Essential Linux Commands That Every User Needs to Know

Opening a Terminal

To open a terminal from the desktop, click on the Terminal icon in the applications menu or press CTRL+ ALT + T. A black screen will appear with a flashing command prompt.

sudo - Super User Do

Many Linux distributions don't give you admin privileges by default for core tasks like software installation. By prefacing any command with "sudo," you can get admin rights for that execution.

sudo apt upgrade

Navigating the Filesystem

pwd - Print working directory

This command shows the full path to the current directory, for example /home/user.

pwd

ls - List directory content

This command lists the contents of a directory.

ls
ls /var/log
ls -lha  # show hidden files with details
ls *.py  # show all Python files

cd - Change directory

Used to move around the filesystem.

cd Downloads
cd /var/log
cd -  # go back to previous directory
cd ~  # go to home directory

Working with Files

cat - Print files to terminal

The cat command prints file contents to the terminal.

cat test.py
cat -n test.py  # with line numbers

less - Print files to terminal in sections

The less command prints file contents in sections with scrolling capability.

less /var/log/syslog

grep - Search in files

Used to search for text within files.

lscpu | grep "MHz"

Editing Files with nano

Nano is the easiest command-line editor for beginners.

nano newfile.txt
nano test.py

To save press CTRL + O, to exit press CTRL + X.

System Resources & Management

htop - Display system processes

Shows current CPU load, RAM usage, and running system processes.

htop

free - Show amount of free and used RAM

free -m

dmesg - Monitor kernel events

sudo dmesg

File Management

mv - Move/rename files

mv test.py Documents/  # move file
mv test.py test2.py   # rename file

rm - Delete files

rm test.py

cp - Copy files

cp test.py Documents/
cp -r test2/ Documents/  # copy directory

mkdir - Create directory

mkdir Work

Software Installation

apt - Install and manage software

sudo apt update
sudo apt install vlc
sudo apt upgrade -y

Network Connectivity & Internet

ping - Check connectivity

ping google.com
ping 8.8.8.8

hostname - Get IP address

hostname -I

curl - Transfer data over network

curl http://example.com/image.jpg -o image.jpg

Time Savers

history - Command history

history
!117  # run command number 117
history | grep "apt"

Useful keyboard shortcuts

• CTRL + R - interactive search through command history
• TAB - auto-completion for commands and paths
• Arrow keys up/down - navigate through command history

alias - Create command shortcuts

alias updater="sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y"

Official Linux Foundation website: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/

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