Top 50 Linux Commands You should Know

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  1. ls - The most frequently used command in Linux to list directories
  2. pwd - Print working directory command in Linux
  3. cd - Linux command to navigate through directories

mkdir - Command used to create directories in Linux

mv - Move or rename files in Linux

cp - Similar usage as mv but for copying files in Linux

rm - Delete files or directories

touch - Create blank/empty files

ln - Create symbolic links (shortcuts) to other files

cat - Display file contents on the terminal

clear - Clear the terminal display

echo - Print any text that follows the command

less - Linux command to display paged outputs in the terminal

man - Access manual pages for all Linux commands

uname - Linux command to get basic information about the OS

whoami - Get the active username

tar - Command to extract and compress files in Linux

grep - Search for a string within an output

head - Return the specified number of lines from the top

tail - Return the specified number of lines from the bottom

diff - Find the difference between two files

cmp - Allows you to check if two files are identical

comm - Combines the functionality of diff and cmp

sort - Linux command to sort the content of a file while outputting

export - Export environment variables in Linux

zip - Zip files in Linux

unzip - Unzip files in Linux

ssh - Secure Shell command in Linux

service - Linux command to start and stop services

ps - Display active processes

kill and killall - Kill active processes by process ID or name

df - Display disk filesystem information

mount - Mount file systems in Linux

chmod - Command to change file permissions

chown - Command for granting ownership of files or folders

ifconfig - Display network interfaces and IP addresses

traceroute - Trace all the network hops to reach the destination

wget - Direct download files from the internet

ufw - Firewall command

iptables - Base firewall for all other firewall utilities to interface with

apt, pacman, yum, rpm - Package managers depending on the distro

sudo - Command to escalate privileges in Linux

cal - View a command-line calendar

alias - Create custom shortcuts for your regularly used commands

dd - Majorly used for creating bootable USB sticks

whereis - Locate the binary, source, and manual pages for a command

whatis - Find what a command is used for

top - View active processes live with their system usage

useradd and usermod - Add new user or change existing users data

passwd - Create or update passwords for existing users

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/linux-commands