Essential Linux Commands Cheat Sheet
File & Directory Management
ls # List files
ls -l # Long listing
ls -a # Show hidden files
cd /path/to/dir # Change directory
pwd # Show current directory
mkdir new_folder # Create directory
rmdir folder # Remove empty directory
rm file.txt # Remove file
rm -r folder # Remove folder recursively
cp source dest # Copy file/folder
mv source dest # Move or rename file/folder
touch file.txt # Create empty file
stat file.txt # Detailed info about file
File Viewing & Editing
cat file.txt # Show file content
less file.txt # Scrollable file view
more file.txt # View file (paged)
head file.txt # First 10 lines
tail file.txt # Last 10 lines
nano file.txt # Open file in nano editor
vim file.txt # Open file in vim
Searching & Finding
find . -name "*.txt" # Find .txt files
grep "text" file.txt # Search text in file
grep -r "text" . # Recursive search
locate filename # Fast file search (uses DB)
which command # Path of command
whereis command # All related paths
Package Management (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo apt update # Refresh packages
sudo apt upgrade # Upgrade packages
sudo apt install pkgname # Install package
sudo apt remove pkgname # Remove package
sudo apt autoremove # Remove unused packages
System Info & Monitoring
uname -a # System info
Essential Linux Commands Cheat Sheet
top # Live process view
htop # Advanced task manager
ps aux # List processes
df -h # Disk usage
du -sh folder # Folder size
free -h # RAM usage
uptime # Time system is running
who # Who is logged in
hostname # System hostname
User Management
whoami # Current user
id # User ID & group info
adduser username # Add new user
passwd username # Set password
deluser username # Delete user
su - username # Switch user
sudo command # Run command as root
Permissions & Ownership
chmod 755 file # Change file permissions
chown user:group file # Change ownership
ls -l # Show permissions
umask # Default permission mask
Networking
ifconfig # Show network info
ip a # IP address (modern)
ping google.com # Ping server
traceroute google.com # Trace route
netstat -tulnp # Ports and services
ss -tuln # Show open ports
curl http://example.com # Fetch a web page
wget http://example.com # Download a file
Disk & Partition
lsblk # Show block devices
fdisk -l # List partitions
mount /dev/sdX /mnt # Mount disk
umount /mnt # Unmount disk
df -Th # Show filesystems
Essential Linux Commands Cheat Sheet
Scheduling & Background Jobs
crontab -e # Edit crontab
crontab -l # List cron jobs
at 5pm # Schedule one-time task
jobs # List background jobs
bg # Resume job in background
fg # Bring job to foreground
kill %1 # Kill background job
Archiving & Compression
tar -cvf archive.tar folder # Create tar
tar -xvf archive.tar # Extract tar
tar -czvf archive.tar.gz folder # Create gzip tar
tar -xzvf archive.tar.gz # Extract gzip tar
zip file.zip file1 file2 # Create zip
unzip file.zip # Extract zip
Cleaning & Temp Files
clear # Clear terminal
history # Show command history
!123 # Run command from history
alias ll='ls -alF' # Create alias
Redirection & Pipes
command > file.txt # Redirect output
command >> file.txt # Append output
command < input.txt # Input from file
command1 | command2 # Pipe output to another command
Shell Scripting Example
#!/bin/bash
echo "Hello World"
VAR="Linux"
echo "Welcome to $VAR"
# Run with: bash script.sh or chmod +x script.sh to make executable
File Permissions Reference
Essential Linux Commands Cheat Sheet
Symbolic | Octal | Meaning
-------- | ----- | ---------------------
rwx | 7 | read + write + execute
rw- | 6 | read + write
r-- | 4 | read
--- | 0 | no permission
