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Zane
Zane

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Top 10 Essential Bash Commands for Devs

#beginners #programming #tutorial #bash

10 must-know bash commands, essential for any developer looking to harness the full potential of their software environment.

1. grep - Text Pattern Search

grep is used for searching text patterns within files. It's extremely useful for locating specific strings of text.

  • Basic: Search for "error" in filename.log: 
  grep 'error' filename.log
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  • Advanced: Use regular expressions to find complex patterns. For instance, searching for words starting with 'error' followed by a digit: 
  grep -E 'error[0-9]' filename.log
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2. find - Find Files

find helps locate files and directories based on criteria like name, size, or modification date.

  • Basic: Locate .txt files modified in the last 7 days: 
  find . -name "*.txt" -mtime -7
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  • Advanced: Combine with exec to perform actions, like deleting all .tmp files: 
  find . -name "*.tmp" -exec rm {} \;
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3. tar - File Compression and Extraction

tar is essential for creating and extracting compressed archive files, commonly used for backups and file transfers.

  • Basic: Create a tar.gz archive of a directory: 
  tar -czvf archive.tar.gz /path/to/directory
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  • Advanced: Extract specific files from an archive: 
  tar -xzvf archive.tar.gz --include="specific_file"
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4. awk - Text Processing

awk is a powerful text processing tool, ideal for manipulating data and generating reports.

  • Basic: Print the first column from filename.txt: 
  awk '{print $1}' filename.txt
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  • Advanced: Sum the values of a column: 
  awk '{sum += $1} END {print sum}' filename.txt
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5. sed - Stream Editor

sed allows developers to edit text in a scriptable way, useful for modifying files programmatically.

  • Basic: Replace "oldtext" with "newtext" in filename.txt: 
  sed 's/oldtext/newtext/' filename.txt
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  • Advanced: Delete lines matching a pattern: 
  sed '/pattern_to_delete/d' filename.txt
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6. wget - Download Files

wget enables file downloads from the internet, supporting various protocols like HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP.

  • Basic: Download a file from the web: 
  wget http://example.com/file.zip
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  • Advanced: Download a website for offline viewing: 
  wget --mirror --convert-links --adjust-extension --page-requisites --no-parent http://example.com
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7. chmod - Change File Permissions

chmod changes the file access permissions, crucial for managing the security of files.

  • Basic: Change a file's permissions to read and execute only: 
  chmod 500 script.sh
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  • Advanced: Set sticky bit on a directory to maintain user ownership: 
  chmod +t /path/to/directory
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Change a file's permissions to read and execute only.

chmod 500 script.sh
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8. crontab - Schedule Tasks

crontab is used for scheduling tasks to run at specific times, automating routine background jobs.

  • Basic: Edit the crontab to add a new scheduled task: 
  crontab -e
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  • Advanced: Schedule a script to run at 5 PM every Friday: 
  0 17 * * 5 /path/to/script.sh
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9. ssh - Secure Shell Access

ssh provides secure remote access to other computers or servers over an unsecured network.

  • Basic: Connect to a remote server: 
  ssh username@remote-server.com
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  • Advanced: Use SSH tunneling for secure browsing: 
  ssh -D 8080 -C -N username@remote-server.com
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10. tail -f - Monitor File Changes

tail -f allows users to view the end of a file in real-time, helpful for monitoring log files.

  • Basic: Follow the updates to a log file in real time: 
  tail -f /var/log/syslog
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  • Advanced: Use with grep to filter logs: 
  tail -f /var/log/syslog | grep error
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Top comments (1)

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kalebu profile image
Jordan Kalebu •

A Nice one, Thanks for sharing

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