different actions that regular users can
not do.
Which is the best Linux?
There is no straightforward answer to this question. In fact, it depends on your
project’s needs and your personal preferences. Some popular Linux
distributions include Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux, CentOS, etc.
5/5 - (5 votes)
Linux Cheat Sheets
linux commands cheat sheets
Lamisa Musharrat
https://linuxsimply.com/cheat-sheets/basic-linux-commands/ 10/22
