DEV Community: Nima jahan bakhshian

Linux common commands every developer should know

Nima jahan bakhshian — Sat, 12 Sep 2026 22:03:58 +0000

The command line is one of the most powerful and efficient ways to interact with Linux systems. For developers, knowing the commands can make tasks much faster and easier.
This article provides a reference of useful Linux commands for developers. this commands are organized by category so you can be easily found and used when needed.

Navigation and directory management

ls -> List directory contents

ls -l # long format (permissions, size, date)
ls -la # include hidden files
ls -lh # human-readable sizes
ls -lt # sort by modification time
ls -R # recursive listing

cd -> Change directory

cd /absolute/path
cd .. # go up one level
cd - # switch to previous directory
cd ~ or just cd # go to home directory

pwd -> Print working directory

pwd

mkdir -> Create directories

mkdir <dir_name>
mkdir -p path/to/nested/dir # create parent directories if needed
mkdir -m 755 new_dir # set permissions while creating

File operations

rm -> Remove files/directories

rm file.txt
rm -r directory/ # recursive delete
rm -rf directory/ # force recursive (dangerous!)
rm -i file # interactive confirmation

cp -> Copy files/directories

cp file1 file2
cp -r source/ dest/ # recursive copy
cp -a source/ dest/ # archive mode (preserve attributes)
cp -v file dest/ # verbose output

mv -> Move or rename

mv old_name new_name
mv file /path/to/destination/
mv -i file dest/ # interactive (ask before overwrite)

Viewing searching content

cat -> Display or create files

cat file.txt
cat file1 file2 # concatenate multiple files
cat > newfile.txt # create/overwrite a file
cat >> file.txt # append to a file
cat -n file.txt # show line numbers

grep -> Search text patterns

grep "pattern" file.txt
grep -r "pattern" . # recursive search
grep -i "pattern" file # case-insensitive
grep -n "pattern" file # show line numbers
grep -v "pattern" file # invert match (exclude)
grep -E "regex" file # extended regex

find -> Locate files and directories

find . -name "*.js"
find /path -type f -name "*.log" # only files
find . -mtime -7 # modified in last 7 days
find . -size +10M # files larger than 10MB
find . -name "*.tmp" -delete # find and delete

Permissions

chmod -> Change file permissions

chmod 755 script.sh # rwxr-xr-x
chmod +x script.sh # add execute permission
chmod -R 644 directory/ # recursive

Process management

ps -> List running processes

ps aux # all processes with details
ps -ef # full format listing
ps aux | grep node # filter specific process
ps -u username # processes of a specific user

kill / killall -> Terminate processes

kill PID # graceful termination (SIGTERM)
kill -9 PID # force kill (SIGKILL)
killall process_name # kill by name
kill -15 PID # same as default SIGTERM

Archiving

tar -> Archive and compress

tar -czvf archive.tar.gz folder/ # create gzip archive
tar -xzvf archive.tar.gz # extract
tar -tzvf archive.tar.gz # list contents
tar -cjvf archive.tar.bz2 folder/ # bzip2 compression

System resource monitoring

df -> Display disk space usage

df -h # human-readable sizes (GB/MB)
df -hT # show filesystem type
df -i # show inode usage

du -> Estimate file/directory space usage

du -sh folder/ # total size of a folder (summary)
du -h --max-depth=1 # size of each subfolder
du -ah # show all files and directories

free -> Display memory usage

free -h # human-readable
free -m # show in megabytes
free -s 5 # refresh every 5 seconds

uptime -> Show system uptime and load average

uptime -p # pretty format (“up 2 days, 3 hours”)

top -> Real-time overall system view

top # interactive view
Press M # sort by memory
Press P # sort by CPU
Press q # quit

vmstat -> System memory, processes, CPU, I/O stats

vmstat 1 # update every 1 second
vmstat -s # summary of memory statistics
vmstat -d # disk statistics

Process viewing

pstree -> Display processes in a tree structure

pstree # basic tree
pstree -p # show PIDs
pstree -u # show usernames
pstree -a # show command-line arguments

Command history

history -> View previously executed commands

history # full list
history 20 # last 20 commands
!123 # re-run command number 123
!! # re-run the last command
history | grep "docker" # search past commands

Practical Git Commands Every Developer Should Know

Nima jahan bakhshian — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 08:31:15 +0000

Git is the most widely used version control system in the world. Whether you’re working alone or collaborating with a team, knowing the right commands can save you hours of frustration and help you work more confidently.

Below is a practical collection of the most useful Git commands, organized by real-world workflows.

1. Getting Started

Creates a new Git repository in the current directory

git init

Downloads an existing repository from a remote server and creates a local copy

git clone <repository-url>

Sets your identity so every commit is correctly attributed to you

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

2. Daily Workflow

Check the current status of your working directory

git status # shows which files are modified, staged, or untracked

git status -sb # the shorter and cleaner version

git add <file> # stage a specific file

git add . # stage all changes

# Show unstaged changes (working directory vs staging area)
git diff

# Show staged changes (staging area vs last commit)
git diff --staged

# Create a commit
git commit -m "feat: add image uploader"

3. Working with Branches

Switching Branches with

git switch is the dedicated command for switching branches (safer and clearer than the old git checkout).

# Switch to an existing branch
git switch feature-branch

# Create a new branch and switch to it in one command
git switch -c new-feature

git branch # List all local branches

4. Working with Remotes

Managing Remotes

# Show remote repositories with their fetch and push URLs
git remote -v

# List remote names only
git remote

# Remove a remote
git remote remove origin

# Add a new remote
git remote add origin <repository-url>

# Remove a remote
git remote remove <name>

# Fetch latest changes without merging
git fetch --all --prune

5. Hunting Down Bugs

If a bug has appeared and you're not sure which commit introduced it, bisect uses binary search across your commit history

# Start a binary search to find which commit introduced a bug
git bisect start

# Mark the current commit as bad (contains the bug)
git bisect bad

# Mark a known good commit (for example version v1.0)
git bisect good v1.0

# used to end a Git bisection session, clean up the bisection state
# and return your working directory to the commit you were on before you started
git bisect reset

6. Undoing Changes

Cleaning Up Untracked Files

# Dry-run: show which untracked files would be deleted (safe preview)
git clean -n

# Actually delete untracked files and directories
git clean -fd

# Discard changes in a specific file
git restore <file>

# Discard all local uncommitted changes (dangerous)
git restore .
git clean -fd

# Undo the last commit but keep the changes staged
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Undo the last commit and unstage the changes
git reset HEAD~1

7. Temporarily Saving Work (Stash)

Always give a meaningful message with git stash push -m "...".

After a few days stash@{0}, stash@{1} become completely useless without messages.

# Temporarily save (stash) your uncommitted changes so you can work on something else
git stash

# Save your current uncommitted work (both staged + unstaged) with a clear message
# Very useful when you need to urgently switch branch or pull latest changes
git stash push -m "WIP: login form validation and dark mode toggle"

# Apply the most recent stash and remove it from the stash list
git stash pop

# List all saved stashes
git stash list

# Apply a specific stash (without removing it from the list)
git stash apply stash@{2}

# See what is inside a particular stash
git stash show -p stash@{1}

# Delete a specific stash after you're done with it
git stash drop stash@{1}

# Delete ALL stashes (use carefully)
git stash clear

8. Attaching Notes to Commits

git notes lets you attach extra information to a commit, without changing the commit itself or its hash

git notes add -m "This commit caused a regression in v2.3" <commit-hash>
git log --show-notes

9. A Clean Summary of Contributors

Instead of scrolling through a full commit log, shortlog gives you a ranked summary of who committed what, and how often a quick way to generate a contribution report without external tooling.

git shortlog
git shortlog -sn --all
git shortlog -sn --since="1 month ago"

10. Inspect Any Single Commit in Detail

# Show the full details of a specific commit (message, author, date, and the full diff of changes)
git show <commit-hash>

# Show the content of a specific file as it existed in a particular commit
git show <commit-hash>:path/to/file

Happy coding, and may your commits always be meaningful!