The terminal, also known as the command line or shell, is a powerful tool that allows users to interact with the operating system through text-based commands. It provides direct access to system functions, file management, package installation, networking, and process control. Mastering the terminal can greatly enhance efficiency and automation.
| Command |
Description |
pwd |
Print working directory |
ls |
List directory contents |
cd <dir> |
Change directory to <dir> |
mkdir <dir> |
Create a new directory <dir> |
rm <file> |
Remove a file |
rm -r <dir> |
Remove a directory and its contents |
cp <src> <dest> |
Copy file or directory |
mv <src> <dest> |
Move (rename) a file or directory |
touch <file> |
Create an empty file |
cat <file> |
Display file contents |
less <file> |
View file contents page by page |
head <file> |
Display the first 10 lines of a file |
tail <file> |
Display the last 10 lines of a file |
echo <text> |
Print text to the terminal |
clear |
Clear the terminal screen |
| Command |
Description |
chmod 755 <file> |
Change file permissions |
chown user:group <file> |
Change file ownership |
ls -l |
List files with permissions |
| Command |
Description |
ps aux |
Show all running processes |
top |
Display real-time process info |
htop |
Interactive process viewer (install with sudo apt install htop) |
kill <PID> |
Terminate a process by ID |
kill -9 <PID> |
Force terminate a process |
pkill <name> |
Kill a process by name |
jobs |
List background jobs |
fg %<job> |
Bring a background job to foreground |
| Command |
Description |
ping <host> |
Check connectivity to a host |
curl <URL> |
Fetch data from a URL |
wget <URL> |
Download files from a URL |
nmcli dev status |
Show network device status |
ip a |
Show IP addresses |
netstat -tulnp |
Show active network connections (install with sudo apt install net-tools) |
| Command |
Description |
sudo apt update |
Update package lists |
sudo apt upgrade |
Upgrade installed packages |
sudo apt install <package> |
Install a package |
sudo apt remove <package> |
Remove a package |
sudo apt autoremove |
Remove unnecessary dependencies |
sudo apt search <package> |
Search for a package |
| Command |
Description |
df -h |
Show disk space usage |
du -sh <dir> |
Show size of a directory |
free -h |
Show memory usage |
uptime |
Show system uptime |
uname -a |
Show system information |
lsb_release -a |
Show version |
| Shortcut |
Description |
Ctrl + C |
Kill the current process |
Ctrl + Z |
Suspend the current process |
Ctrl + D |
Logout or send EOF |
Ctrl + A |
Move cursor to the beginning of the line |
Ctrl + E |
Move cursor to the end of the line |
Ctrl + U |
Clear text before cursor |
Ctrl + K |
Clear text after cursor |
Ctrl + L |
Clear the terminal screen |
!! |
Repeat last command |
!<cmd> |
Run last command starting with <cmd> |