Tutorials : The Linux Command Line Cheat Sheet

 

Here is a clean, scannable Linux Command Line Cheat Sheet covering the essential commands you need for daily system administration, file management, and troubleshooting.

 

1. File & Directory Navigation

• pwd — Print working directory (shows exactly where you are).

• ls — List directory contents.

  • ls -l — Long listing format (shows permissions, owner, size, and date).

  • ls -a — Show all files, including hidden ones (files starting with a dot .).

• cd [directory] — Change directory.

  • cd .. — Move up one directory level.

  • cd ~ — Go straight to your home directory.

2. File Operations (Create, Copy, Move, Delete)

• touch [filename] — Create an empty file.

• mkdir [dir_name] — Make a new directory.

• cp [source] [destination] — Copy files.

  • cp -r [source_dir] [dest_dir] — Copy a directory recursively.

• mv [source] [destination] — Move or rename a file or directory.

• rm [filename] — Remove (delete) a file.

  • rm -r [dir_name] — Delete a directory and all its contents recursively.

  • ⚠️ Warning: rm deletes files permanently. There is no "Trash Bin" via the command line.

3. Viewing & Searching File Content

• cat [filename] — Concatenate and display the entire contents of a file.

• less [filename] — View a file page-by-page (press q to exit).

• head -n [filename] — View the first n lines of a file.

• tail -n [filename] — View the last n lines of a file (use tail -f to follow live log updates).

• grep "[pattern]" [filename] — Search for a specific string or pattern inside a file.

4. Permissions & System Ownership

• sudo [command] — Execute a command with administrative (superuser) privileges.

• chmod [permissions] [filename] — Change mode (modify read/write/execute permissions).

  • Example: chmod +x script.sh makes a script executable.

• chown [user]:[group] [filename] — Change owner and group of a file.

5. System Information & Process Management

• df -h — Show disk free space in a human-readable format.

• free -h — Display free and used memory (RAM).

• top or htop — View active system processes in real-time (resource usage monitor).

• ps aux — Snapshot of all running processes.

• kill [PID] — Terminate a process using its Process ID.

6. Network Utilities

• ping [host] — Send packets to a host (IP or domain) to check network connectivity.

• curl [URL] — Fetch data from a URL (great for testing APIs or downloading files).

• ip a — Show all network interfaces and assigned IP addresses.

Pro-Tips for Speed ⚡

Shortcut	Action
Tab	Autocompletes commands, file names, and paths. Press twice to see all options.
Ctrl + C	Kills/stops the currently running terminal command.
Ctrl + L	Clears the terminal screen (same as typing clear).
history	Displays a numbered list of all commands you've recently typed.

Read article and print from:  Linux Magazin June 2026