Basic Linux command you should know

Linux Commands You Must Know as a Regular User

• ls – The most frequently used command in Linux to list directories
• pwd – Print working directory command in Linux
• cd – Linux command to navigate through directories
• mkdir – Command used to create directories in Linux
• mv – Move or rename files in Linux
• cp – Similar usage as mv but for copying files in Linux
• rm – Delete files or directories
• touch – Create blank/empty files
• ln – Create symbolic links (shortcuts) to other files
• cat – Display file contents on the terminal
• clear – Clear the terminal display
• echo – Print any text that follows the command
• less – Linux command to display paged outputs in the terminal
• man – Access manual pages for all Linux commands
• uname – Linux command to get basic information about the OS
• whoami – Get the active username
• tar – Command to extract and compress files in Linux
• grep – Search for a string within an output
• head – Return the specified number of lines from the top
• tail – Return the specified number of lines from the bottom
• diff – Find the difference between two files
• cmp – Allows you to check if two files are identical
• comm – Combines the functionality of diff and cmp
• sort – Linux command to sort the content of a file while outputting
• export – Export environment variables in Linux
• zip – Zip files in Linux
• unzip – Unzip files in Linux
• ssh – Secure Shell command in Linux
• service – Linux command to start and stop services
• ps – Display active processes
• kill and killall – Kill active processes by process ID or name
• df – Display disk filesystem information
• mount – Mount file systems in Linux
• chmod – Command to change file permissions
• chown – Command for granting ownership of files or folders
• ifconfig – Display network interfaces and IP addresses
• traceroute – Trace all the network hops to reach the destination
• wget – Direct download files from the internet
• ufw – Firewall command
• iptables – Base firewall for all other firewall utilities to interface with
• apt, pacman, yum, rpm – Package managers depending on the distro
• sudo – Command to escalate privileges in Linux
• cal – View a command-line calendar
• alias – Create custom shortcuts for your regularly used commands
• dd – Majorly used for creating bootable USB sticks
• whereis – Locate the binary, source, and manual pages for a command
• whatis – Find what a command is used for
• top – View active processes live with their system usage
• useradd and usermod – Add new user or change existing users data
• passwd – Create or update passwords for existing users