Linux Commands You Should Master

Linux commands form the backbone of navigating and managing a Linux system efficiently through the terminal. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced user, mastering these commands will greatly enhance your productivity and control over your system. In this article, here are the top Linux commands that every user should master for effective terminal usage

Navigation and File Management

cd: Change directory

  cd directory_name

ls: List directory contents

ls options directory_path

pwd: Print working directory

pwd

cp: Copy files and directories

cp source_file destination_file

mv: Move (rename) files and directories

mv source destination

rm: Remove files and directories

rm file_name

mkdir: Make directories

mkdir directory_name

rmdir: Remove empty directories

rmdir directory_name

cat: Concatenate and display files

cat file_name

less/more: View file contents interactively (one screen at a time)

less file_name
more file_name

head/tail: View the beginning or end of a file

head file_name
tail file_name

grep: Search for patterns in files

grep pattern file_name

find: Search for files in a directory hierarchy

find directory_path options

ln: Create links between files

ln -s target_file link_name

chmod: Change file permissions

chmod permissions file_name

chown: Change file owner and group

chown owner:group file_name

Process Management

ps: Display information about active processes

ps

kill: Terminate processes

kill process_id

top/htop: Display system processes in real-time

top
htop

System Information

df: Display disk space usage

df options

du: Estimate file space usage

du options file_name

free: Display amount of free and used memory in the system

free

uname: Print system information

uname -a

uptime: Show how long the system has been running

uptime

Network Management

ping: Check the connectivity to a server or network device

ping hostname_or_ip

ifconfig/ip: Display and configure network interfaces

ip addr show

netstat: Print network connections, routing tables, interface statistics, etc.

netstat options

wget/curl: Download files from the internet

wget URL
curl -O URL

System Administration

sudo: Execute a command as the superuser (root)

sudo command

shutdown/reboot: Shutdown or reboot the system

shutdown options
reboot

service/systemctl: Control system services (systemd-based systems)

systemctl start|stop|restart service_name

journalctl: Query and display system logs

journalctl options

passwd: Change user password

passwd

Text Processing

awk: A versatile programming language for pattern scanning and processing

awk 'pattern { action }' file

sed: Stream editor for filtering and transforming text

sed 's/search/replace/g' file

cut: Remove sections from each line of files

cut options file

sort: Sort lines of text files

sort options file

uniq: Report or omit repeated lines

uniq options file

wc: Print newline, word, and byte counts for each file

wc options file

Compression and Archiving

tar: Archive files and directories

tar options archive_name files

gzip/gunzip: Compress or decompress files

gzip file
gunzip file.gz

bzip2/bunzip2: Another compression utility

bzip2 file
bunzip2 file.bz2

Miscellaneous

echo: Display a line of text or variables

echo "Hello, world!"

date: Display or set the system date and time

date

watch: Execute a program periodically, showing output fullscreen

watch command

alias: Create an alias for a command

alias short_name='command sequence'

history: Display command history

history

whoami: Display the current username

whoami

touch: Change file timestamps or create empty files

touch file_name

scp/rsync: Securely copy files between hosts

scp file user@host:destination
rsync options source destination

Conclusion

Mastering these Linux commands will empower you to efficiently manage files, processes, networks, and more directly from the terminal. Whether you're a system administrator, developer, or Linux enthusiast, these commands are indispensable tools for your daily workflow.

Happy Linux command-line hacking!