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Basic Linux Commands

NOTE: the ":" colon is not part of the commands!
  1. ls : lists files in a directory
  2. ls -l : lists files in the long form, which includes size, date edited and permissions
  3. pwd : print working directory, or the directory you are currently in
  4. cd : change directory
  5. cd .. : move up one directory in the tree
  6. rm : remove a file
  7. cp : copy a file
  8. mv : move a file or rename a file
  9. vi or vim : open the vi/vim editor, a simple text editor
  10. emacs : open the emacs editor, a powerful text editor
  11. pico : open the pico editor, a more user-friendly editor
  12. top : lists the running processes and RAM being used; can be used to kill processes
  13. | : a pipe; used to send output from a command (usually ls) into the more command (see below)
  14. more : usually used with 'ls' and '|'; stops the output at one page. The user then can hit the spacebar to move the output another page. Ex: ls | more
  15. ping : used to test network connections between computers
  16. tar -xvzf : used to unpack and decompress .tgz files; the options stand for the following: x: extract, v: verbose, z: unzip, and f: file
  17. uname: prints information about the computer and operating system
  18. uname -a : prints all information available
  19. man : the Linux manual pages or help pages. To use, type 'man ls' to get the manual page for the 'ls' command
  20. ssh : open a secure shell connection
  21. su : switch to superuser or root user
  22. chmod : change mode or change permissions for a file; Ex: chmod 755 test.html
  23. rmdir : remove a directory; directory must be empty
  24. passwd : change your password
  25. mkdir : make a directory
  26. ftp : use ftp protocol to login, upload and download files
  27. free: shows the amount of RAM being used
  28. df : disk free; shows the amount of hard drive space that is free
  29. du : disk used; amount of hard drive space being used
  30. locate : helps user to find a file or program
  31. whereis : helps user to find a file or program
  32. date : prints current date and time
  33. clear : clears the terminal; helps when there is a lot of previous commands on it
  34. bash : the default shell in Linux; stands for Bourne Again Shell
  35. banner : prints characters as a poster
  36. apt-get : used on Debian-based systems, like Debain, Ubuntu and Mepis, to download, install and configure programs and security updates
  37. ifconfig : displays the configuration of the network interface