As a tech, you’ll no doubt come in contact with Linux. This post has a few basic Linux commands you should know.
If you want more information on various commands you can enter man <command>
.
Basic Usage
Command |
Function |
Example Usage |
man |
view manual entry |
man mount |
ls |
list directory content |
ls /home/user |
mkdir |
make directory |
mkdir /home/user/new |
rmdir |
remove directory |
rmdir /home/user/deleteme |
cd |
change current directory |
cd /home/user/new |
pwd |
print current directory |
pwd |
rm |
remove (delete) file |
rm todelete |
cat |
output file to std out (screen) |
cat /home/user/file.txt |
grep |
regex search |
grep strtofind /home/user/file.txt (see man page); use grep -i for case insensitive |
tail |
output last lines of file |
cat /home/user/log.txt | tail |
more |
by-page view of file |
cat /home/user/log.txt | more |
dmesg |
prints message buffer of kernel |
dmesg | more |
top |
display process information |
top |
mv |
moves the specified files |
mv -i originalfile newfile |
cp |
copies the specified files |
cp -R sourcedestination |
Basic Diagnostics
Command |
Function |
Example Usage |
lspci |
list PCI devices |
lspci -v |
lsusb |
list USB devices |
lsusb -v |
df -h |
display free space on disks |
df -h |
sudo fdisk -l |
list connected devices |
sudo fdisk -l |
tail -f |
watch a log live |
tail -f /var/log/messages |
Basic Networking and Processing
Command |
Function |
ifconfig -a |
show net adapter information |
ifconfig -a | grep HWaddr |
print MAC addresses |
ps -A | grep <program name> |
kill processes by name |
sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart |
restart networking |
sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart |
restart graphics system (gnome) |
sudo dexconf |
reset graphics configuration |
sudo ufw status |
get firewall status |
sudo ufw enable |
turn on the firewall |
ufw allow port |
allow port |
ufw deny port |
block port |
sudo apt-get -f install |
try to fix broken packages |
sudo apt-get upgrade |
upgrade all packages |