Linux Commands Cheat Sheet

Linux, often associated with being a complex operating system primarily used by developers, may not necessarily fit that description entirely. While it can initially appear challenging for beginners, once you immerse yourself in the Linux world, you may find it difficult to return to your previous Windows systems. The power of Linux commands in controlling your PC, coupled with their clean user interface, can make it hard to switch back to older operating systems. If you’re a developer, you can likely relate to the advantages and appeal of Linux.

To support developers and beginners alike, we have created a comprehensive Linux/Unix command line cheat sheet . This cheat sheet covers all the basic and advanced commands, including file and directory commands, file permission commands, file compression and archiving, process management, system information, networking, and more with proper examples and descriptions. In addition to that we provide all the most used Linux Shortcut which includes Bash shortcuts, Nano shortcuts, VI & Vim Shortcuts Commands. It provides a solid foundation on Linux OS commands, as well as insights into practical applications.

By the end of this cheat sheet, you will have a basic understanding of Linux/Unix Commands and how it makes development easy for developers.

Linux Commands Cheat Sheet

What is Linux?

Linux is an open-source UNIX-like operating system (OS). An operating system is a software that directly manages a system’s hardware and resources, like CPU, memory, and storage. OS acts as a GUI through which user can communicate with the computer. The OS sits between applications and hardware and makes the connections between all of your software and the physical resources that do the work.

Linux Commands List – Table of Content

• File and Directory Operations Commands
• File Permission Commands
• File Compression and Archiving Commands
• Process Management Commands
• System Information Commands
• Networking Commands
• IO Redirection Commands
• Environment Variable Commands
• User Management Commands
• Shortcuts Commands List
  • Bash Shortcuts Commands
  • Nano Shortcuts Commands
  • VI Shortcuts Commands
  • Vim Shortcuts Commands

  Basic Linux Commands with Examples

  In this Linux cheat sheet, we will cover all the most important Linux commands, from the basics to the advanced. We will also provide some tips on how to practice and learn Linux commands. This cheat sheet is useful for Beginners and Experience professionals.

  1. File and Directory Operations Commands

  File and directory operations are fundamental in working with the Linux operating system. Here are some commonly used File and Directory Operations commands:

  Command

  Description

  Options

  Examples

  • -l : Long format listing.
  • -a : Include hidden files hidden ones
  • -h : Human-readable file sizes.
  • ls -l
    displays files and directories with detailed information.
  • ls -a
    shows all files and directories, including
  • ls -lh
    displays file sizes in a human-readable format.
  • cd /path/to/directory
    changes the current directory to the specified path.
  • pwd
    displays the current working directory.
  • mkdir my_directory
    creates a new directory named “my_directory”.
  • -r : Remove directories recursively.
  • -f : Force removal without confirmation.
  • rm file.txt
    deletes the file named “file.txt”.
  • rm -r my_directory
    deletes the directory “my_directory” and its contents.
  • rm -f file.txt
    forcefully deletes the file “file.txt” without confirmation.
  • -r : Copy directories recursively.
  • cp -r directory destination
    copies the directory “directory” and its contents to the specified destination.
  • cp file.txt destination
    copies the file “file.txt” to the specified destination.
  • mv file.txt new_name.txt
    renames the file “file.txt” to “new_name.txt”.
  • mv file.txt directory
    moves the file “file.txt” to the specified directory.
  • touch file.txt
    creates an empty file named “file.txt”.
  • cat file.txt
    displays the contents of the file “file.txt”.
  • -n : Specify the number of lines to display.
  • head file.txt
    shows the first 10 lines of the file “file.txt”.
  • head -n 5 file.txt
    displays the first 5 lines of the file “file.txt”.
  • -n : Specify the number of lines to display.
  • tail file.txt
    shows the last 10 lines of the file “file.txt”.
  • tail -n 5 file.txt
    displays the last 5 lines of the file “file.txt”.
  • -s : Create symbolic (soft) links.
  • ln -s source_file link_name
    creates a symbolic link named “link_name” pointing to “source_file”.
  • -name : Search by filename.
  • -type : Search by file type.
  • find /path/to/search -name “*.txt”
    searches for all files with the extension “.txt” in the specified directory.

  2. File Permission Commands

  File permissions on Linux and Unix systems control access to files and directories. There are three basic permissions: read, write, and execute. Each permission can be granted or denied to three different categories of users: the owner of the file, the members of the file’s group, and everyone else.

  Here are some file permission commands:

  Command

  Description

  Options

  Examples

  • u : User/owner permissions.
  • g : Group permissions.
  • o : Other permissions.
  • + : Add permissions.
  • – : Remove permissions.
  • = : Set permissions explicitly.
  • chmod u+rwx file.txt
    grants read, write, and execute permissions to the owner of the file.
  • chown user file.txt
    changes the owner of “file.txt” to the specified user.
  • chgrp group file.txt
    changes the group ownership of “file.txt” to the specified group.
  • umask 022
    sets the default file permissions to read and write for the owner, and read-only for group and others.

  3. File Compression and Archiving Commands

  Here are some file compression and archiving commands in Linux:

  Commands

  Description

  Options

  Examples

  • -c : Create a new archive.
  • -x : Extract files from an archive.
  • -f : Specify the archive file name.
  • -v : Verbose mode.
  • -z : Compress the archive with gzip.
  • -j : Compress the archive with bzip2.
  • tar -czvf archive.tar.gz files/
    creates a compressed tar archive named “archive.tar.gz” containing the files in the “files/” directory.
  • -d : Decompress files.
  • gzip file.txt
    compresses the file “file.txt” and renames it as “file.txt.gz”.
  • -r : Recursively include directories.
  • zip archive.zip file1.txt file2.txt
    creates a zip archive named “archive.zip” containing “file1.txt” and “file2.txt”.

  4. Process Management Commands

  In Linux, process management commands allow you to monitor and control running processes on the system. Here are some commonly used process management commands:

  Commands

  Description

  Options

  Examples

  • -aux : Show all processes.
  • ps aux
    shows all running processes with detailed information.
    
  • top
    displays a dynamic view of system processes and their resource usage.
  • -9 : Forcefully kill a process.
  • kill PID
    terminates the process with the specified process ID.
  • pkill process_name
    terminates all processes with the specified name.
  • pgrep process_name
    lists all processes with the specified name.
    
  • -i : Ignore case distinctions while searching.
  • -v : Invert the match, displaying non-matching lines.
  • -r or -R : Recursively search directories for matching patterns.
  • -l : Print only the names of files containing matches.
  • -n : Display line numbers alongside matching lines.
  • -w : Match whole words only, rather than partial matches.
  • -c : Count the number of matching lines instead of displaying them.
  • -e : Specify multiple patterns to search for.
  • -A : Display lines after the matching line.
  • -B : Display lines before the matching line.
  • -C : Display lines both before and after the matching line.
  • grep -i “hello” file.txt
  • grep -v “error” file.txt
  • grep -r “pattern” directory/
  • grep -l “keyword” file.txt
  • grep -n “pattern” file.txt
    In these examples we are extracting our desirec output from filename (file.txt)

  5. System Information Commands

  In Linux, there are several commands available to gather system information. Here are some commonly used system information commands:

  sudCommand

  Description

  Options

  Examples

  6. Networking Commands

  In Linux, there are several networking commands available to manage and troubleshoot network connections. Here are some commonly used networking commands:

  Command

  Description

  Examples

  • ifconfig
    shows the details of all network interfaces.
  • ping google.com
    sends ICMP echo requests to “google.com” to check connectivity.
  • netstat -tuln
    shows all listening TCP and UDP connections.
  • ss -tuln
    shows all listening TCP and UDP connections.
    
  • ssh user@hostname
    initiates an SSH connection to the specified hostname.
  • scp file.txt user@hostname:/path/to/destination
    securely copies “file.txt” to the specified remote host.
  • wget http://example.com/file.txt
    downloads “file.txt” from the specified URL.
  • curl http://example.com
    retrieves the content of a webpage from the specified URL.

  7. IO Redirection Commands

  In Linux, IO (Input/Output) redirection commands are used to redirect the standard input, output, and error streams of commands and processes. Here are some commonly used IO redirection commands:

  Command

  Description

  8. Environment Variable Commands

  In Linux, environment variables are used to store configuration settings, system information, and other variables that can be accessed by processes and shell scripts. Here are some commonly used environment variable commands:

  Command

  Description

  9. User Management Commands

  In Linux, user management commands allow you to create, modify, and manage user accounts on the system. Here are some commonly used user management commands:

  Command

  Description

  10. Shortcuts Commands

  There are many shortcuts commands in Linux that can help you be more productive. Here are a few of the most common ones:

  10.1: Bash Shortcuts Commands:

  Navigation	Description	Editing	Description	History	Description
  Ctrl + A	Move to the beginning of the line.	Ctrl + U	Cut/delete from the cursor position to the beginning of the line.	Ctrl + R	Search command history (reverse search).
  Ctrl + E	Move to the end of the line.	Ctrl + K	Cut/delete from the cursor position to the end of the line.	Ctrl + G	Escape from history search mode.
  Ctrl + B	Move back one character.	Ctrl + W	Cut/delete the word before the cursor.	Ctrl + P	Go to the previous command in history.
  Ctrl + F	Move forward one character.	Ctrl + Y	Paste the last cut text.	Ctrl + N	Go to the next command in history.
  Alt + B	Move back one word	Ctrl + L	Clear the screen.	Ctrl + C	Terminate the current command.
  Alt + F	Move forward one word.

  10.2: Nano Shortcuts Commands:

  File Operations	Description	Navigation	Description	Editing	Description	Search and Replace	Description
  Ctrl + O	Save the file.	Ctrl + Y	Scroll up one page.	Ctrl + K	Cut/delete from the cursor position to the end of the line.	Ctrl + W	Search for a string in the text.
  Ctrl + X	Exit Nano (prompt to save if modified).	Ctrl + V	Scroll down one page.	Ctrl + U	Uncut/restore the last cut text.	Alt + W	Search and replace a string in the text.
  Ctrl + R	Read a file into the current buffer.	Alt + \	Go to a specific line number.	Ctrl + 6	Mark a block of text for copying or cutting.	Alt + R	Repeat the last search.
  Ctrl + J	Justify the current paragraph.	Alt + ,	Go to the beginning of the current line.	Ctrl + K	Cut/delete the marked block of text.
  Alt + .	Go to the end of the current line.	Alt + 6	Copy the marked block of text.

  10.3: VI Shortcuts Commands:

  Command	Description
  cw	Change the current word. Deletes from the cursor position to the end of the current word and switches to insert mode.
  dd	Delete the current line.
  x	Delete the character under the cursor.
  R	Enter replace mode. Overwrites characters starting from the cursor position until you press the Escape key.
  o	Insert a new line below the current line and switch to insert mode.
  u	Undo the last change.
  s	Substitute the character under the cursor and switch to insert mode.
  dw	Delete from the cursor position to the beginning of the next word.
  D	Delete from the cursor position to the end of the line.
  4dw	Delete the next four words from the cursor position.
  A	Switch to insert mode at the end of the current line.
  S	Delete the current line and switch to insert mode.
  r	Replace the character under the cursor with a new character entered from the keyboard.
  i	Switch to insert mode before the cursor.
  3dd	Delete the current line and the two lines below it.
  ESC	Exit from insert or command-line mode and return to command mode.
  U	Restore the current line to its original state before any changes were made.
  ~	Switch the case of the character under the cursor.
  a	Switch to insert mode after the cursor.
  C	Delete from the cursor position to the end of the line and switch to insert mode.

  10.4: Vim Shortcuts Commands:

  :wq

  :set nu

  :set number

  Conclusion

  In conclusion, Linux is a widely used operating system for development, and as a developer, you should have knowledge of Linux and its basic commands. In this Cheat Sheet, we covered all commands like creating directories, file compression and archiving, process management, system information, networking and more. In addition to that, this Linux Cheat Sheet is organized and categorized, making it easy for developers to quickly find the commands they need for specific use cases. By utilizing this resource, developers can enhance their productivity and efficiency in working with Linux, leading to smoother and more successful development projects.

  PS. Don’t miss our other Python cheat sheet for data science that covers Scikit-Learn , Bokeh , Pandas and Python basics .

  Linux Commands Cheat Sheet – FAQs

  What is Linux Cheat Sheet?

  When your memory fails or you prefer not to rely on “linux –help ?” in the Terminal, this linux cheat sheet comes to the rescue. It is hard to memorize all the important linux Commandsby heart, so print this out or save it to your desktop to resort to when you get stuck.

  What are the basics of Linux?

  • Kernel . The base component of the OS. Without it, the OS doesn’t work. …
  • System user space . The administrative layer for system-level tasks like configuration and software install. …
  • Applications . A type of software that lets you perform a task.

  What is 777 in Linux command?

  You might have heard of chmod 777. This command will give read, write and execute permission to the owner, group and public .

  How do I see what users are doing in Linux?

  Using the w Command, w command in Linux shows logged-in users and their activities.