Introduction
This article is an introduction to many Linux command line commands. Each command has one or more arguments which I did not include.
This is not a comprehensive list, however this list will get you well on your way.
Here are some fundamental Linux commands that are essential for everyday use:
File and Directory Management:
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- ls – List directory contents
- cd – Change directory
- pwd – Print working directory (shows the current directory)
- mkdir – Make a new directory
- rmdir – Remove an empty directory
- rm – Remove files or directories
- cp – Copy files or directories
- mv – Move or rename files or directories
- touch – Create an empty file or update the timestamp of a file
File Viewing and Editing:
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- cat – Display file contents
- more / less – View file contents page by page
- head – Display the first few lines of a file
- tail – Display the last few lines of a file
File Permissions and Ownership:
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- chmod – Change file permissions
- chown – Change file owner and group
- chgrp – Change the group ownership of a file
System Information:
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- df – Display disk space usage
- du – Show disk usage of files and directories
- top – Display system processes
- ps – Show running processes
- free – Show memory usage
- uptime – Show how long the system has been running
- uname – Show system information
Package Management (Debian-based systems like Ubuntu):
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- apt-get – Package management tool
Searching:
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- find – Search for files in a directory hierarchy
- grep – Search for text patterns within files
Networking:
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- ping – Test network connectivity
- ifconfig (or ip a) – Show network interface configuration
- netstat – Show network connections
- scp – Secure copy (copy files over SSH)
Archive and Compression:
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- tar – Create and extract tar archives
- zip / unzip – Compress or decompress files
Other Useful Commands:
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- sudo – Execute a command as a superuser
- man – Show the manual for a command
- history – Show the history of previously executed commands
- alias – Create custom command shortcuts
Conclusion
In this article we cover a lot of the Linux command line commands. This may not be a comprehensive list of Linux command, however the contents of this article will get you well on your way to managing Linux from the command line.