I spend a lot of time working with Linux (mostly Ubuntu/Debian), and over time, I’ve noticed that there are a handful of commands I end up using almost every single day. Some are simple, some are a bit more advanced, but together they make my workflow faster and less frustrating.
Here’s my personal list, maybe it’ll help someone who’s just starting out.
1. ls -lh
Checking what’s in a directory with human-readable sizes. I use -lh almost by muscle memory now.
2. grep
Searching through logs or config files quickly. Example:
grep "error" /var/log/syslog
Super useful when debugging.
3. htop
For monitoring processes and system resources. It’s much nicer than plain top.
4. df -h
To check free disk space. I’ve avoided full disks many times thanks to this.
*5. du -sh **
When I want to know which folder is eating all my storage.
6. tar -czvf backup.tar.gz folder/
For quick backups of folders before I make changes. I always prefer having a safe copy.
7. ssh user@server
Nothing fancy here, but since I work with servers a lot, this is basically daily usage.
8. systemctl status
For checking if a service is running (MySQL, Docker, etc.). Saves time compared to digging through logs.
9. chmod and chown
Permissions can be annoying, but knowing how to quickly fix them is a lifesaver.
10. curl
For testing APIs or checking if a web service is responding. Example:
curl -I https://example.com
This list isn’t exhaustive, but these 10 commands cover most of my daily Linux tasks as a developer. The more I use them, the more I realize how powerful the command line is.
What about you? Which Linux commands do you find yourself using every single day?
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