DEV Community

Cover image for 🐧 Linux Command Cheat Sheet: Essential Commands with Examples
Snigdha OS profile image Eshan Roy (eshanized)
Eshan Roy (eshanized) for Snigdha OS

Posted on

🐧 Linux Command Cheat Sheet: Essential Commands with Examples

#linux #linuxcommands #devops #opensource

Linux is a powerful operating system, and its command line is the key to unlocking its full potential. Here's your Linux command cheat sheet with examples and a touch of fun 🎉 using emojis for easier navigation!

1. 📂 File and Directory Management

📜 List Files 

ls
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • List all files in a directory.

Example:

ls -la
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • -l: Detailed listing
  • -a: Include hidden files

🚪 Change Directory 

cd <directory>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

cd /home/user/Documents
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • Move to the "Documents" directory.

📁 Create a Directory 

mkdir <directory_name>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

mkdir my_project
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

🗑️ Remove a File or Directory

To remove a file:

rm <file>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

rm example.txt
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

To remove a directory:

rm -r <directory>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

rm -r old_directory
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

📋 Copy Files 

cp <source> <destination>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

cp file.txt /home/user/backup/
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

✂️ Move or Rename Files 

mv <source> <destination>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

mv old_name.txt new_name.txt
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

2. 📝 File Viewing and Editing

👀 View File Contents 

cat <file>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

cat /etc/passwd
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

📖 Page Through File 

less <file>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

less largefile.log
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

✏️ Edit Files 

nano <file>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

nano notes.txt
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • Open the "notes.txt" file for editing in Nano.

3. 👥 User Management

🔄 Switch Users 

su <username>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

su root
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

👤 Add a New User 

sudo useradd -m <username>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

sudo useradd -m alice
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Set a password for the user:

sudo passwd alice
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

🗑️ Delete a User 

sudo userdel <username>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

sudo userdel alice
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

4. 🔐 Permissions

🛠️ Change File Permissions 

chmod <mode> <file>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

chmod 755 script.sh
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • 755: Owner can read/write/execute; others can read/execute.

🙋 Change File Ownership 

sudo chown <user>:<group> <file>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

sudo chown alice:users file.txt
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

5. 🌐 Networking

🌍 Check IP Address 

ip addr
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

📡 Ping a Host 

ping <hostname_or_ip>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

ping google.com
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

⬇️ Download a File 

wget <url>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

wget https://example.com/file.tar.gz
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

6. 💾 Disk and System

💿 Check Disk Space 

df -h
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

📊 View Disk Usage 

du -sh <directory>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

du -sh /var/log
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

🚀 Monitor System Processes 

top
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • Real-time view of system processes.

🧠 Check Memory Usage 

free -h
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

🔄 Reboot or Shutdown

Reboot:

sudo reboot
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Shutdown:

sudo shutdown now
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

7. 📦 Package Management

📥 Install a Package (Debian/Ubuntu) 

sudo apt install <package>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

sudo apt install curl
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

🧹 Remove a Package 

sudo apt remove <package>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

sudo apt remove apache2
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

📈 Update System

On Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

8. 🔍 Searching and Grep

🔎 Find Files 

find <directory> -name "<file_name>"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

find / -name "*.log"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

📂 Search Text in Files 

grep "<text>" <file>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

grep "error" /var/log/syslog
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

9. 📦 Archiving and Compression

📦 Create a Tar Archive 

tar -cvf archive.tar <directory>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

📂 Extract a Tar Archive 

tar -xvf archive.tar
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

💨 Compress Files 

gzip <file>
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Example:

gzip logs.txt
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

10. ⚡ Miscellaneous

📍 Print Working Directory 

pwd
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

⏱️ Check System Uptime 

uptime
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

🧹 Clear Terminal Screen 

clear
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Suggestions From comments by @schelp :

  • ls 
ls -ltrha (to bring the lastest files/dirs that had modifications.
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • cd "", to enter in directories with that had an space into their names, like: 
cd "/home/schelp/my files"
ls -ltrha "/home/schelp/my files"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • df -h (known a little bit more of the filesystem used, maybe its a good idea) 
df -Th
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

One of the shortcuts that I like is: @schelp

  • to clear the terminal screen 
crtl + l
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Suggestion from comment @xinitd :

  • Change directory ownership recursively: 
chown -R user:froup /path/to/directory
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • Just add executable flag to file 
chmod +x /path/to/script.sh
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Conclusion

🎉 Mastering these commands will make your Linux journey smooth and efficient. From file management to networking, this cheat sheet covers essential tasks.

Do you have a favorite Linux command that isn’t here? Share it in the comments below! 👇

Written by: @eshanized
Contributor 1: @schelp
Contributor 2: @xinitd

Top comments (13)

Collapse
 
schelp profile image
Schelp •

Nice work, dude!
Maybe, you can add some like:

  • ls 
ls -ltrha (to bring the lastest files/dirs that had modifications.
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • cd "", to enter in directories with that had an space into their names, like: 
cd "/home/schelp/my files"
ls -ltrha "/home/schelp/my files"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • df -h (known a little bit more of the filesystem used, maybe its a good idea) 
df -Th
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

One of the shortcuts that I like is:

# to clear the terminal screen
crtl + l
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
Collapse
 
eshanized profile image
Eshan Roy (Eshanized) •

Sure bro! I will modify this❤️

Collapse
 
xinitd profile image
Shakhzhakhan Maxudbek • • Edited

Good job! Here my suggestions:

Changing directory ownership recursively:

chown -R user:group /path/to/directory
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Adding executable flag to file:

chmod +x /path/to/script.sh
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
Collapse
 
eshanized profile image
Eshan Roy (eshanized) •

I have added your writing also. Checkout! Thanks for contributing! Do follow my project on GitHub: github.com/Snigdha-OS

Collapse
 
lotfijb profile image
Lotfi Jebali •

Thanks for sharing

Collapse
 
eshanized profile image
Eshan Roy (eshanized) •

Thanks for appreciating ! Do follow my project on GitHub: github.com/Snigdha-OS ❤️

Collapse
 
kiran_baliga profile image
Kiran Baliga •

Nice post!

Collapse
 
eshanized profile image
Eshan Roy (Eshanized) •

Thanks for appreciating ! Do follow my project on GitHub: github.com/Snigdha-OS

Collapse
 
fazly_fathhy profile image
Fazly Fathhy •

what is the difference between chmod +x /path/to/script.sh and chmod u+x /path/to/script.sh ?

Collapse
 
eshanized profile image
Eshan Roy (eshanized) •

chmod +x /path/to/script.sh is used when you want to make the script executable for all users e.g groups and it is equivalent to a+x -a stands for all. on the other side u+x is used when you want to give permission for owner only. in details you can say like chmod +x = rwxr-xr-x and chmod u+x = rwxr--r--. Thank You for the question.

Collapse
 
eshanized profile image
Eshan Roy (Eshanized) •

@schelp I have added your writing also. Checkout! Thanks for contributing! Do follow my project on GitHub: github.com/Snigdha-OS

Collapse
 
abhijeet_waghmare_59c8649 profile image
Abhijeet Waghmare •

Nice

Collapse
 
eshanized profile image
Eshan Roy (Eshanized) •

Thanks for appreciating ! Do follow my project on GitHub: github.com/Snigdha-OS

View full discussion (13 comments)

Some comments may only be visible to logged-in visitors. Sign in to view all comments.

Read next

ayush7614 profile image

How to deploy Granite MOE 1B and 3B in the Cloud?

Ayush kumar -

sharmaprash profile image

Achieve Your Dream React Native Job: The Ultimate Learning Path

Prashant Sharma -

yassinesallami profile image

Introducing the DNA-KEY System: Taking the Password Generator to the Next Level! 🔐

Yassine Sallami -

abhinowww profile image

Mastering Cybersecurity: Essential Tips for Developers to Protect Your Applications

Abhinav Anand -