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Linux Essential Commands Cheatsheet
By IncludeHelp Last updated : October 19, 2024
Basic Commands
1. Operators
&& (and), || (or)
command1 && command2
command1 || command2
2. apropos
Returns all documentation containing the defined command.
apropos user
3. bzip/bunzip
Compresses files.
bzip2 file.txt
bunzip2 file.txt.bz2
4. cat
Outputs the contents of a file.
cat file.txt
5. cd
Change directory.
cd /home/user/Documents
6. chmod
Change file mode.
chmod 755 file.sh
7. chown
Change ownership.
chown user:group file.txt
8. clear
Clears the screen.
clear
File System Navigation Commands
1. pwd
Prints the current working directory.
pwd
2. cd
Changes directory.
cd /home/user/Documents
Moves you to the "Documents" directory.
3. ls
Lists files and directories.
ls -la
Lists all files, including hidden ones, with detailed information.
4. mkdir
Creates a new directory.
mkdir new_folder
Creates a new directory named "new_folder".
5. rmdir
Removes a directory.
rmdir old_folder
Removes the empty directory "old_folder"
6. cp
Copies files and directories.
cp file.txt /home/user/Documents/
Copies "file.txt" to the "Documents" directory.
7. mv
Moves or renames files and directories.
mv file.txt /home/user/Desktop/
Moves "file.txt" to the "Desktop" directory.
8. rm
Removes/deletes files.
rm unwanted_file.txt
Deletes the file "unwanted_file.txt".
9. touch
Creates an empty file.
touch newfile.txt
Creates an empty file named "newfile.txt".
System and Network Utilities Commands
1. find
Locate a file in the system.
find / -name "file.txt"
2. finger
Find out information regarding a user.
finger user
3. free
Reports on system memory.
free -h
4. grep
Search for a string in files.
grep "error" log.txt
File Management and Archives Commands
1. rm
Remove files.
rm file.txt
2. shutdown
Shuts down the system.
shutdown -h now
3. tar
Archive files.
tar -cf archive.tar file1 file2
System Monitoring Commands
1. uname
Display system information.
uname -a
2. w
Displays user system information.
w
Other Useful Commands
1. whoami
Outputs the current username.
whoami
2. zip/unzip
Compress or extract files.
zip archive.zip file1