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The Ultimate A-to-Z Guide to Kali

Linux Commands
Auth:- TRedEye

TRedEye Follow 6 min read · Dec 26, 2024

All (A-Z) Kali Linux Commands

Here is the reformatted version for better readability and structure:

Commands From — A
apt-get
Search for and install software packages (Debian)

aptitude
Search for and install software packages (Debian)

aspell
Spell Checker

awk
Find and Replace text, database sort/validate/index

Commands From — B
basename
Strip directory and suffix from filenames

bash
GNU Bourne-Again Shell

bc
Arbitrary precision calculator language

bg
Send to background

break
Exit from a loop

builtin
Run a shell builtin

bzip2
Compress or decompress named files

Commands From — C
cal
Display a calendar

case
Conditionally perform a command

cat
Concatenate and print (display) the content of files

cd
Change Directory

cfdisk
Partition table manipulator for Linux

chgrp
Change group ownership

chmod
Change access permissions

chown
Change file owner and group

chroot
Run a command with a different root directory

chkconfig
System services (runlevel)

cksum
Print CRC checksum and byte counts

clear
Clear terminal screen

cmp
Compare two files

comm
Compare two sorted files line by line

command
Run a command — ignoring shell functions

continue
Resume the next iteration of a loop

cp
Copy one or more files to another location

cron
Daemon to execute scheduled commands

crontab
Schedule a command to run at a later time

csplit
Split a file into context-determined pieces

cut
Divide a file into several parts

Here is the formatted list as requested:

Commands From — D
date
Display or change the date and time

dc
Desk Calculator

dd
Convert and copy a file, write disk headers, boot records

ddrescue
Data recovery tool

declare
Declare variables and give them attributes

df
Display free disk space

diff
Display the differences between two files

diff3
Show differences among three files

dig
DNS lookup

dir
Briefly list directory contents

dircolors
Colour setup for ls

dirname
Convert a full pathname to just a path

dirs
Display list of remembered directories

dmesg
Print kernel & driver messages

du
Estimate file space usage

Commands From — E
echo
Display message on screen

egrep
Search files for lines that match an extended expression

eject
Eject removable media

enable
Enable and disable builtin shell commands

env
Environment variables

ethtool
Ethernet card settings

eval
Evaluate several commands/arguments

exec
Execute a command

exit
Exit the shell

expect
Automate arbitrary applications accessed over a terminal

expand
Convert tabs to spaces

export
Set an environment variable

expr
Evaluate expressions

Commands From — F
false
Do nothing, unsuccessfully

fdformat
Low-level format a floppy disk

fdisk
Partition table manipulator for Linux

fg
Send job to foreground

fgrep
Search files for lines that match a fixed string

file
Determine file type

find
Search for files that meet a desired criteria

fmt
Reformat paragraph text

fold
Wrap text to fit a specified width

for
Expand words, and execute commands

format
Format disks or tapes

free
Display memory usage

fsck
File system consistency check and repair

ftp
File Transfer Protocol

function
Define Function Macros

fuser
Identify/kill the process that is accessing a file

Commands From — G
gawk
Find and Replace text within files

getopts
Parse positional parameters

grep
Search files for lines that match a given pattern

groupadd
Add a user security group

groupdel
Delete a group

groupmod
Modify a group

groups
Print group names a user is in

gzip
Compress or decompress named files

Commands From — H
hash
Remember the full pathname of a name argument

head
Output the first part of files

help
Display help for a built-in command

history
Command History

hostname
Print or set system name

Commands From — I
iconv
Convert the character set of a file

id
Print user and group id’s

if
Conditionally perform a command

ifconfig
Configure a network interface

ifdown
Stop a network interface

ifup
Start a network interface up

import
Capture an X server screen and save the image to file

install
Copy files and set attributes

Commands From — J
jobs
List active jobs

join
Join lines on a common field

Commands From — K
kill
Stop a process from running

killall
Kill processes by name

Commands From — L
less
Display output one screen at a time

let
Perform arithmetic on shell variables

ln
Create a symbolic link to a file

local
Create variables

locate
Find files

logname
Print current login name

logout
Exit a login shell

look
Display lines beginning with a given string

lpc
Line printer control program

lpr
Off line print

lprint
Print a file

lprintd
Abort a print job

lprintq
List the print queue

lprm
Remove jobs from the print queue

ls
List information about files

lsof
List open files

Commands From — M
make
Recompile a group of programs

man
Show manual

mkdir
Create new folders

mkfifo
Make FIFOs (named pipes)

mkisofs
Create a hybrid ISO9660/JOLIET/HFS filesystem

mknod
Make block or character special files

more
Display output one screen at a time

mount
Mount a file system

mtools
Manipulate MS-DOS files

mtr
Network diagnostics (traceroute/ping)

mv
Move or rename files or directories

mmv
Mass Move and rename files

Commands From — N
netstat
Networking information

nice
Set the priority of a command or job

nl
Number lines and write files

nohup
Run a command immune to hangups

notify-send
Send desktop notifications

nslookup
Query Internet name servers interactively

Commands From — O
open
Open a file in its default application

op
Operator access

Commands From — P
passwd
Modify a user password

paste
Merge lines of files

pathchk
Check file name portability

ping
Test a network connection

pkill
Stop processes from running

popd
Restore the previous value of the current directory

pr
Prepare files for printing

printcap
Printer capability database

printenv
Print environment variables

printf
Print and format data

ps
Process status

pushd
Save and then change the current directory

pwd
Print Working Directory

Commands From — Q
quota
Display disk usage and limits

quotacheck
Scan a file system for disk usage

quotactl
Set disk quotas

Commands From — R
ram
Ram disk device

rcp
Copy files between two machines

read
Read a line from standard input

readarray
Read from stdin into an array variable

readonly
Mark variables/functions as readonly

reboot
Reboot the system

rename
Rename files

renice
Alter priority of running processes

remsync
Synchronize remote files via email

return
Exit a shell function

rev
Reverse lines of a file

rm
Remove files

rmdir
Remove folders

rsync
Remote file copy (Synchronize file trees)

Commands From — S
screen
Multiplex terminal, run remote shells via ssh

scp
Secure copy (remote file copy)

sdiff
Merge two files interactively

sed
Stream Editor

select
Accept keyboard input

seq
Print numeric sequences

set
Manipulate shell variables and functions

sftp
Secure File Transfer Program

shift
Shift positional parameters

shopt
Shell Options

shutdown
Shutdown or restart Linux

sleep
Delay for a specified time

slocate
Find files

sort
Sort text files

source
Run commands from a file

split
Split a file into fixed-size pieces

ssh
Secure Shell client (remote login program)

strace
Trace system calls and signals

su
Substitute user identity

sudo
Execute a command as another user

sum
Print a checksum for a file

suspend
Suspend execution of this shell

symlink
Make a new name for a file

sync
Synchronize data on disk with memory

Commands From — T
tail
Output the last part of file

tar
Tape Archiver

tee
Redirect output to multiple files

test
Evaluate a conditional expression

time
Measure program running time

times
User and system times

touch
Change file timestamps

top
List processes running on the system

traceroute
Trace route to host

trap
Run a command when a signal is set (bourne)

tr
Translate, squeeze, and/or delete characters

true
Do nothing, successfully

tsort
Topological sort

tty
Print filename of terminal on stdin

type
Describe a command

Commands From — U
ulimit
Limit user resources

umask
Users file creation mask

umount
Unmount a device

unalias
Remove an alias

uname
Print system information

unexpand
Convert spaces to tabs

uniq
Uniquify files

units
Convert units from one scale to another

unset
Remove variable or function names

unshar
Unpack shell archive scripts

until
Execute commands (until error)

uptime
Show uptime

useradd
Create new user account

usermod
Modify user account

users
List users currently logged in

uuencode
Encode a binary file

uudecode
Decode a file created by uuencode

Commands From — V
v
Verbosely list directory contents (ls -l -b’)

vdir
Verbosely list directory contents (ls -l -b’)

vi
Text editor (vi editor)

vmstat
Report virtual memory statistics

Commands From — W
wait
Wait for a process to complete

watch
Execute/display a program periodically

wc
Print byte, word, and line counts

whereis
Search the user’s $path, man pages, and source files for a program

which
Search the user’s $path for a program file

while
Execute commands

who
Print all usernames currently logged in

whoami
Print the current user id and name (id -un’)

wget
Retrieve web pages or files via HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP

write
Send a message to another user

Commands From — X
xargs
Execute utility, passing constructed argument lists

xdg-open
Open a file or URL in the user’s preferred application

Commands From — Y
yes
Print a string until interrupted

Cybersecurity Technology Commands Linux Hacking

Written by TRedEye Follow

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I'm a Penetration Tester, Cyber security researcher & Top 2% in Tryhackme

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