A selection of Linux commands
There are a large number of Linux commands to control your system. We have put together a small overview of the most common Linux & Unix commands that you can use for all Linux distributions.
Before you start looking at the most commonly used Linux commands, you should have a Terminal boot. In most Linux distributions one uses for this purpose Ctrl + Alt + T. If that doesn't work, search for "Terminal" in your application window.
File and directory commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| ls | Listing of directories (show contents of a directory) |
| cd | Change directory |
| cp | Copy a file or directory |
| mv | Move or rename a file |
| chmod | Change access rights of a file or directory |
| chown | Change owner and group of a file or directory |
| dd | Copy data block by block, clone, delete, create images, and much more... |
| diff | Comparing the contents of two files line by line |
| df | Show free space of all mounted drives |
| you | Display memory consumption of a directory |
| grep | Search files |
| lsof | Open files display |
| mount | Mount file system |
| pwd | Displays the current working directory |
| umount | Unmount file system |
| mkdir | Create a directory / folder |
| rm | Delete files and directories |
| rmdir | Delete a directory |
| rsync | Data synchronization / data transmission |
| ftp | Start FTP |
| sftp | Start SFTP |
| scp | secure data transfer |
| shred | Securely delete data |
File Search
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| find | Search files by date, size, change, name and pattern. |
| grep | Search text within a file or output |
| locate | Quick search of files by means of locatedb database |
| whereis | Searching programs in predefined directories |
| which | Locates a program which is located in the PATH |
Pack and unpack (compress) file
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| bunzip2 | Decompresses bz2 files |
| bzip2 | Compresses files in bz2 format |
| compress | Compresses files |
| gunzip | Decompresses gz files |
| gzip | Compresses files in gz format |
| tar | Create tar archives |
| uncompress | Decompresses files |
| unzip | Decompresses Zip files |
| zip | Compresses files in Zip format |
System commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| free | Display utilization of the working memory |
| uptime | Shows how long the system is running |
| date | Displays the system date and time |
| ps | Shows the status of a process |
| pstree | Displays all processes in a tree view |
| uname | Show system information |
| top | Displays the processes running on the system "live |
| kill | End a process immediately |
| killall | Terminate multiple processes with a specific name |
| clear | Clear the console screen |
| man | System manual (manual or manpage) for a command, application or file (manual) |
| reboot | Restart the system |
| shutdown | Shut down the system |
| wall | Send a message to all connected users |
| which | Locate a command (show path to the command) |
Manage users and groups
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| chfn | Edit information of a user |
| id | Display of user ID and group ID (identifier) |
| last | Show the last logins by date and time |
| login | User (re)login |
| who | Show the users currently logged in to the system |
| whoami | Display of the user currently being worked with |
| passwd | Change password of a user |
| su | Log in as admin, or SU + username change the user |
| sudo | Run a command as admin |
| useradd | Create a user |
| userdel | Delete a user |
| usermod | Change a user |
| groupadd | Create a user group |
| groupdel | Delete a user group |
| groupmod | Change a user group |
Network commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| ping | Send data packets to an IP (to check the connection). |
| traceroute | Track a data packet |
| netstat | Lists all currently used ports |
| nslookup | Name resolution |
| dig | DNS lookup tool |
| ifconfig | Status and configuration of the network interface |
Hardware commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| lscpu | Show CPU information |
| lshw | Show hardware information |
| lspci | Show PCI hardware information |
| lsusb | Show USB hardware information |
Other commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| tar | Compress and decompress files |
| zip | Compress Zip archives |
| unzip | Decompress Zip archives |
| head | Output of the first lines of a file |
| tail | Output of the last lines of a file |
| less | Scrollable display of a text file |
| xargs | Convert standard input to command lines |
| wget | Download files from the web, supports HTTP, HTTPS and FTP |
| curl | Transfer files from or to a server |
| ssh | Establish a secure connection to another system |
| cal | Calls a simple calendar |
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