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Cheatsheet

Basic Linux Commands

Linux commands can be categorized into different groups based on their functionality. Here’s a list of essential Linux commands organized by groups:

File and Directory Operations

  • ls: List directory contents.
  • cat: Display file contents.
  • pwd: Print current directory.
  • cp: Copy files/directories.
  • mv: Move/rename files/directories.
  • rm: Remove files/directories (caution).
  • mkdir: Create a new directory.
  • rmdir: Remove an empty directory.

File Viewing and Editing

  • cat: Concatenate and display file content.
  • touch: Create an empty file.
  • more: Display content one screen at a time.
  • less: Display content with advanced features.
  • head: Display the beginning of a file.
  • tail: Display the end of a file.
  • nano: Simple text editor.
  • vim or vi: Advanced text editor.

File Permissions

  • chmod - Change file permissions
  • chown - Change file owner
  • chgrp - Change file group

System Information

  • uname: Display system information.
  • df: Display disk space usage.
  • du: Display file and directory space usage.
  • top: Display and manage system processes.
  • free: Display amount of free and used system memory.

User and Group Management

  • passwd - Change user password
  • useradd - Add a new user
  • userdel - Delete a user
  • groupadd - Add a new group
  • groupdel - Delete a group

Package Management

  • apt or apt-get - Advanced Package Tool for Debian/Ubuntu
  • yum - Yellowdog Updater Modified for CentOS/RHEL
  • dnf - Dandified Yum for Fedora
  • pacman - Package Manager for Arch

Networking

  • ifconfig: Configure network interfaces.
  • ping: Test network connectivity.
  • traceroute: Display the route packets take to a network host.
  • netstat: Display network connections, routing tables, interface statistics, masquerade connections, and multicast memberships.
  • hostname: Display or set the system’s hostname.
  • hostnamectl: Control the system hostname and related settings.

Process Management

  • ps - Display information about active processes
  • kill - Terminate a process
  • killall - Kill processes by name
  • pkill - Signal processes based on their name

Archiving and Compression

  • tar - Create or extract tar archives
  • gzip - Compress or decompress files
  • zip - Package and compress files in ZIP format

Search and Text Processing

  • grep - Search for patterns in files
  • find - Search for files and directories
  • sed - Stream editor for filtering and transforming text

System Shutdown and Reboot

  • shutdown - Schedule a time for the system to be powered down
  • reboot - Restart the system immediately

File System Navigation

  • cd - Change directory
  • pwd - Print working directory