These 60 Linux commands cover navigation, file management, text processing, searching, permissions, storage, archives, networking-by-transfer, and process control. The examples follow GNU Coreutils 9.11 conventions where applicable. Start with read-only commands, quote paths that contain spaces, and inspect a command’s help before using options that delete data, change ownership, write disks, or signal processes.
Before running commands
Use man COMMAND for the full local manual and COMMAND --help for a concise option list. A vertical bar (|) sends one command’s output to another. > overwrites a file, while >> appends; 2> redirects standard error. && runs the next command only when the previous command succeeds. The shell expands * to matching names and ? to one character, so quote patterns when you want a command to receive them literally.
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cd, history, alias, export, source, jobs, fg, bg, and help are shell-dependent builtins, not part of the 60 standalone utilities below. Options and availability can differ between GNU/Linux, BSD, BusyBox, and other systems.
Navigate and identify files
pwd — show your current directory
Syntax: pwd [OPTION]. Example: pwd. It prints the absolute path of the shell’s working directory. Use it before a relative path when you are unsure where a command will act.
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ls — list directory contents
Syntax: ls [OPTION]... [FILE].... Example: ls -lah /var/log. -l shows metadata, -a includes dotfiles, and -h uses readable units. Listing is read-only, but remember that a trailing slash and shell glob can select different paths.
cd — change directory
Syntax: cd [DIR]. Example: cd ~/Documents. It is a shell builtin, so behavior and options depend on your shell. cd - returns to the previous directory; cd alone goes to your home directory.
tree — display a directory tree
Syntax: tree [OPTION] [DIR]. Example: tree -L 2 project/. -L 2 limits output to two levels. Install it separately if your distribution does not provide it; it only reads directory contents.
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mkdir — create directories
Syntax: mkdir [OPTION]... DIRECTORY.... Example: mkdir -p project/src. -p creates missing parents and does not complain when they already exist. Creating a directory changes the filesystem but does not remove existing data.
rmdir — remove empty directories
Syntax: rmdir [OPTION]... DIRECTORY.... Example: rmdir old-empty-dir. It refuses non-empty directories, making it safer for beginners than recursive removal.
touch — create a file or update timestamps
Syntax: touch [OPTION]... FILE.... Example: touch notes.txt. If the file exists, its access and modification times are updated; otherwise an empty file is created.
file — identify file type
Syntax: file [OPTION]... FILE.... Example: file archive.tar.gz. It examines content and metadata rather than trusting a filename extension.
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stat — show detailed status
Syntax: stat [OPTION]... FILE.... Example: stat report.pdf. Output includes size, inode, permissions, ownership, and timestamps; it is useful for diagnosing unexpected file changes.
readlink — print a symbolic-link target
Syntax: readlink [OPTION]... FILE.... Example: readlink -f current. -f resolves the complete canonical path, following links and existing components. A broken link may not resolve.
Copy, move, link, and delete
cp — copy files or directories
Syntax: cp [OPTION]... SOURCE... DIRECTORY. Example: cp -r config/ config.backup/. -r recurses into directories. Confirm the destination before using recursive copies, and consider -i to ask before overwriting.
mv — move or rename
Syntax: mv [OPTION]... SOURCE... DEST. Example: mv draft.txt final.txt. Within one filesystem this usually changes directory entries rather than copying data. Use -i for overwrite prompts; moving to an existing destination can replace it.
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rm — remove files or directories
Syntax: rm [OPTION]... FILE.... Example: rm -- report.tmp. -- ends options so a filename beginning with a hyphen is treated as a name. rm -r descends into directories and rm -f suppresses prompts; rm -rf is high risk and can irreversibly delete large trees.
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ln — create links
Syntax: ln [OPTION]... TARGET LINK_NAME. Example: ln -s /opt/app/current app-current. -s creates a symbolic link; without it, ln creates a hard link when allowed. Relative symlink targets are interpreted relative to the link’s directory.
install — copy and set attributes
Syntax: install [OPTION]... SOURCE DEST. Example: install -m 755 script.sh ~/bin/script.sh. -m 755 sets executable permissions while copying, commonly for deployment scripts.
shred — overwrite before removal
Syntax: shred [OPTION]... FILE.... Example: shred -u temporary-secret.txt. -u removes the file after overwriting. It is high risk and cannot guarantee secure erasure on journaling filesystems, SSDs, snapshots, or copied data.
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Syntax: truncate OPTION... FILE.... Example: truncate -s 0 app.log. Setting size to zero discards the file’s contents while keeping the inode; extending a file creates sparse or zero-filled space depending on the filesystem.
unlink — remove one named file
Syntax: unlink FILE. Example: unlink old-link. It removes exactly one directory entry and does not accept recursive options, but deletion is still irreversible without a backup.
Read, transform, and combine text
cat — print or concatenate files
Syntax: cat [OPTION]... [FILE].... Example: cat README.md. Multiple files are emitted in order. Avoid using it for huge files when less is more suitable.
tac — print lines in reverse order
Syntax: tac [OPTION]... [FILE].... Example: tac events.log. It reverses line order, useful for seeing the newest line first in a log.
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Syntax: less [OPTION] FILE. Example: less /var/log/syslog. Search with /pattern, press n for the next match, and press q to quit. It reads without modifying the file.
head — show the beginning
Syntax: head [OPTION]... [FILE].... Example: head -n 20 data.csv. -n 20 prints the first 20 lines, useful for checking a file’s format before processing it.
tail — show the end or follow a file
Syntax: tail [OPTION]... [FILE].... Example: tail -f app.log. -f keeps reading as new lines arrive; press Ctrl+C to stop following.
wc — count lines, words, and bytes
Syntax: wc [OPTION]... [FILE].... Example: wc -l access.log. -l counts newline characters (normally lines); -w and -c count words and bytes.
nl — number lines
Syntax: nl [OPTION]... [FILE].... Example: nl -ba script.sh. -ba numbers blank as well as nonblank lines, useful when discussing exact script locations.
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cut — extract fields or character ranges
Syntax: cut OPTION... [FILE].... Example: cut -d, -f1 users.csv. -d, sets a comma delimiter and -f1 selects the first field. This is not a full CSV parser for quoted commas.
paste — merge corresponding lines
Syntax: paste [OPTION]... [FILE].... Example: paste names.txt emails.txt. It places lines side by side, separated by tabs by default.
sort — order lines
Syntax: sort [OPTION]... [FILE].... Example: sort -n scores.txt. -n compares numeric values rather than text order. Use -f for case-insensitive sorting or -r to reverse it.
uniq — collapse adjacent duplicates
Syntax: uniq [OPTION]... [INPUT [OUTPUT]]. Example: sort names.txt | uniq -c. -c prefixes counts. Because duplicates must be adjacent, sort first when you want a complete frequency count.
tr — translate or delete characters
Syntax: tr [OPTION]... SET1 [SET2]. Example: tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]' < title.txt. Character classes provide locale-aware sets; quote them so the shell does not reinterpret punctuation.
sed — transform a text stream
Syntax: sed [OPTION]... {script}. Example: sed 's/old/new/g' file.txt. The substitution replaces every old match on each line in the output stream; without -i, the original file is unchanged.
awk — process fields and records
Syntax: awk 'PROGRAM' [FILE].... Example: awk -F, '{print $1}' users.csv. -F, sets the field separator. Awk treats whitespace, delimiters, and records according to its program, so validate input assumptions.
echo — print text
Syntax: echo [OPTION]... [STRING].... Example: echo "$HOME". Variable expansion occurs inside double quotes. For predictable escape handling and formatting, prefer printf.
printf — print formatted text
Syntax: printf FORMAT [ARGUMENT].... Example: printf '%sn' "$USER". The format controls newlines and interpretation, making it safer than relying on implementation-specific echo behavior.
tee — duplicate input to screen and files
Syntax: tee [OPTION]... [FILE].... Example: make 2>&1 | tee build.log. -a appends instead of overwriting. Writing to protected locations may require sudo on the tee side of a pipeline.
Search files, commands, and text
grep — search text patterns
Syntax: grep [OPTION]... PATTERNS [FILE].... Example: grep -Rni 'timeout' config/. -R recurses, -n shows line numbers, and -i ignores case. Quote regular expressions and patterns that contain shell metacharacters.
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Syntax: find [PATH]... [EXPRESSION]. Example: find . -type f -name '*.log'. Tests such as -type and -name select entries; actions such as -delete mutate them. Put the starting path and expression exactly where intended.
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xargs — build commands from input
Syntax: xargs [OPTION] [COMMAND [INITIAL-ARGS]]. Example: find . -name '*.tmp' -print0 | xargs -0 rm --. The null-delimited pair -print0/-0 handles spaces and newlines safely, but this example still deletes files; review the find results first.
which — show a command path
Syntax: which [OPTION]... COMMAND.... Example: which python3. It reports a path found through the shell’s command search, where supported. Shell builtins and aliases may not appear as ordinary executable files.
whereis — locate binaries, sources, and manuals
Syntax: whereis [OPTION]... FILE.... Example: whereis bash. It searches standard locations for related executable, source, and manual paths.
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Syntax: locate [OPTION]... PATTERN.... Example: locate ssh_config. Results come from a prebuilt database, so a recently created or removed file may not appear until the database is updated. It may not be installed by default.
Permissions, ownership, and identity
chmod — change access permissions
Syntax: chmod [OPTION]... MODE FILE.... Example: chmod 640 secrets.txt. Numeric mode gives owner read/write, group read, and no permissions to others. Recursive -R changes an entire tree and is high risk; verify the path first.
chown — change owner and group
Syntax: chown [OPTION]... [OWNER][:[GROUP]] FILE.... Example: sudo chown -R app:app /srv/app. -R recurses and often requires elevation. Symlink handling and whether the link or target is changed depend on options and platform, so read the local manual before applying it broadly.
chgrp — change group ownership
Syntax: chgrp [OPTION]... GROUP FILE.... Example: chgrp developers shared.txt. You generally need to own the file and belong to the target group, or use appropriate privileges. Recursive changes can affect access for many users.
umask — set the default permission mask
Syntax: umask [-p] [-S] [mode]. Example: umask 027. It subtracts permissions from newly created files and directories; it does not change existing objects. As a shell setting, its persistence depends on where your shell startup files define it.
id — show numeric identity and groups
Syntax: id [OPTION]... [USER]. Example: id alice. Output includes user ID, primary group, and supplementary groups, which helps diagnose permission failures.
whoami — print the effective username
Syntax: whoami. Example: whoami. Check it after switching users or using privilege tools so you know which account a command will affect.
who — list logged-in users
Syntax: who [OPTION]... [FILE|ARG1 ARG2]. Example: who. It reports sessions and terminals from the system’s user-accounting data.
groups — display group memberships
Syntax: groups [OPTION]... [USERNAME].... Example: groups "$USER". Use it to check whether your account belongs to a group that grants access to a file, device, or service.
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sudo — run a command with elevated privileges
Syntax: sudo [OPTION] COMMAND. Example: sudo systemctl restart nginx. It runs only when your account is configured in the system’s privilege policy. Read the complete command before authenticating; elevation does not make a destructive command reversible.
Storage, archives, and raw data
df — report free filesystem space
Syntax: df [OPTION]... [FILE].... Example: df -h /. -h uses readable units. Check the filesystem containing a path, because another mount may have a different capacity.
du — estimate file and directory usage
Syntax: du [OPTION]... [FILE].... Example: du -sh ~/Downloads. -s summarizes and -h formats units. It measures directory contents, which can differ from allocated space shown by df.
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tar — create or extract archives
Syntax: tar [OPTION]... [FILE].... Example: tar -czf backup.tgz project/. -c creates, -z uses gzip compression, and -f names the archive. Before extraction, list contents with tar -tzf backup.tgz; archives can contain absolute or traversal paths.
gzip — compress or decompress gzip data
Syntax: gzip [OPTION]... [FILE].... Example: gzip -k large.log. -k keeps the original while creating the compressed file. Without it, gzip normally replaces the input with a .gz file.
zip — create ZIP archives
Syntax: zip [OPTION]... ZIPFILE FILE.... Example: zip -r site.zip public/. -r includes a directory tree. The utility may need separate installation on a minimal system.
unzip — extract ZIP archives
Syntax: unzip [OPTION] archive.zip. Example: unzip site.zip -d site/. -d chooses the destination directory. Inspect untrusted archives first and avoid extracting over sensitive locations.
dd — copy and convert raw data
Syntax: dd [OPERAND].... Example: dd if=/dev/zero of=test.img bs=1M count=100. This creates a 100 MiB test image from zeros. if is input, of output, bs block size, and count the number of blocks. A wrong of, especially a disk device, can destroy data; verify every operand and use a noncritical path for practice.
Processes, jobs, and execution
ps — report running processes
Syntax: ps [OPTION].... Example: ps aux | grep '[n]ginx'. The bracket trick prevents grep from matching its own command line. Output commonly includes process ID, CPU, memory, owner, and command.
top — display a live process view
Syntax: top [OPTION]. Example: top. It refreshes CPU, memory, load, and process information interactively. Press q to quit; availability and interactive keys can vary.
kill — send a signal to a process
Syntax: kill [OPTION]... PID.... Example: kill -TERM 1234. -TERM requests a graceful stop, allowing cleanup. Confirm the PID with ps first; -KILL is a last resort because it cannot be caught or handled, and signaling the wrong process can interrupt critical services.
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Quick Recap
A beginner-safe operating checklist
- Run
pwd, then inspect targets withls -la,find, orstatbefore changing anything. - Quote variables and paths:
rm -- "$file"protects spaces and names beginning with a hyphen. - Prefer
rmdirover recursive removal,cp -i/mv -ibefore overwrites, and a dry listing before archive extraction. - Treat recursive
chmod/chown,rm -rf,shred,dd, andkillas high-risk operations. - Use
sudoonly for the specific command that needs it, and re-check ownership and permissions afterward withid,stat, orls -l. - Remember that pipelines can hide failures unless you inspect each stage or enable your shell’s pipeline-error option; redirecting output can overwrite files immediately.
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