🐧Linux basics: commands

2024-02-11

Linux is an open-source operating system kernel used as the foundation for a wide range of operating systems, known as Linux distributions. It provides a robust and customizable environment for computing, suitable for diverse applications, from servers to personal devices. Linux supports multitasking, multiuser capabilities, and a secure, permission-based file system. It is widely employed in server environments due to its stability, security features, and efficiency. As a versatile and freely accessible operating system, Linux plays a crucial role in empowering developers, system administrators, and organizations to build and manage computing infrastructure.

Commands

System Information

1. ls - List directory contents.

2. pwd - Print name of current/working directory.

3. cd - Change directory.

4. man - Display manual pages for commands.

5. uname - Print system information.

File Operations

1. cp - Copy files and directories.

2. mv - Move/rename files and directories.

3. rm - Remove/delete files or directories.

4. mkdir - Create directories.

5. rmdir - Remove empty directories.

Text Processing

1. cat - Concatenate and display files.

2. grep - Search for patterns in files.

3. sed - Stream editor for filtering and transforming text.

4. awk - Pattern scanning and text processing language.

File Viewing and Editing

1. less - View file contents interactively.

2. head - Output the first part of files.

3. tail - Output the last part of files.

4. nano - Terminal text editor.

5. vim - Powerful text editor.

Process Management

1. ps - Report a snapshot of the current processes.

2. top - Display and update sorted information about processes.

3. kill - Send signals to processes.

System Control

1. shutdown - Shutdown or restart the system.

2. reboot - Reboot the system.

3. halt - Halt the system.

Package Management

1. apt-get (or apt on newer systems) - Command-line tool for handling packages.

2. dpkg - Debian package manager.

3. yum - Package manager for RPM-based Linux distributions.

Network

1. ping - Send ICMP ECHO_REQUEST to network hosts.

2. ifconfig - Configure network interfaces.

3. ssh - OpenSSH SSH client (remote login program).

4. scp - Secure copy (remote file copy program).

User Management

1. useradd - Create a new user or update default new user information.

2. userdel - Delete a user account and related files.

3. passwd - Update a user's authentication tokens.

Compression and Archiving

1. tar - Tape archive utility.

2. gzip - Compress or decompress files.

3. zip - Package and compress (archive) files.

Disk Usage

1. df - Report file system disk space usage.

2. du - Estimate file space usage.

Permissions

1. chmod - Change file mode bits (permissions).

2. chown - Change file owner and group.

Miscellaneous Utilities

1. date - Display or set the system date and time.

2. echo - Display a line of text/string.

3. wc - Print newline, word, and byte counts for each file.

4. find - Search for files in a directory hierarchy.

Environment

1. export - Set environment variables.

2. source - Execute commands from a file in the current shell.

3. alias - Create or list command aliases.

4. history - Command history list.

Each of these commands plays a crucial role in Linux system administration and daily usage, covering a wide range of tasks from basic file manipulation to system control and network management.