-
Show the current working directory:
pwd -
List all files and directories in the current directory:
ls
-
List files with detailed information (permissions, owner, size, date modified):
ls -l
-
List all files, including hidden ones (files starting with
.):ls -a
-
List files with human-readable sizes (KB, MB, GB):
ls -lh
-
List all files and directories recursively, including subdirectories:
ls -R
-
Change to a specified directory:
cd directory_name -
Move up one directory level:
cd .. -
Move to the root directory:
cd / -
Create a new directory:
mkdir new_folder
-
Create multiple nested directories in one command:
mkdir -p parent/child/grandchild
-
Delete an empty directory:
rmdir foldername
-
Delete a specific file:
rm file.txt
-
Delete a directory and all its contents forcefully:
rm -rf foldername
-
Create an empty file:
touch filename.txt
-
Display the contents of a file:
cat filename.txt
-
Create and edit a file (press
Ctrl + Dto save):cat > filename.txt -
Copy a file to a specified location:
cp file.txt /path/to/destination/
-
Copy an entire directory and its contents:
cp -r source_folder destination_folder
-
Move or rename a file or directory:
mv oldname.txt newname.txt
-
Create a symbolic (soft) link to a file or directory:
ln -s /path/to/target linkname
-
Create a hard link to a file:
ln /path/to/file hardlinkname
-
Show the current system date and time:
date
-
Display how long the system has been running:
uptime
-
Show Linux kernel details:
uname -a
-
Display CPU information:
lscpu
-
List all connected USB devices:
lsusb
-
Display PCI hardware information:
lspci
-
List all storage devices and partitions:
lsblk
-
Show the currently logged-in user:
whoami
-
List all users currently logged into the system:
who
-
Show detailed user login information:
who -a
-
Display active users and their running processes:
w
-
Show user ID and group memberships:
id
-
Show the system hostname:
hostname
-
Display the system’s IP address:
hostname -I
-
Show network configuration details (IP, MAC address, etc.):
ifconfig
-
Display the system’s DNS configuration:
cat /etc/resolv.conf
-
Show the network routing table:
route -n
-
List currently running processes:
ps aux
-
Display real-time system statistics and resource usage:
top
-
Show memory and swap usage in a human-readable format:
free -h
-
Clear the terminal screen:
clear
-
Show the name of the terminal device:
tty
-
Display command history:
history -
Show the calendar for the current month:
cal
-
Show the calendar for a specific year:
cal 2025
-
Shut Down the System
shutdown -P now
-
Restart the System
shutdown -r now
-
Cancel a Scheduled Shutdown
shutdown -c
-
Alternative Shutdown Commands
poweroff- Turns off the system.init 0- Shuts down the system.init 6- Restarts the system.