Section 1: Basic Linux Commands

Command Description-> Example Explanation

ls List directory contents ls Lists files and directories in the

current directory
cd Change directory cd /path/to/directory Changes the current directory to the
specified path
pwd Print working directory pwd Displays the full path of the current
directory
mkdir Create a new directory mkdir newdir Creates a directory named "newdir"
rmdir Remove a directory rmdir olddir Removes the directory named
"olddir" if it is empty
rm -r Remove directory rm -r olddir Removes the directory named
recursively "olddir" and its contents
touch Create a new file touch newfile Creates an empty file named
"newfile"
echo Print text to the terminal or echo "Hello" > file.txt Writes "Hello" to file.txt, creating it if
file it doesn't exist
cat Concatenate and display cat file.txt Displays the contents of file.txt
file contents
cp Copy files or directories cp file1 file2 Copies file1 to file2
mv Move or rename files or mv file1 file2 Moves or renames file1 to file2
directories
clear Clears the screen
exit Exit the shell or current
session
rm Remove files or directories rm file.txt Deletes file.txt
Section 2: Getting Help at Command Line
Command Description Example Explanation
man Display the manual for a man ls Opens the manual page for the ls command,
command detailing its usage and options
man -k=>Search for manual pages containing the
keyword
info Display information about a info ls Opens the info page for the ls command,
command providing detailed documentation
--help Display help for a command ls --help Displays a brief help message with available
options for the ls command
whatis Brief description of a whatis ls Provides a one-line description of the ls command
command
apropos Search for commands related apropos list Searches for commands related to the keyword
to a keyword "list"

Section 3: Working with Directories

MANOJ BOURA {LINUX ADMIN}

 Command Description Example Explanation
cd Change directory cd /var/log Changes the current directory to /var/log
mkdir Create a new mkdir projects Creates a directory named "projects"
directory
rmdir Remove a directory rmdir projects Removes the "projects" directory if it is empty
pwd Print working pwd Displays the full path of the current directory
directory
ls List directory ls -l Lists files in the current directory with detailed
contents information

. – This directory

. . -The parent directory

$Path – determines command search path

./command -Execute command in this dir rm -rf

directory – recursively removes the diectory

Section 4: Listing Files and Understanding Its Output

Command Description Example Explanation
ls -l List files in long format ls -l Displays detailed information about files, including
permissions, ownership, size, and modification date
ls -F To reveal file type /=>directory , @=>Link ,*=>Executable
ls -r Reverse order
ls -a List all files including ls -a Shows all files in the directory, including hidden files
hidden (those starting with a dot)
ls -lh List files in human-readable ls -lh Displays file sizes in a human-readable format (e.g.,
format KB, MB)
ls -ltr List files sorted by ls -ltr Lists files sorted by modification time, with the
modification time, newest newest files at the bottom
last
ls -R List files recursively ls -R Lists all files and directories recursively, showing the
contents of all subdirectories
ls -S Sort files by size ls -S Lists files sorted by size, with the largest files first
ls -t Sort files by modification ls -t Lists files sorted by modification time, with the
time newest files first
ls -r Reverse the order of the ls -r Lists files in reverse order of the sort, for example, ls
sort -lr lists files in long format with the oldest files first
Tree -C Colorise output
tree -d List directories only

Section 5: File and Directory Permission

MANOJ BOURA {LINUX ADMIN}

 Command Description Example Explanation
chmod Change file mode chmod 755 file.txt Sets permissions for file.txt to 755 (owner:
(permissions) read/write/execute, group: read/execute, others:
read/execute)
chown Change file owner chown user:group Changes the owner and group of file.txt to "user"
and group file.txt and "group"
chgrp Change group chgrp group file.txt Changes the group of file.txt to "group"
ownership
umask Set default file umask 022 Sets default permissions for newly created files
permissions (755)
ls -l List files with ls -l Displays file permissions in the listing
permissions
Section 6: Viewing Files and the Nano Editor
Command Description Example Explanation
cat Display file contents cat file.txt Displays the entire contents of file.txt
more View file contents one screen at more file.txt Displays file.txt one screen at a time, allowing
a time forward movement
less View file contents with less file.txt Displays file.txt with navigation capabilities
backward movement (forward and backward)
nano Simple text editor nano file.txt Opens file.txt in the nano editor for editing

Section 7: Editing Files in vi

Command Description Example Explanation
vi Text editor with two modes: vi file.txt Opens file.txt in the vi editor, starting in
command and insert command mode
vim Improved version of vi vim file.txt Opens file.txt in the vim editor, which has
additional features over vi
Insert Mode Mode to insert text i Enter insert mode to add text
Command Mode to execute commands Esc Exit to command mode to execute
Mode commands
:w Save file in vi/vim :w Saves changes made to the file
:q Quit vi/vim :q Quits the editor without saving changes
:wq Save and quit vi/vim :wq Saves changes and quits the editor
:q! Quit vi/vim without saving :q! Discards changes and quits the editor
Section 8: Deleting, Copying, Moving and Renaming
Command Description Example Explanation
rm Remove files or rm file.txt Deletes file.txt
directories
rm -r Remove directory rm -r dir Deletes the directory "dir" and its contents
recursively
rm -i Prompt before every rm -i file.txt Asks for confirmation before deleting file.txt
removal
rm -f Force remove files or rm -f file.txt Deletes file.txt without prompting, ignoring
directories non-existent files and never prompting

MANOJ BOURA {LINUX ADMIN}

 cp Copy files or directories cp file1 file2 Copies file1 to file2

cp -r Copy directories cp -r dir1 dir2 Copies directory dir1 and its contents to dir2
recursively
mv Move or rename files or mv file1 file2 Moves or renames file1 to file2
directories
mv -i Prompt before mv -i file1 file2 Prompts before overwriting file2 with file1
overwrite
rename Rename multiple files rename Renames all files by replacing 'old' with 'new'
's/old/new/' *
Section 9: Wildcards
Wildcard Description Example Explanation
* Matches any number of characters ls *.txt Lists all .txt files in the directory
? Matches a single character ls file?.txt Lists files like file1.txt, file2.txt
[] Matches any one of the enclosed ls file[13].txt Lists files file1.txt, file2.txt,
characters file3.txt
{} Matches any of the patterns within ls file{1,2}.txt Lists files file1.txt, file2.txt
braces
Section 10: Input and Output Redirection
Command Description Example Explanation
> Redirect output to a file, echo "Hello" > file.txt Writes "Hello" to file.txt, creating or
overwriting it overwriting it
>> Append output to a file echo "Hello" >> file.txt Appends "Hello" to the end of file.txt
< Redirect input from a file wc -l < file.txt Counts the lines in file.txt
` ` Pipe output to another `ls
command
Section 11: Searching Files and Directories
Command Description Example Explanation
find Search for files and find /home -name "*.txt" Finds all .txt files in /home and its
directories subdirectories
locate Quickly find files by locate file.txt Searches the prebuilt database for
name file.txt
grep Search text using patterns grep "hello" file.txt Searches for the string "hello" in file.txt

grep -r Recursively search grep -r "hello" /home Recursively searches for "hello" in
directories /home

Section 12: File Compression and Archiving

Command Description Example Explanation
tar Archive files tar -cvf archive.tar file1 file2 Creates an archive named "archive.tar"
containing file1 and file2
tar -xvf Extract files from an tar -xvf archive.tar Extracts files from "archive.tar"
archive

MANOJ BOURA {LINUX ADMIN}

 tar -tvf List contents of an tar -tvf archive.tar Lists the contents of "archive.tar"
archive
gzip Compress files gzip file.txt Compresses file.txt and creates
file.txt.gz
gunzip Decompress files gunzip file.txt.gz Decompresses file.txt.gz and restores
file.txt
zip Compress files into a zip archive.zip file1 file2 Creates a zip archive "archive.zip"
zip archive containing file1 and file2
unzip Extract files from a zip unzip archive.zip Extracts files from "archive.zip"
archive
Section 13: Transferring and Copying Files Over Network
Command Description Example Explanation
scp Secure copy files scp file.txt user@remote:/path/to/destination/ Copies file.txt to a remote
between hosts server at the specified path
rsync Sync files and rsync -avz file.txt user@remote:/path/to/destination/ Synchronizes file.txt to the
directories remote server, preserving
between hosts permissions and
compressing data
sftp Secure file sftp user@remote Opens an SFTP session to
transfer protocol the remote server for file
transfers
ftp File Transfer ftp remote Connects to a remote FTP
Protocol (less server to transfer files
secure)
Section 14: Customizing Shell Prompt
Command Description Example Explanation
PS1 Customize the shell export PS1="\u@\h:\w\$ " Sets the shell prompt to display
prompt username, hostname, and
current working directory
PROMPT_COMMAND Command to export Executes the date command
execute before the PROMPT_COMMAND='echo -n before displaying the prompt
"$(date)"'
prompt
.bashrc Shell configuration source ~/.bashrc Loads the settings from the
file for bash .bashrc file, which may include
prompt customizations

Section 15: Shell Aliases

Command Description Example Explanation
alias Create a shortcut for a command alias ll='ls -l' Defines ll as a shortcut for ls -l
unalias Remove an alias unalias ll Removes the alias ll
Section 16: Environment Variables
Command Description Example Explanation
export Set or export environment export Adds /new/path to the system PATH
variables PATH=$PATH:/new/path variable
env Display all environment env Lists all currently set environment
variables variables

MANOJ BOURA {LINUX ADMIN}

 printenv Print environment variable printenv PATH Shows the value of the PATH
values environment variable
Section 17: Processes and Job Control
Command Description Example Explanation
ps Display current processes ps aux Lists all running processes with detailed
information
top Display a real-time view of top Provides a dynamic, real-time view of
processes system processes
jobs List background jobs jobs Lists all jobs that are running in the
background
bg Resume a suspended job in bg %1 Resumes the job with ID 1 in the
the background background
fg Bring a job to the foreground fg %1 Brings the job with ID 1 to the foreground
kill Terminate a process by PID kill 1234 Sends a SIGTERM signal to process with
PID 1234
killall Terminate processes by name killall processname Sends a SIGTERM signal to all processes
named processname
pkill Terminate processes by pkill pattern Sends a SIGTERM signal to all processes
pattern matching the pattern
Section 18: Scheduling Repeated Jobs with Cron
Command Description Example Explanation
crontab Manage cron jobs crontab -e Edit the current user's cron jobs
crontab -l List cron jobs crontab -l List all scheduled cron jobs for the
current user
crontab -r Remove all cron crontab -r Remove all cron jobs for the current
jobs user
* * * * * command Cron job timing 05*** Executes /path/to/command at 5 AM
syntax /path/to/command every day

Section 19: Switching Users and Running Commands

Command Description Example Explanation
su Switch user su - username Switches to the user username with a login
shell
sudo Execute commands as another sudo ls /root Executes ls /root with root privileges
user
sudo -i Start a root shell sudo -i Opens an interactive root shell
Section 20: Shell History and Tab Completion

MANOJ BOURA {LINUX ADMIN}

 Command Description Example Explanation
history Display command history history Lists the command history of the current
shell session
!number Execute command from history !10 Repeats the command at history position 10
TAB Autocomplete commands and ls /u[TAB] Completes the path to /usr/ if it exists
filenames
Section 21: Installing Software
Command Description Example Explanation
apt-get Debian-based package sudo apt-get install package Installs the specified package on
manager Debian-based systems
yum Red Hat-based package sudo yum install package Installs the specified package on
manager Red Hat-based systems
dnf Next-generation Red Hat sudo dnf install package Installs the specified package on
package manager Fedora-based systems
rpm RPM package manager sudo rpm -ivh package.rpm Installs the RPM package file

Section 22: Linux Boot Process

Command Description Example Explanation
dmesg Display boot messages `dmesg less`
systemctl Manage system services systemctl status Displays the status of system services
journalctl View system logs journalctl -b Shows logs from the current boot
telinit Changes system runlevel or state telinit runlevel telinit 0 – shutdown system telinit
6-reboot
Section 23: System Logging
Command Description Example Explanation
journalctl Query and view system journalctl Displays the system logs
logs
tail View the end of a file tail /var/log/syslog Shows the last lines of syslog
logrotate Rotate, compress, and mail logrotate Rotates logs as specified in the
system logs /etc/logrotate.conf configuration file
logrotate Manages the rotation and logrotate Rotates, compresses, and manages
compression of log files. /etc/logrotate.conf old log files based on the
configuration in logrotate.conf.
syslogd System logging daemon syslogd -d Starts the syslog daemon with
that handles logging debugging output enabled.
requests from various Typically configured through
services. /etc/syslog.conf.
rsyslogd Enhanced version of rsyslogd -n Starts the rsyslog daemon in the
syslogd; manages system foreground for troubleshooting.
log messages with Can be configured using
additional features. /etc/rsyslog.conf.
logger Adds entries to the system logger "This is a test log Writes a custom log message to
log. message" the syslog, useful for logging
from scripts or commands.

MANOJ BOURA {LINUX ADMIN}

 systemctl status Displays the status of systemctl status sshd Shows the status and recent log
systemd services, entries for the SSH service.
including their logs.
systemctl journal Displays logs for systemd systemctl --no-pager Views the logs of systemd services,
services from the journal. allowing for detailed inspection.

Section 24: Disk Management

Command Description Example Explanation
df Display disk space usage df -h Shows disk space usage in a
humanreadable format
du Display disk usage of files and du -sh /path Shows the disk usage of the directory at
directories /path
fdisk Partition table manipulator fdisk /dev/sda Opens fdisk to manage partitions on
/dev/sda
Section 25: LVM - Logical Volume Manager
Command Description Example Explanation
lvcreate Create a logical lvcreate -n mylv -L 10G Creates a 10GB logical volume named "mylv"
volume vgname in volume group "vgname"
vgcreate Create a volume vgcreate vgname /dev/sda1 Creates a volume group named "vgname" with
group /dev/sda1
pvcreate Create a physical pvcreate /dev/sda1 Initializes /dev/sda1 for use by LVM
volume
Section 26: Managing Users and Groups
Command Description Example Explanation
useradd Add a new user useradd username Creates a new user named "username"
usermod Modify user usermod -aG group username Adds user "username" to the "group"
account group
userdel Delete a user userdel username Deletes the user "username"
groupadd Add a new group groupadd groupname Creates a new group named
"groupname"
groupdel Delete a group groupdel groupname Deletes the group "groupname"
Section 27: TCP/IP Networking for Linux System
Command Description Example Explanation
ip addr Show IP addresses ip addr show Displays IP addresses and network interfaces
ip route Show routing table ip route Displays the routing table
ifconfig Display network ifconfig Displays network interfaces and their
interfaces configurations
netstat Network statistics netstat tuln Shows active network connections and listening
ports
Section 28: Networking
Command Description Example Explanation
ping Test network ping google.com Sends ICMP echo requests to google.com to
connectivity test connectivity
ping -c 3 google.com =>3 packets send

MANOJ BOURA {LINUX ADMIN}

 traceroute Trace the route traceroute google.com Shows the path packets take to reach
packets take google.com
nmap Network exploration nmap 192.168.1.1 Scans the network address 192.168.1.1 for
tool open ports
Section 29: Network Troubleshooting
Command Description Example Explanation
ping Test connectivity to a host ping -c 4 example.com
Sends 4 ICMP packets to
example.com to test connectivity
traceroute Trace the path of packets traceroute example.com Shows the route packets take to
reach example.com
netstat Network statistics netstat -an Displays all network connections
and listening ports
tcpdump Captures and displays all packets on tcpdump Basic command to start capturing
the default network interface. packets on the default interface.
ss Utility to investigate sockets ss -tuln Shows TCP and UDP sockets with
detailed information

Section 30: Special Modes

Command Description Example Explanation
setuid Allows an executable file to chmod u+s /path/to/file When set on a program like
run with the privileges of the /usr/bin/passwd, any user
file owner, not the user executing the program does so
executing it. with the file owner's privileges
(usually root), enabling them to
change passwords.
setgid Causes an executable file to chmod g+s For an executable, the program
run with the group privileges /path/to/file_or_directory runs with the group permissions.
of the file, or ensures For directories, all new files and
directories inherit the group directories created inside inherit
ownership for new files and the directory's group ownership.
directories.
Sticky Bit Prevents users from deleting chmod +t Commonly used in directories like
or renaming files in a /path/to/directory /tmp, where many users can write
directory unless they own the files, but cannot delete or rename
files. files owned by others, even though
they have write access.
single Single-user mode systemctl isolate rescue.target Switches to single-user mode for
system maintenance
rescue Rescue mode systemctl isolate rescue.target Boots into rescue mode for system
recovery
Section 31: Shell Scripting
Command Description Example Explanation
bash Execute a shell script bash script.sh Executes the shell script "script.sh"
chmod +x Make a script executable chmod +x script.sh Makes "script.sh" executable
#!/bin/bash Shebang line for bash #!/bin/bash Indicates that the script should be run
scripts with bash

MANOJ BOURA {LINUX ADMIN}

Section 32: Finding Files and Directories
Command Description Example Explanation
find Search for files and find /home -name "*.txt" Finds all .txt files in the /home
directories directory
locate Quickly find files by name locate file.txt Finds file.txt using a prebuilt
database
which Locate a command which ls Shows the path to the executable for
ls

Section 33: Linux Directories

Directory Description Typical Contents
/ Root directory; the top-level directory. All other directories are subdirectories of /.

/bin Essential user binaries and commands. Common commands like ls, cp, mv, cat.

/boot Static files for bootloader. Kernel images, bootloader configuration files
(e.g., vmlinuz, initrd.img).

/dev Device files; represents hardware devices. Device files like /dev/sda, /dev/tty0, /dev/null.

/etc System-wide configuration files. Configuration files for system services and
applications (e.g., passwd, fstab, network).

/home User home directories. Individual user directories

(e.g., /home/user1, /home/user2).
/lib Shared libraries required by binaries in /bin System libraries and kernel modules.
and /sbin.
/lib64 Shared libraries for 64-bit systems. 64-bit system libraries.
/media Mount point for removable media. Mount points for USB drives, CDs, DVDs.

/mnt Mount point for temporarily mounted Temporary mounts (e.g., external drives).
filesystems.
/opt Optional application software packages. Add-on application software (e.g.,
/opt/application).
/proc Virtual filesystem providing process and Kernel and process information (e.g.,
system information. /proc/cpuinfo,
/proc/meminfo).
/root Home directory for the root user. Root user's personal files and settings.

/run Runtime data; information about the PID files, lock files.
system since the last boot.
/srv Data for services provided by the system. Data for services (e.g., /srv/www for web data).

/sys Virtual filesystem for kernel and device Kernel and device information (e.g., /sys/class).
information.
/tmp Temporary files created by applications. Temporary files and directories.

MANOJ BOURA {LINUX ADMIN}

/usr User-related programs and data. System-wide applications and files (/usr/bin,
/usr/lib).
/usr/bin Binaries for user commands. Executable files for user commands.

/usr/lib Libraries for user programs. Libraries used by binaries in /usr/bin.

/usr/sbin System binaries for administrative tasks. System management commands (e.g., useradd,
shutdown).
/usr/local Local software and scripts installed by the Locally installed software and scripts.
user.
/var Variable data; files that change frequently. Logs, spool files, mail, and temporary files
(/var/log,
/var/spool).
/var/log System and application log files. Log files for system and applications.

/var/spool Spool directories for tasks and services. Mail queues, print jobs.
/var/tmp Temporary files that need to persist Persistent temporary files.
between reboots.
/var/lib Variable data used by applications and Database files, application state information.
services.
/var/cache Cached data from applications. Cached files to speed up application performance.

/var/mail User mailboxes. Mail storage for individual users.

/var/run Runtime information such as system and PID files, process runtime data.
service status.
/var/opt Variable data for applications installed in Application-specific data (similar to /opt).
/opt.
/etc/passwd User account information. Contains user User account entries (e.g.,
details like username, UID, GID, and home root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash).
directory.
/etc/shadow Contains hashed passwords and account Password hashes and expiration info.
expiration information.
/etc/group Defines user groups and their members. Group definitions (e.g., root:x:0:).

/etc/fstab Static filesystem information; lists Filesystem mount details (e.g., /dev/sda1 / ext4
filesystems and mount points. defaults 0 1).
/etc/hosts Static table of IP addresses to hostnames. IP address and hostname mappings.
/etc/hostname Contains the system’s hostname. The system’s hostname.
/etc/resolv.conf DNS resolver configuration file. Nameserver IPs and domain search paths.

/etc/sysctl.conf Configuration file for kernel parameters. Kernel parameter settings (e.g.,
net.ipv4.ip_forward=1).
/etc/network/interfaces Network interface configuration file (used Network interface settings (e.g., auto eth0 iface
in Debian-based systems). eth0 inet dhcp).
/var/log/httpd/ Directory for Apache HTTP server logs Apache access and error logs.
(may vary by distribution).
/var/log/nginx/ Directory for Nginx web server logs (may Nginx access and error logs.
vary by distribution).

MANOJ BOURA {LINUX ADMIN}