Basic Linux Commands
Basic Linux Commands
NOTE: the ":" colon is not part of the commands!
1. ls : lists files in a directory
2. ls -l : lists files in the long form, which includes size, date edited and permissions
3. pwd : print working directory, or the directory you are currently in
4. cd : change directory
5. cd .. : move up one directory in the tree
6. rm : remove a filecp : copy a file
7. mv : move a file or rename a file
8. vi or vim : open the vi/vim editor, a simple text editor
9. emacs : open the emacs editor, a powerful text editor
10. pico : open the pico editor, a more user-friendly editor
11. top : lists the running processes and RAM being used; can be used to kill processes
12. | : a pipe; used to send output from a command (usually ls) into the more command (see below)
13. more : usually used with 'ls' and '|'; stops the output at one page. The user then can hit the spacebar to move the output another page. Ex: ls | more
14. ping : used to test network connections between computers
15. tar -xvzf : used to unpack and decompress .tgz files; the options stand for the following: x: extract, v: verbose, z: unzip, and f: file
16. uname: prints information about the computer and operating system
17. uname -a : prints all information available
18. man : the Linux manual pages or help pages. To use, type 'man ls' to get the manual page for the 'ls' command
19. ssh : open a secure shell connection
20. su : switch to superuser or root user
21. chmod : change mode or change permissions for a file; Ex: chmod 755 test.html
22. rmdir : remove a directory; directory must be empty
23. passwd : change your password
24. mkdir : make a directory
25. ftp : use ftp protocol to login, upload and download files
26. free: shows the amount of RAM being used
27. df : disk free; shows the amount of hard drive space that is free28. du : disk used; amount of hard drive space being used
28. locate : helps user to find a file or program
29. whereis : helps user to find a file or program
30. date : prints current date and time
31. clear : clears the terminal; helps when there is a lot of previous commands on it
32. bash : the default shell in Linux; stands for Bourne Again Shell
33. banner : prints characters as a poster
34. apt-get : used on Debian-based systems, like Debain, Ubuntu and Mepis, to download, install and configure programs and security updates
35. ifconfig : displays the configuration of the network interface
36. tar -xvjf : uncompress a group of files that has been compressed with the bzip2 (bz2). The options stand for: x: extract, v: verbose, j: filter through bzip2, and f: file
NOTE: the ":" colon is not part of the commands!
1. ls : lists files in a directory
2. ls -l : lists files in the long form, which includes size, date edited and permissions
3. pwd : print working directory, or the directory you are currently in
4. cd : change directory
5. cd .. : move up one directory in the tree
6. rm : remove a filecp : copy a file
7. mv : move a file or rename a file
8. vi or vim : open the vi/vim editor, a simple text editor
9. emacs : open the emacs editor, a powerful text editor
10. pico : open the pico editor, a more user-friendly editor
11. top : lists the running processes and RAM being used; can be used to kill processes
12. | : a pipe; used to send output from a command (usually ls) into the more command (see below)
13. more : usually used with 'ls' and '|'; stops the output at one page. The user then can hit the spacebar to move the output another page. Ex: ls | more
14. ping : used to test network connections between computers
15. tar -xvzf : used to unpack and decompress .tgz files; the options stand for the following: x: extract, v: verbose, z: unzip, and f: file
16. uname: prints information about the computer and operating system
17. uname -a : prints all information available
18. man : the Linux manual pages or help pages. To use, type 'man ls' to get the manual page for the 'ls' command
19. ssh : open a secure shell connection
20. su : switch to superuser or root user
21. chmod : change mode or change permissions for a file; Ex: chmod 755 test.html
22. rmdir : remove a directory; directory must be empty
23. passwd : change your password
24. mkdir : make a directory
25. ftp : use ftp protocol to login, upload and download files
26. free: shows the amount of RAM being used
27. df : disk free; shows the amount of hard drive space that is free28. du : disk used; amount of hard drive space being used
28. locate : helps user to find a file or program
29. whereis : helps user to find a file or program
30. date : prints current date and time
31. clear : clears the terminal; helps when there is a lot of previous commands on it
32. bash : the default shell in Linux; stands for Bourne Again Shell
33. banner : prints characters as a poster
34. apt-get : used on Debian-based systems, like Debain, Ubuntu and Mepis, to download, install and configure programs and security updates
35. ifconfig : displays the configuration of the network interface
36. tar -xvjf : uncompress a group of files that has been compressed with the bzip2 (bz2). The options stand for: x: extract, v: verbose, j: filter through bzip2, and f: file