Top 50 Raspberry pi commands List

cheat sheet
Provided by: http://projects-raspberry.com

Find more than 1000 Raspberry PI projects at : http://projects-

raspberry.com/projects-list/

As raspberry pi is built on linux distribution, so it will support all the

common commands of linux. Like in microsoft windows for sensitive or
important stuff we need administrative rights to run anything. We have
super user mode in linux as well. You can access root mode by entering
sudo su at the command prompt. After entering sudo su, you’ll see the
root@raspberrypi:/home/pi# command prompt, and all subsequent
commands will have super user privileges.

Note: As under given list only have summary of the command, you can
use --help at the end of each command to get its complete details.

NORMALLY USED COMMANDS

 apt-get update: Synchronizes the list of packages on your system to the list in the repositories. Use
it before installing new packages to make sure you are installing the latest version.
 apt-get upgrade: Upgrades all of the software packages you have installed.
 clear: Clears previously run commands and text from the terminal screen.
 date: Prints the current date.
 find / -name example.txt: Searches the whole system for the file example.txt and outputs a list of all
directories that contain the file.
 nano example.txt: Opens the file example.txt in the Linux text editor Nano.
 poweroff: To shutdown immediately.
 raspi-config: Opens the configuration settings menu.
 reboot: To reboot immediately.
 shutdown -h now: To shutdown immediately.
 shutdown -h 01:22: To shutdown at 1:22 AM.
 startx: Opens the GUI (Graphical User Interface).
 df : show disk usage
 du : show directory space usage

SYSTEM INFORMATION COMMANDS

 cat /proc/meminfo: Shows details about your memory.
 cat /proc/partitions: Shows the size and number of partitions on your SD card or hard drive.
 cat /proc/version: Shows you which version of the Raspberry Pi you are using.
 df -h: Shows information about the available disk space.
 df /: Shows how much free disk space is available.
 dpkg – –get–selections | grep XXX: Shows all of the installed packages that are related to XXX.
 dpkg – –get–selections: Shows all of your installed packages.
 free: Shows how much free memory is available.
 hostname -I: Shows the IP address of your Raspberry Pi.
 lsusb: Lists USB hardware connected to your Raspberry Pi.
 UP key: Pressing the UP key will print the last command entered into the command prompt. This is a
quick way to repeat previous commands or make corrections to commands.
 vcgencmd measure_temp: Shows the temperature of the CPU.
 vcgencmd get_mem arm && vcgencmd get_mem gpu: Shows the memory split between the CPU
and GPU.

FILE AND DIRECTORY RELATED COMMANDS

 cat example.txt: Displays the contents of the file example.txt.
 cd /abc/xyz: Changes the current directory to the /abc/xyz directory.
 cp XXX: Copies the file or directory XXX and pastes it to a specified location; i.e. cp examplefile.txt
/home/pi/office/copies examplefile.txt in the current directory and pastes it into the /home/pi/ directory.
If the file is not in the current directory, add the path of the file’s location (i.e. cp
/home/pi/documents/examplefile.txt /home/pi/office/ copies the file from the
documents directory to the office directory).
 ls -l: Lists files in the current directory, along with file size, date modified, and permissions.
 ls –lh : Show human readable format (kb, mb...)
 mkdir example_directory: Creates a new directory named example_directory inside the current
directory.
 mv XXX: Moves the file or directory named XXX to a specified location. For example, mv
examplefile.txt /home/pi/office/ moves examplefile.txt in the current directory to the
/home/pi/office directory. If the file is not in the current directory, add the path of the file’s location (i.e. cp
/home/pi/documents/examplefile.txt /home/pi/office/ moves the file from the
documents directory to the office directory). This command can also be used to rename files (but only within
the same directory). For example, mv examplefile.txt newfile.txt renames examplefile.txt to
newfile.txt, and keeps it in the same directory.
 rm example.txt: Deletes the file example.txt.
 rmdir example_directory: Deletes the directory example_directory (only if it is empty).
 scp [email protected]:/some/path/file.txt: Copies a file over SSH. Can be used to download a
file from a PC to the Raspberry Pi. [email protected] is the username and local IP address of the PC,
and /some/path/file.txt is the path and file name of the file on the PC.
 touch example.txt: Creates a new, empty file named example.txt in the current directory.
 archive tar xvzf archive.tar.gz : To extract tar.gz
 tar cvzf archive.tar.gz /file_or_folder/to/archive : To create archive
 gnome-system-monitor : task manage comman
 top : shows running processes
 CTRL-Z : sleeps (stops) the running process
 Fg : brings it back to foreground.


NETWORKING AND INTERNET COMMANDS

 ifconfig: To check the status of the wireless connection you are using (to see if wlan0 has acquired an IP
address).
 iwconfig: To check which network the wireless adapter is using.
 iwlist wlan0 scan: Prints a list of the currently available wireless networks.
 iwlist wlan0 scan | grep ESSID: Use grep along with the name of a field to list only the fields
you need (for example to just list the ESSIDs).
 nmap: Scans your network and lists connected devices, port number, protocol, state (open or closed) operating
system, MAC addresses, and other information.
 ping: Tests connectivity between two devices connected on a network. For example, ping
10.0.0.32 will send a packet to the device at IP 10.0.0.32 and wait for a response. It also works with
website addresses.
 wget http://www.website.com/example.txt: Downloads the file example.txt from the web and
saves it to the current directory.