Linux Commands Reference and Cheat Sheet

Site Map

File & Directory Management

ls: List files and directories.
cd: Change the current directory.
pwd: Show the current directory path.
mkdir: Create a new directory.
touch: Create an empty file.
rm: Delete a file or directory.
mv: Move or rename files.
cp: Copy files or directories.
tree: Display directory structure in a tree format.

Viewing & Editing Files

cat: Display file contents.
less: View file one page at a time.
head: Show the first lines of a file.
tail: Show the last lines of a file.
nano: Edit text files in the terminal.
wc: Count lines, words, and characters.
file: Determine file type.

Permissions & Ownership

chmod: Change file permissions.
chown: Change file owner.
ls -l: View file permissions.
umask: Set default permissions.

Searching & Finding

find: Locate files by name or criteria.
grep: Search for text in files.
locate: Quickly find files using a database.
which: Find path of a command.

System Monitoring

top: Real-time process viewer.
htop: Enhanced process viewer.
ps: List running processes.
kill: Terminate a process.
uptime: System uptime.
free -h: Memory usage overview.
df -h: Disk space usage.
du -sh *: Show sizes of folder contents.

Networking

ping: Test network connection.
ip a: Show network addresses.
netstat -tuln: List open ports.
curl: Transfer data from URLs.
wget: Download files.
scp: Copy files over SSH.
ssh: Remote login.

Archiving & Compression

tar: Archive files.
gzip: Compress files.
gunzip: Decompress .gz files.
zip: Create zip archive.
unzip: Extract zip archive.
7z: 7-zip archive utility.

User Management

adduser: Create a new user.
passwd: Change user password.
whoami: Show current user.
sudo: Run command as another user.

Nano Editor Shortcuts

Ctrl+O: Write file (save).
Ctrl+X: Exit nano.
Ctrl+K: Cut line.
Ctrl+U: Paste line.
Ctrl+W: Search.
Ctrl+\: Find and replace.

System & Shell Info

uname -a: System information.
echo $SHELL: Show shell.
env: Environment variables.
history: Command history.
alias: Create shortcuts.
man: View manual pages.
--help: Show command help.

Fun & Extras

cowsay: Talking ASCII cow.
fortune: Random quote.
neofetch: System info in style.
cal: Calendar.
date: Current date and time.