Top 50+ Linux Commands You MUST Know

Using Linux commands on a regular basis? Today we’ll look at 50+ Linux commands you must know! The commands listed below are some of the most useful and most frequently used Linux commands. Let’s get right into it!

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
4. mkdir – Command used to create directories in Linux
5. mv – Move or rename files in Linux
6. cp – Similar usage as mv but for copying files in Linux
7. rm – Delete files or directories
8. touch – Create blank/empty files
9. ln – Create symbolic links (shortcuts) to other files
10. cat – Display file contents on the terminal
11. clear – Clear the terminal display
12. echo – Print any text that follows the command
13. less – Linux command to display paged outputs in the terminal
14. man – Access manual pages for all Linux commands
15. uname – Linux command to get basic information about the OS
16. whoami – Get the active username
17. tar – Command to extract and compress files in Linux
18. grep – Search for a string within an output
19. head – Return the specified number of lines from the top
20. tail – Return the specified number of lines from the bottom
21. diff – Find the difference between two files
22. cmp – Allows you to check if two files are identical
23. comm – Combines the functionality of diff and cmp
24. sort – Linux command to sort the content of a file while outputting
25. export – Export environment variables in Linux
26. zip – Zip files in Linux
27. unzip – Unzip files in Linux
28. ssh – Secure Shell command in Linux
29. service – Linux command to start and stop services
30. ps – Display active processes
31. kill and killall – Kill active processes by process ID or name
32. df – Display disk filesystem information
33. mount – Mount file systems in Linux
34. chmod – Command to change file permissions
35. chown – Command for granting ownership of files or folders
36. ifconfig – Display network interfaces and IP addresses
37. traceroute – Trace all the network hops to reach the destination
38. wget – Direct download files from the internet
39. ufw – Firewall command
40. iptables – Base firewall for all other firewall utilities to interface with
41. apt, pacman, yum, rpm – Package managers depending on the distro
42. sudo – Command to escalate privileges in Linux
43. cal – View a command-line calendar
44. alias – Create custom shortcuts for your regularly used commands
45. dd – Majorly used for creating bootable USB sticks
46. whereis – Locate the binary, source, and manual pages for a command
47. whatis – Find what a command is used for
48. top – View active processes live with their system usage
49. useradd and usermod – Add new user or change existing users data
50. passwd – Create or update passwords for existing users