Linux Commands
Ayush Singh
February 16, 2025
1 Commands
Bold letter (LHS) are command which you can use for practise.
Like in some places I uses small bracket() to write things like (source-path)
so when you will be writing command dont use small braket just write source
path only
pwd: • Stands for Present Working Directory (folder), gives you the
location of your current directory.
mkdir name: • Makes another directory in the present directory.
• Example: If you are in a desktop directory and you want
to make a folder named ”sec303” on the desktop, use the
command: mkdir sec303.
ls [-larht] : • It will list all the files or folders (directory) which are present
inside the current directory (folder you are inside).
• larht stand for different type of output that we want to
see in result of list function
-l : Long listing format. Displays detailed information about
each file, such as Permission, Number of links,Owner and
group,Size Modification date and time. Example: ls -l
-a: Shows all files, including hidden files (those starting with
a dot .). Example: ls -a
-r : Lists files in reverse order (Z to A or newest to oldest if
used with -t). Example: ls -r
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-h: Displays file sizes in a human-readable format (e.g., KB,
MB, GB) instead of bytes. Usually used with -l. Example:
ls -lh
-t: Sorts files by modification time, with the newest files first.
Example: ls -lt
• combine uses will do respective works combined
cd : The cd (Change Directory) command is used to go from one di-
rectory to another.
• cd directory name Moves to the specified directory
whose name you will input.
• cd .. Moves to previous directory (if you are prently
in (N)th directory then this command will put you in
(N-1)th directory).
• cd address Moves to directory as given in address.
Example Usages: cd /home/user/Downloads - Moves
to the Downloads directory using an absolute path.
• cd - Switches to the previous directory.
rm [-rf ] file/folder : The rm (Remove) command is used to permanently
delete files and directories.
• -r : deletes a directory files / folders one by one after
asking for each
• -f : Forces the deletion without prompting for confir-
mation.
• -rf combine use will delete folder even if there are files
/ folder inside of that folder without asking.
cp [-r] (source-path) (destination-path): The cp (Copy) command is used
to copy files and directories.
• -r : Recursively copies an entire directory along with
its subdirectories and files.
mv (source-path) (destination-path): The mv (Move) command is used to
move or rename files and directories.
• Moves the entire content, either files or folders, to the
specified destination.
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• Can also be used to rename a file or folder.
cat (filename): The cat (Concatenate) command is used to display the con-
tents of a file on the terminal.
• Displays the entire content at once, without pausing.
• Can also be used to concatenate multiple files.
less (filename): The less command is used to view the contents of a file one
page at a time.
• Allows scrolling through the file using arrow keys.
• Press q to quit and return to the terminal.
more (filename): The more command is similar to less but with limited
navigation.
• Displays the file contents page by page.
• Press the space bar to go to the next page.
• Press q to quit and return to the terminal.
Combining Commands: These commands can be combined for easier read-
ing and navigation.
• cat <filename> | less - Displays the file contents
with less navigation.
• cat <filename> | more - Displays the file contents
with more navigation.
locate (filename): The locate command is used to quickly find the location of
a file by searching through a prebuilt database of filenames.
• Faster than find because it searches the database, not
the file system.
• May need to update the database using sudo updatedb
for accurate results.
find (path) -name (filename): The find command searches for files and
directories in real-time.
• Searches through the directory tree recursively.
• Can search by name, size, modification date, and more.
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grep [-c] (my-string) (where to search): The grep command is used to
search for a specific string or regular expression in files.
• Supports powerful pattern matching using regular ex-
pressions.
• -c: Counts the number of matches instead of displaying
the matched lines.
ssh (user)@(remote-ip): The ssh (Secure Shell) command is used to securely
connect to a remote computer.
• Establishes an encrypted communication channel.
• Commonly used for remote login and command execu-
tion.
scp (source) (user)@(remote-ip):(destination) : The scp (Secure Copy)
command is used to securely copy files between local and
remote systems.
• Utilizes SSH for secure data transfer.
ping (ip-addr): The ping command checks if a remote server or machine is
online and accessible.
• Sends ICMP echo requests to the target machine.
• Measures network latency and packet loss.
top: The top command displays real-time information about system
processes.
• Shows system summary, including CPU and memory
usage.
• Lists active processes managed by the Linux Kernel.
htop: The htop command is an enhanced version of top with a more
user-friendly interface.
• Allows scrolling and searching for specific processes.
• Provides color-coded CPU and memory usage graphs.
