List of Top 50 Linux Commands and Their Functions

Linux is known for its powerful Command-Line Interface (CLI), which offers a wide range of commands to help you manage your system efficiently. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced Linux user, it is important to know the essential commands and their functions. In this post, we will explore the List of Top 50 Linux Commands that every user should be familiar with along with their primary functions.

 

List of Top 50 Linux commands;

1. ‘ls’ – List Files and Directories

Function: List files and directories in the current directory.

2. ‘cd’ – Change Directory

Function: Change your current working directory.

3. ‘pwd’ – Print Working Directory

Function: Display the path to your current directory.

4. ‘mkdir’ – Make Directory

Function: Create a new directory.

5. ‘rmdir’ – Remove Directory

Function: Delete an empty directory.

6. ‘touch’ – Create Empty File

Function: Create an empty file or update the timestamp of an existing file.

7. ‘rm’ – Remove Files or Directories

Function: Delete files or directories.

8. ‘cp’ – Copy Files and Directories

Function: Copy files or directories from one location to another.

9. ‘mv’ – Move or Rename Files and Directories

Function: Move or rename files and directories.

10. ‘cat’ – Concatenate and Display File Content

Function: Display the content of one or more files.

11. ‘more’ – Display File Content Page by Page

Function: Display the content of a file page by page.

12. ‘less’ – Display File Content with Navigation

Function: Display file content with backward and forward navigation.

13. ‘head’ – Display the Beginning of a File

Function: Show the first few lines of a file.

14. ‘tail’ – Display the End of a File

Function: Show the last few lines of a file.

15. ‘grep’ – Search Text

Function: Search for text patterns in files.

16. ‘find’ – Search for Files and Directories

Function: Search for files and directories based on criteria.

17. ‘chmod’ – Change File Permissions

Function: Modify file permissions.

18. ‘chown’ – Change File Owner

Function: Change the owner of a file or directory.

19. ‘ps’ – Display Process Information

Function: List running processes.

20. ‘kill’ – Terminate Processes

Function: Terminate processes by their process ID (PID).



21. ‘top’ – Monitor System Activity

Function: Display real-time system information and process statistics.

22. ‘df’ – Disk Space Usage

Function: Show disk space usage for mounted filesystems.

23. ‘du’ – Disk Usage

Function: Display disk usage of files and directories.

24. ‘free’ – Memory Usage

Function: Show system memory usage.

25. ‘ifconfig’ – Network Interface Configuration

Function: Display and configure network interfaces.

26. ‘ping’ – Test Network Connectivity

Function: Check network connectivity to a host.

27. ‘ssh’ – Secure Shell

Function: Connect to remote systems securely.

28. ‘scp’ – Secure Copy

Function: Copy files securely between systems over SSH.

29. ‘wget’ – Download Files from the Internet

Function: Download files from the internet via command line.

30. ‘tar’ – Archive and Compression

Function: Create and extract tar archives.



31. ‘zip’ – Create Zip Archives

Function: Create and extract ZIP archives.

32. ‘unzip’ – Extract Zip Archives

Function: Extract files from ZIP archives.

33. ‘sudo’ – Execute Commands as Superuser

Function: Run commands with superuser privileges.

34. ‘useradd’ – Add User Accounts

Function: Create new user accounts.

35. ‘userdel’ – Delete User Accounts

Function: Remove user accounts.

36. ‘passwd’ – Change User Password

Function: For Changing user passwords of Linux.

37. ‘history’ – Command History

Function: View a history of executed commands.

38. ‘alias’ – Create Command Aliases

Function: Define custom command shortcuts.

39. ‘crontab’ – Schedule Tasks

Function: Configure scheduled tasks.

40. ‘locate’ – Quickly Find Files

Function: Locate files and directories in a fast database.

41. ‘shutdown’ – Shutdown or Reboot

Function: Shut down or restart the system.

42. ‘hostname’ – Display or Set Hostname

Function: View or change the system’s hostname.

43. ‘lsof’ – List Open Files and Processes

Function: Display information about open files and processes.

44. ‘nc’ – Netcat

Function: Network utility for reading from and writing to network connections.

45. ‘dd’ – Data Dump

Function: Copy and convert files with low-level operations.



46. ‘tailf’ – Monitor Log Files

Function: Continuously display the end of a log file.

47. ‘nmcli’ – Network Manager Command-Line Interface

Function: Manage network connections via the command line.

48. ‘journalctl’ – Systemd Journal

Function: View and manage system logs.

49. ‘lshw’ – List Hardware Information

Function: Display detailed hardware information.

50. ‘uptime’ – System Uptime

Function: Show how long the system has been running.

Conclusion;

These List of 50 Linux Commands provide a solid foundation for managing and interacting with a Linux system. Whether you’re a system administrator, developer, or an everyday Linux user, mastering these commands will significantly improve your productivity and help you navigate the Linux environment with ease.

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