Linux Commands CheatSheet
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1. System Management and Navigation
ls: Lists the contents of a directory, showing file and directory names.
cd: Changes the current directory to the specified directory.
pwd: Prints the absolute path of the current working directory.
mkdir: Creates a new directory with the specified name.
rm: Deletes files or directories. Use with caution as it's irreversible.
cp: Copies files or directories from a source location to a destination location.
mv: Moves (renames) files or directories from one location to another.
touch: Creates a new empty file or updates the access and modification timestamps
of an existing file.
chmod: Changes the permissions (read, write, execute) of a file or directory.
chown: Changes the owner and/or group of a file or directory.
tar: Creates a compressed archive of files and directories.
gzip: Compresses files, reducing their size for storage or transmission.
gunzip: Decompresses files that were compressed with gzip.
ln: Creates links between files, either hard links or symbolic links.
df: Displays the amount of disk space used and available on mounted filesystems.
du: Shows the disk usage of files and directories, recursively.
shutdown: Shuts down or restarts the system safely.
reboot: Restarts the system.
date: Displays or sets the system date and time.
cal: Displays a calendar for the current month or a specified month/year.
uptime: Shows how long the system has been running since last boot.
mount: Attaches a filesystem to the system's file hierarchy.
umount: Detaches a mounted filesystem from the filesystem hierarchy.
lsblk: Lists block devices (disks and partitions) in a tree-like format.
lspci: Lists all PCI devices connected to the system.
hostname: Displays or sets the system's hostname.
uname: Prints system information such as the kernel version and system
architecture.
ifconfig: Displays and configures network interface parameters.
netstat: Shows network connections, routing tables, interface statistics, etc.
route: Manipulates and displays the IP routing table.
Linux Commands CheatSheet
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2. File Manipulation and Viewing
cat: Concatenates and displays the content of one or more files.
more: Displays the content of a file one screen at a time, allowing navigation.
less: Similar to 'more' but with additional features like backward navigation.
tail: Outputs the last part of files, useful for viewing log files.
head: Outputs the first part of files, useful for viewing the beginning of files.
wc: Counts the number of lines, words, and characters in a file.
sed: A powerful stream editor for filtering and transforming text.
awk: A versatile pattern scanning and processing language.
find: Searches for files and directories in a directory hierarchy.
file: Determines the type of a file (e.g., text, binary, etc.).
3. Process Management
ps: Reports information about currently running processes.
top: Provides dynamic real-time information about running processes.
kill: Sends a signal to terminate or kill a process.
bg: Puts a suspended process into the background, allowing it to continue
executing.
fg: Brings a background process into the foreground.
jobs: Lists the active jobs (background processes).
nohup: Runs a command immune to hangups, allowing it to continue running even
after the user logs out.
4. User and Group Management
passwd: Changes a user's password.
useradd: Creates a new user account.
userdel: Deletes a user account.
groupadd: Creates a new group.
groupdel: Deletes a group.
su: Switches the current user to another user.
sudo: Executes a command with superuser privileges.
chsh: Changes the default shell for a user account.
last: Shows a listing of previously logged-in users.
finger: Displays detailed information about user(s) on the system.
talk: Allows users to have real-time text-based conversations.
write: Sends a message to another user on the system.
Linux Commands CheatSheet
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5. Networking
ssh: Securely connects to a remote system over a network.
scp: Securely copies files between hosts using SSH.
sftp: Securely transfers files over SSH in an interactive session.
wget: Downloads files from the web via HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP.
curl: Transfers data from or to a server using various protocols.
ping: Sends ICMP echo requests to network hosts to check connectivity.
traceroute: Traces the route packets take from source to destination.
ssh-keygen: Generates SSH key pairs for authentication.
ssh-copy-id: Copies SSH keys to a remote server for passwordless authentication.
nmap: Scans networks for open ports, services, and vulnerabilities.
tcpdump: Captures and analyzes network traffic.
iftop: Monitors network bandwidth usage in real-time.
lshw: Lists detailed information about hardware devices.
lsusb: Lists USB devices connected to the system.
hwinfo: Displays hardware information.
6. System Configuration and Automation
alias: Creates shortcuts or aliases for frequently used commands.
history: Displays a list of previously executed commands.
crontab: Schedules commands to run periodically at specified times or intervals.
at: Schedules a command to run once at a specific time.
watch: Executes a command repeatedly, displaying its output in real-time.
iptables: Manages firewall rules for IPv4 packet filtering and NAT.
chroot: Changes the root directory for a specific command or service.
7. Miscellaneous
which: Locates the executable file of a command in the user's PATH.
whereis: Locates the binary, source, and manual page files for a command.
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