Advanced Linux Command List: What Every Experienced User Should Know
Bhashkar Kushwaha4 min read
Linux Cheat Sheet: Essential Commands for Power Users
This cheat sheet covers file operations, permissions, process management, networking, searching, compression, SSH, and more. Bookmark this for quick reference!
📁 File Operations
| Command | Description | Example |
ls | List files | ls -la (detailed list) |
cd | Change directory | cd /var/log |
cp | Copy files | cp file.txt /backup/ |
mv | Move/rename | mv old.txt new.txt |
rm | Remove files | rm -rf dir/ (⚠️ Caution!) |
touch | Create empty file | touch newfile.txt |
mkdir | Create directory | mkdir new_folder |
cat | Display file content | cat file.txt |
less | View file page-by-page | less large.log |
tail | Show last lines | tail -f logfile (follow updates) |
head | Show first lines | head -n 10 file.txt |
🔐 Permissions (chmod, chown)
Understanding rwx (Read, Write, Execute)
| Symbol | Permission | Numeric Value |
r | Read | 4 |
w | Write | 2 |
x | Execute | 1 |
Common Commands
| Command | Description | Example |
chmod | Change permissions | chmod 755 script.sh |
chown | Change owner | chown user:group file.txt |
umask | Set default permissions | umask 022 |
🔄 Process Management
| Command | Description | Example |
ps | List processes | ps aux (all processes) |
top | Interactive process viewer | top |
htop | Enhanced top (install via apt install htop) | htop |
kill | Terminate process | kill -9 PID (force kill) |
pkill | Kill by name | pkill -f "nginx" |
bg | Send process to background | bg %1 |
fg | Bring process to foreground | fg %1 |
jobs | List background jobs | jobs |
🧠 System Information
| Command | Description | Example |
free | Memory usage | free -h (human-readable) |
df | Disk space | df -h |
du | Directory size | du -sh /var/log/ |
uname | Kernel info | uname -a |
uptime | System uptime | uptime |
lscpu | CPU info | lscpu |
lsblk | List block devices | lsblk |
🌐 Network Utilities
| Command | Description | Example |
ping | Test connectivity | ping google.com |
ifconfig | Network interfaces (deprecated, use ip) | ifconfig |
ip | Modern network config | ip a (show IPs) |
netstat | Network stats | netstat -tulnp (list open ports) |
ss | Socket statistics | ss -tulnp |
wget | Download files | wget https://example.com/file.zip |
curl | HTTP requests | curl -O https://example.com/file.zip |
dig | DNS lookup | dig google.com |
whois | Domain info | whois example.com |
traceroute | Network path tracing | traceroute google.com |
🔍 Searching & Text Processing
| Command | Description | Example |
grep | Search text | grep "error" logfile |
find | Search files | find / -name "*.log" |
locate | Fast file search (requires updatedb) | locate nginx.conf |
awk | Text processing | awk '{print $1}' file.txt |
sed | Stream editor | sed 's/old/new/g' file.txt |
📦 Compression & Archiving
| Command | Description | Example |
tar | Archive files | tar -czvf archive.tar.gz /folder/ |
gzip | Compress files | gzip file.txt |
gunzip | Decompress files | gunzip file.txt.gz |
zip | Create ZIP archive | zip archive.zip file1 file2 |
unzip | Extract ZIP | unzip archive.zip |
🚀 SSH Tips & Shortcuts
| Command | Description | Example |
ssh | Connect to remote server | ssh user@host |
scp | Secure copy | scp file.txt user@host:/path/ |
rsync | Sync files | rsync -avz /local/ user@host:/remote/ |
ssh-keygen | Generate SSH keys | ssh-keygen -t ed25519 |
~/.ssh/config | SSH shortcuts | Add: Host myserver |
HostName 1.2.3.4User root |
⚡ Common Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Description |
Ctrl+C | Kill process |
Ctrl+Z | Suspend process |
Ctrl+D | Exit shell |
Ctrl+R | Reverse search history |
!! | Repeat last command |
!$ | Last argument of previous command |
✅ Conclusion
This cheat sheet covers 90% of daily Linux tasks. Keep it handy and master the terminal!
Want more?
Learn Bash scripting (
for,if,whileloops).Explore systemd (
systemctl start/stop/restart).Dive into log analysis (
journalctl,grep).
Happy Learning…
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