While some users might find using Linux difficult, learning some basic and essential Linux commands and understanding their use can turn out to be very helpful.

This article aims to provide you with a cheat sheet of commonly used and essential Linux commands.

What is Linux OS?

Linux is a family of operating systems developed by Linus Torvalds and it was released on September 17, 1991. It is a Unix-like, open-source operating system. Some of the most common Linux distributions include Ubuntu, Debian, Kali Linux, and Fedora.

In addition to desktops and servers, Linux also offers versions for mobile phones, laptops, and embedded devices.

Essential Linux Commands

We highlight essential Linux commands that are useful even for beginners. Additionally, we’ve arranged the commands by their intended purpose and explained how to use them.

File Management Commands

Firstly, we’ll highlight the commands that are essential for file management.

ls	To list all the files and directories present in the current directory
cd	The change directory is used to navigate between the directories
mkdir	The make directory command allows the user to create a new folder
rm	To remove a file or directory
cp	To copy files and directories
chmod	To change mode/permissions of a file or directory
touch	To create a new file/directory
chown	To change the owner of a file or directory
mv	To move files from one location to the other

Text Management Commands

Here, we’ve curated some essential commands for editing and organizing text files.

cat	To read the text files and their output
grep	To search through text in files
sed	A stream editor used to edit files
awk	To extract and scan text in files
cut	Scans and extracts text from a line
sort	To organize text in files
uniq	To arrange data by removing duplicates
wc	To count the number words, lines, and bytes in files

System Management Commands

Furthermore, we’ll discuss the commands that are essential for basic system management in Linux.

uname	To display the system’s information including username, operating system, etc
df	To display the amount of disc space free or available
top	To manage/monitor the system processes and performance
free	To display the amount of memory free and used in the system
uptime	To display the current running time of the system
who	Shows that who is currently logged into the system
w	To display the list of users currently logged into the system along with their details

Network Management Commands

Now, we’ll briefly discuss the commands that aid in managing the system’s network.

ping	To check the network connectivity between the two devices
ip	To check the IP address of the device
ss	Used in troubleshooting and detecting malicious activities
if config	To display the parameters of the network
traceroute	To troubleshoot network routing issues by tracing the path

Process Management Commands

Adding to the list, let’s list some of the process management commands.

kill	To kill/terminate the processes
ps	To monitor the process status running in the system
jobs	To display the current processes
bg	To resume a previous job
fg	To bring the background job to the foreground and directly interact with it
nice	To run a command at a lesser priority than the normal priority
renice	To change the priority of a process that is already running

Disk Management Commands

Furthermore, we’ll discuss some disk management commands that allow the user to manage the hard disk and its tasks.

fdisk	Used for partitioning a hard disk in the system
mkfs	To make a file system or storage device on the system
mount	To mount and add a file system
umount	To unmount an already added file system
dd	To convert and copy data

User Management Commands

Lastly, we’ll discuss the commands that allow user management within the system. The user management includes the password and username controls.

passwd	To change the password of the system’s user
useradd	To add/create a new user
groupadd	To create a new group
groupmod	To modify an existing group
usermod	To modify an existing user of the machine

Conclusion

To sum up, this article has highlighted all the essential and daily use Linux commands and their purposes. The aforementioned commands are essential for a beginner-level user. While it may be difficult to learn all of them at once, the more you use these commands, the easier it becomes to remember them. Moreover, you can bookmark this article to revisit it whenever you need to check the purpose of any command.