Pro Linux Commands – Day to day use for Linux System Admins
November 21, 2023
Linux
| File Management Commands | |
| Command | Description |
| chgrp | Changes a file’s group |
| chmod | Changes a file’s permissions |
| chown | Changes a file’s user ownership |
| cp | Copies a file |
| dd | Converts and copies |
| df | Displays disk usage statistics |
| du | Displays directory space usage |
| file | Identifies a file type |
| find | Searches for a file |
| ln | Creates a symbolic or hard link |
| ls | Lists files |
| mkdir | Creates a directory |
| mkfifo | Creates a named pipe |
| mknod | Creates a special file |
| mv | Renames or moves a file |
| rm | Removes a file |
| touch | Creates a file or updates a file’s timestamp |
| System Information Commands | |
| Command | Description |
| arch | Displays the system architecture |
| df | Displays disk usage statistics |
| dmesg | Displays buffered kernel messages |
| finger | Displays user information |
| free | Displays free memory statistics |
| hostname | Displays the current host’s name |
| last | Shows the last users who logged in |
| tty | Displays the current terminal name |
| uptime | Displays system load and how long the system has been running |
| vmstat | Displays virtual memory statistics |
| uname | Displays kernel identification information |
| w | Displays uptime information and current users |
| who | Displays current users |
| whoami | Displays the current user |
| Text Processing and Scripting Commands | |
| Command | Description |
| awk | The awk general-purpose text processing language |
| basename | Strips extensions and directories from filenames |
| cat | Displays and concatenates files |
| cmp | Compares binary files |
| cut | Extracts columns of lines |
| diff | Compares text files |
| dirname | Extracts the directory from a filename |
| echo | Prints text |
| ed | A classic line-based text editor |
| egrep | Extended grep |
| ex | A newer line-based text editor |
| expr | Evaluates a mathematical expression |
| false | Returns a nonzero exit code |
| fmt | Breaks long lines and reformats text |
| grep | Searches for lines matching a regular expression |
| groff | A multi-purpose typesetting utility |
| head | Displays the first lines of a file |
| ispell | A spelling checker |
| less | Displays a text file |
| more | Displays a text file |
| nroff | Formats roff documents for text display |
| patch | Incorporates changes into files; the opposite of diff |
| perl | A general-purpose scripting language |
| sed | A stream editor |
| sort | Sorts lines in a file |
| split | Chops a file into pieces |
| tail | Displays the last lines of a file |
| vi | A visual full-screen editor |
| wc | Counts words, lines, and characters in a file |
| xargs | Executes a command repeatedly with arguments from the input stream |
| Online Documentation Commands | |
| Command | Description |
| info | Displays GNU-style documentation |
| man | Displays the traditional Unix online manual |
| Archival and Compression Commands | |
| Command | Description |
| bunzip2 | A decompression program |
| bzip2 | A decompression program |
| cpio | An archival program |
| gunzip | A decompression program |
| gzip | A compression program |
| tar | An archival program |
| uncompress | A decompression program |
| unshar | A de-archival program |
| uudecode | A decoding program (the counterpart of uuencode) |
| uuencode | Encodes binary file into a text file |
| zcat | Decompresses into a file stream |
| Process and System Utility Commands | |
| Command | Description |
| at | Runs a program at a certain time |
| chfn | Changes finger information |
| chsh | Changes shells |
| crontab | Runs a periodic job |
| groups | Shows group membership |
| id | Shows the current user ID |
| kill | Sends a signal to a process |
| logger | Records a message to the system logger |
| login | Allows a user to login |
| lsof | Lists open files and other information |
| mount | Attaches a filesystem to a directory tree |
| newgrp | Changes the current default group |
| nice | Runs a process with a suggested priority |
| passwd | Changes a password |
| printenv | Prints environment variables |
| ps | Displays processes |
| renice | Changes the suggested priority for a process |
| reset | Attempts to reset the terminal |
| strace | Traces system calls |
| su | Switches users |
| sync | Writes kernel buffers to disk |
| time | Displays how much processor and system time a process takes |
| top | Shows the processes with the most resource consumption |
| umount | Detaches a filesystem from a directory tree |
| Miscellaneous Utility Commands | |
| Command | Description |
| bc | A simple calculator |
| cal | Shows a calendar |
| date | Displays the current date |
| dc | Runs the RPN calculator |
| pwd | Prints the working directory |
| script | Starts a shell where all output is recorded in a file |
| sleep | Pauses for a specified number of seconds |
| strings | Attempts to show any text embedded in a binary file |
| yes | Prints an endless stream of lines |
| which | Displays the first matching program in the current path |
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