15 Linux Basic Terminal Commands Everyone Must Know!

Before diving into terminal commands we must know what Linux actually is, there is a lot of misconception among people that Linux is an operating system, but no it is actually a kernel based on UNIX operating system. So the next time if someone mentions Linux as an operating system make sure you correct them :-)

Linux is an entire family of open-source Unix operating systems, that are based on the Linux Kernel. This includes all of the most popular Linux-based systems like Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, and others. More accurately, they’re called distributions or distros.

If you're considering using Linux, learning basic terminal commands will go a long way. In this blog, you’ll learn 15 basic Linux commands that will help you navigate through Linux.

Here is a list of basic Linux commands:

1) pwd

• Use the pwd command to find out the path of the current working directory or folder you’re in.

2) cd

• cd command is used to navigate through the Linux files and directories.

• For instance:

cd /Desktop/React/Portfolio

3) ls

• The ls command is used to view the contents of a directory.

4) cat

• cat is short for concatenate, It is used to list the contents of a file on the standard output.

• To run this command, type cat followed by the file’s name and its extension.

• For instance:

cat index.html

5) mv

• The mv command is to move files, although it can also be used to rename files.

• For instance:

mv hello.txt /Desktop/Documents.

To rename files, the Linux command is

mv oldname.ext newname.ext

6) cp

• Use the cp command to copy files from the current directory to a different directory.

• For instance, the command

cp wallpaper.png /Desktop/Pictures

would create a copy of wallpaper.png from your current directory into the Pictures directory.

7) mkdir

• Use mkdir command to make a new directory.

• For instance:

mkdir Project1

8) rm

• The rm command is used to delete files or directories and the contents within them.

Note: Be very careful with this command this will delete everything and there is no undo

9) touch

• The touch command allows you to create a blank new file through the Linux command line.

• For instance:

touch index.html

10) grep

• This command lets you search through all the text in a given file.

• For example:

grep love poem.txt

11) sudo

• It is short for “SuperUser Do”, this command enables you to perform tasks that require administrative or root permissions.

12) wget

• It is used to download files from the internet. To do so, simply type wget followed by the download link. • For instance:

wget {image_url} -o {image_name}.jpg

13) echo

• This command is used to add data to a file.

• For instance:

echo Hello, world >> file.txt

14) zip

• Use the zip command to compress your files into a zip archive.

15) unzip

• Use the unzip command to extract the zipped files from a zip archive.

Some useful Tips when using Terminal👇

• Use the TAB button to autofill what you are typing.

• Use the clear command to clean up the terminal

• Use Ctrl+C to stop an execution

• If you accidentally freeze your terminal by using Ctrl+S, simply undo this with the unfreeze Ctrl+Q.

In the end, Basic Linux commands will help you execute tasks easily and effectively. It might take a while to remember some of the basic commands, but nothing is impossible with lots of practice.

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