The command line is an incredibly powerful tool for Linux users, offering a fast and efficient way to perform tasks, automate processes, and manage the system. Here are some essential Linux command line tricks categorized to enhance your productivity.
π File and Directory Management
Command
Description
ls -lah
List files in a directory with detailed information, including hidden files.
cd -
Switch back to the previous directory you were in.
find / -type f -size +100M
List files larger than 100MB to help free up disk space.
du -sh *
Show the size of all files and folders in the current directory.
mkdir new_directory
Create a new directory.
rm -rf directory_name
Remove a directory and all its contents.
touch newfile.txt
Create a new empty file.
mv oldname.txt newname.txt
Rename or move a file.
cp -r source_directory destination_directory
Copy directories and their contents recursively.
tar -cvf archive.tar directory/
Create a .tar archive from a directory.
tar -xvf archive.tar.gz
Extract the contents of a .tar.gz archive.
π Process and System Monitoring
Command
Description
top
Display real-time CPU and memory usage.
htop
An enhanced version of top with a more user-friendly interface.
ps aux
Display all running processes.
kill -9 <PID>
Kill an unresponsive process by its Process ID (PID).
pkill process_name
Kill a process by its name instead of PID.
uptime
Show how long the system has been running.
free -m
Check current memory usage in megabytes.
df -h
Check available disk space in a human-readable format.
journalctl -xe
View system logs for debugging errors.
systemctl status service_name
Check the status of a system service.
systemctl restart service_name
Restart a system service.
π User and Permission Management
Command
Description
whoami
Show the current logged-in user.
passwd
Change the user password.
chmod 755 script.sh
Change file permissions to make a script executable.
chown user:group filename
Change ownership of a file or directory.
adduser username
Add a new user to the system.
deluser username
Remove a user from the system.
π‘ Networking and Connectivity
Command
Description
ping google.com
Send a test signal to Google to check if the internet connection is working.
traceroute google.com
Trace the path packets take to reach Google.
netstat -tulnp
Show active network connections and listening ports.
iptables -L -v -n
List firewall rules.
hostname -I
Display the IP address of the machine.
wget URL
Download a file from the internet.
curl -O URL
Download a file using curl.
scp file.txt user@remote:/destination/path
Securely transfer files between computers using SSH.
rsync -avz source/ destination/
Synchronize files and directories efficiently.
π Text Processing and Search
Command
Description
grep "word" filename.txt
Search for a specific word inside a text file.
awk '{print $1, $3}' filename.txt
Extract specific columns from a text file.
sed 's/old-text/new-text/g' filename.txt
Replace all occurrences of old-text with new-text.
cat filename.txt
Display the contents of a file.
tail -f /var/log/syslog
Continuously monitor system logs for updates.
β³ Productivity Boosters
Command
Description
ctrl + r
Search for a specific command in history.
alias ll='ls -lah'
Create a shortcut for frequently used commands.
history | grep command
Search command history for a specific command.
!!
Re-run the last executed command.
python3 -m http.server 8000
Start a temporary web server in the current directory on port 8000.
Conclusion
Mastering these Linux command-line tricks can greatly enhance your efficiency and control over your system. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced user, these categorized commands will help streamline your workflow. Try them out and take your Linux skills to the next level! π
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