Commands

Basic and Essentials linux commands for all linux users (Must know)

Basic Linux Commands

• ls - The most frequently used command in Linux to list directories

• pwd - Print working directory command in Linux

• cd - Linux command to navigate through directories

• mkdir - Command used to create directories in Linux

• mv - Move or rename files in Linux

• cp - Similar usage as mv but for copying files in Linux

• rm - Delete files or directories

• touch - Create blank/empty files

• ln - Create symbolic links (shortcuts) to other files

• clear - Clear the terminal display

• cat - Display file contents on the terminal

• echo - Print any text that follows the command

• less - Linux command to display paged outputs in the terminal

• man - Access manual pages for all Linux commands

• uname - Linux command to get basic information about the OS

• whoami - Get the active username

• tar - Command to extract and compress files in linux

• grep - Search for a string within an output

• head - Return the specified number of lines from the top

• tail - Return the specified number of lines from the bottom

• diff - Find the difference between two files

• cmp - Allows you to check if two files are identical

• comm - Combines the functionality of diff and cmp

• sort - Linux command to sort the content of a file while outputting

• export - Export environment variables in Linux

• zip - Zip files in Linux

• unzip - Unzip files in Linux

• ssh - Secure Shell command in Linux

• service - Linux command to start and stop services

• ps - Display active processes

• kill and killall - Kill active processes by process ID or name

• df - Display disk filesystem information

• mount - Mount file systems in Linux

• chmod - Command to change file permissions

• chown - Command for granting ownership of files or folders

• ifconfig - Display network interfaces and IP addresses

• traceroute - Trace all the network hops to reach the destination

• wget - Direct download files from the internet

• ufw - Firewall command

• iptables - Base firewall for all other firewall utilities to interface with

• apt, pacman, yum, rpm - Package managers depending on the distribution

• sudo - Command to escalate privileges in Linux

• cal - View a command-line calendar

• alias - Create custom shortcuts for your regularly used commands

• dd - Majorly used for creating bootable USB sticks

• whereis - Locate the binary, source, and manual pages for a command

• whatis - Find what a command is used for

• top - View active processes live with their system usage

• useradd and usermod - Add a new user or change existing user data

• passwd - Create or update passwords for existing users

Linux Backup Tar Command

 tar -zcf /backup/username_home_test.tar.gz \
    --exclude=/home/username/.cache \
    --exclude=/home/username/Downloads \
    /home/username