Essential Shortcuts for Linux Terminal 2024 💥

#linux #shortcut #cli

Master key 🔑 Linux 💻 shortcuts to streamline your workflow and boost command-line efficiency in 2024. From navigation to process management, these shortcuts enhance productivity and make terminal tasks smoother.

Essential Linux Shortcuts for 2024

Terminal Navigation Shortcuts 💻

Ctrl + A – Move cursor to the beginning of the line.
Ctrl + E – Move cursor to the end of the line.
Ctrl + U – Cut everything from the cursor to the beginning of the line.
Ctrl + K – Cut everything from the cursor to the end of the line.
Ctrl + W – Delete the word before the cursor.
Alt + B – Move cursor backward by one word.
Alt + F – Move cursor forward by one word.
Ctrl + Y – Paste the last cut text.

Command History Shortcuts

Ctrl + R – Reverse search in command history.
Ctrl + G – Exit from history searching mode.
!! – Repeat the last command.
!n – Run the command with line number n from history.
!string – Run the last command starting with "string."

Process Management Shortcuts

Ctrl + Z – Suspend the current process.
Ctrl + C – Kill the current process.
Ctrl + D – Logout or end the terminal session.
jobs – List all running jobs in the background.
fg – Bring a background job to the foreground.
bg – Resume a suspended job in the background.

File and Directory Management Shortcuts

Tab – Autocomplete file or directory names.
Alt + . – Insert the last argument of the previous command.
Ctrl + L – Clear the screen (similar to clear command).
!! > file.txt – Repeat the last command and redirect output to a file.

Text Editing Shortcuts

Ctrl + Left/Right Arrow – Move left or right by one word in the line.
Ctrl + Backspace – Delete the previous word.
Ctrl + Shift + C – Copy selected text in the terminal.
Ctrl + Shift + V – Paste text into the terminal.
Shift + Insert – Paste text (alternative for Ctrl + Shift + V).

Miscellaneous

Ctrl + S – Freeze the terminal output.
Ctrl + Q – Resume terminal output after freezing.
Ctrl + T – Swap the last two characters before the cursor.
Ctrl + X, Ctrl + E – Open the current command in the default editor for easier editing.

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Top comments (11)

Gary Huber • Nov 14

I've been using Linux for 30 years, and I never knew of these shortcuts, although they appear to be same as in emacs. Thanks!

Rando DevGuy • Nov 15

They are emacs keybindings. In bash, they are active when the environment variableEDITOR=emacs or FCEDIT=emacs, or set -o emacs has been run. There is also a set of vi compatible keybindings, used when set -o vi has been run.
See "man bash" then search for "Readline Key Bindings".