Essential Linux Commands
Disk Usage Commands: -
df - Show disk space usage
df -h - Human-readable disk usage
du - Estimate file space usage
du -sh - Summarize and display human-readable
size of directories/files
Process Management: -
top - Real-time system process view
ps aux - Detailed info on running processes
fuser - Identify processes using files or sockets
kill <PID> - Terminate process by ID
free - Display memory usage
free -h - Human-readable memory stats
nohup - Run command immune to hangups
vmstat - Report system performance
vmstat -a - Include active/inactive memory stats
Essential Linux Commands
System-Level Commands: -
uname -a - All system info: kernel, OS, platform
uptime - System uptime and load
date - Current system date and time
whoami - Logged-in user's name
who - List of users currently logged in
w - Who's logged in and what they are doing
which <cmd> - Path to a command (e.g., python,
bash)
id - Show user ID, group ID, and groups
sudo - Execute command as superuser
shutdown - Shutdown the system
reboot - Restart the system
Essential Linux Commands
User & Group Management: -
useradd <user> - Create new user
useradd -m <user> - Create user with home
directory
passwd <user> - Set/change password
su <user> - Switch to another user
userdel <user> - Delete user
groupadd <group> - Create group
gpasswd -a user group - Add user to group
gpasswd -M users group - Set group members
groupdel <group> - Delete group
Essential Linux Commands
Package Managers: -
apt / apt-get - Debian-based systems (Ubuntu)
yum - CentOS package manager
dnf - Fedora package manager
pacman - Arch Linux
portage - Gentoo
rpm - RedHat Package Manager
File Permission & Ownership: -
chmod <mode> <file> - Change file permissions
ls -l - List files with permissions
umask - Default permission mask (e.g., 0022)
chown user:group file - Change file owner and
group
chgrp <group> <file> - Change group ownership
Essential Linux Commands
Compression & Archiving: -
zip <file>.zip <file> - Compress files
zip -r <file>.zip <folder> - Recursively zip
directory
unzip <file>.zip - Extract zipped file
gunzip <file>.gz - Decompress .gz file
tar -cf archive.tar files - Create tar archive
tar -xf archive.tar - Extract tar archive