A Linux command is a particular instruction that is written in the Linux terminal to execute specific tasks. Like Graphical User Interface(GUI) Linux commands are used for navigating files and directories, changing permissions, installing packages and configuring applications and so on. Advanced Linux commands are somewhat more powerful than basic commands. A few keystrokes of an advanced command can perform tasks in seconds that may take hours while using GUI. In this article, I will give you a cheat sheet for the Advanced Linux Commands with free downloadable links.
Download Advanced Linux Commands Cheat Sheet
What is a Linux Command?
Whatever you type in the terminal application to communicate with the Linux operating system is a Linux command. Linux commands are highly customizable and you can make your own command using Bash. Moreover, there are already available advanced commands that can handle large amounts of data and automate repetitive tasks. For clear understanding here is the structure of a Linux command.
Command -options arguments parametersAdvanced Linux Commands List
You can categorize Linux commands into various types such as File Manipulation, Network Commands and Hardware Based Commands etc. Here I prepared a list of advanced commands of each category that may help you to perform crucial tasks on your machine.
File Management Commands
There are a variety of file management commands in the Linux Operating System. One can create, copy, move and delete files and directories using these commands. Here is a short list of advanced Linux file management commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| scp | Copies files between host over a network |
| rsync -a | Synchronizes files and directories between two different locations |
| ls -al | Displays list of all files and directories including hidden files |
| ln | Creates symbolic(symlink) links between files and directories |
| file | Identifies the type of a file |
| rm -rf | Recursively deletes all the files and sub-directories |
| more | Views the content of a file on one screen at a time |
| xargs | Builds and execute command lines from standard input |
| gpg -c | Symmetrically encrypts files |
| gpg -d | Symmetrically decrypts files |
| cmp | Compares two files byte by byte |
| comm | Compares two sorted files line by line |
| stat | Displays file or file system status |
| split | Splits a file into pieces |
| cut | Removes sections from each line of a file |
| paste | Merges lines of files |
| install | Copies files and set attributes |
| jed | Simple text editor |
| vi | Visual text editor |
| sed | Stream editor for filtering and transforming text |
User Management Commands
In Linux, a user has the privilege of adding new user, modifying existing user and assigning or revoking permissions of a user or group on the system. Here I will make a short list of the most used advanced user management commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| last | Displays the list of previously logged in users |
| adduser | Creates a new user on the system |
| usermod | Modifies attributes of an existing user |
| deluser | Deletes an existing user from the system |
| delgroup | Deletes an existing group from the system |
| groups | Prints group membership of a user |
System Commands
Linux system commands can be employed for a wide range of functions. But the basic task of system commands is easy interaction with the operating system from the terminal.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| chage | Changes user password expiry information |
| fsck | File system consistency check and repair |
| sestatus | Shows SELinux status information |
| iptables | Administration tool for IPv4 packet filtering and NAT |
| service | Starts, stops and restarts services |
Shell Built-ins Commands
Shell built-in commands are not executable like the system commands. However, these commands are useful for performing similar tasks.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| declare | Declares variables and give them attributes |
| enable | Enables and disables shell built-ins |
| exec | Replaces the current shell with another command |
| jobs | Lists active jobs and their status |
Process Related Commands
One can control, monitor and manipulate processes of a Linux system. A few advanced process related commands are listed below.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| pmap | Reports the memory map of a process |
| top | Shows real-time dynamic display of the running processes |
| kill pid | Terminates specific process |
| pkill | Terminates one or more processes based on attributes |
| bg | Resumes a suspended job in the background |
| fg | Brings a background job to the foreground |
| renice | Changes the priority of a running system |
| pgrep | Searches for a process by name |
| pstree | Shows system processes in a hierarchical tree structure |
File Compression Commands
Linux offers a couple of file compression and extraction commands that allow users to effectively manage their storage.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| tar -cf | Creates an archive file and compresses one or more file into it |
| tar -xf | Extracts files and directories from a tar file |
| tar -zcvf | Creates an archive tar file and compresses one or more files while showing the progress |
| gunzip | Decompresses the compressed files |
| rar | Create, manage RAR archive files |
| unrar | Extract files from RAR archives |
| 7z | Create, manage and extract files from 7z archives |
Hardware Based Commands
The hardware based commands on Linux are used for interacting with computer hardwares from the terminal window. These commands allow users to configure and manage hardware components of the system. Here is a brief list of advanced hardware based commands.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| dmesg | Displays bootup messages |
| Ishw | Lists hardware information of the system |
| Isblk | Lists information about available block devices |
| free | Displays information about system’s memory |
| lspci | Displays list of all PCI bushes and devices |
| lsusb | Displays information about USB bushes and devices |
| demidecode | Reports the system’s BIOS information |
| biosdecode | Displays system’s BIOS firmware information |
| hdparm -I /dev/sda | Displays information about first hard drive |
| hwinfo –short | Displays summary of hardware information |
| wodim | Burns CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs |
| badblocks | Checks damaged or unreadable blocks in storage |
| x86info -a | Displays general information about CPU |
Network Commands
Network commands are mostly used for managing and troubleshooting network connections. Using these types of commands a user can diagnose network problems, change network settings and monitor network traffic from the command line.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| ip addr show | Displays information about network interfaces |
| ip address add | Adds a new IP address to a network interface |
| ifconfig | Configures network interfaces with specific IP address |
| ping host | Tests connectivity to a host |
| whois | Retrieves information about a domain |
| dig | Retrieves DNS records of a domain |
| traceroute | Traces the route of a host |
| ssh | Secures encrypted communication |
| netstat -pnltu | Displays information of active TCP and UDP connections |
| host | Obtains information about a domain name or IP address |
| hostname -i | Displays IP address of current hostname |
| telnet | Establishes remote connection |
| finger | Displays user information |
| ftp | File Transfer Protocol client |
| sftp | Secures File Transfer Protocol client |
| nslookup | Queries Internet name servers interactively |
Disk Usage Commands
One can easily allocate disk space, create or delete partitions and format file systems quite efficiently using the Linux commands listed below.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| df -h | Displays free and used spaces on the file system |
| df -i | Displays inode usage on the file system |
| fdisk -l | Lists available disk partition and their sizes |
| du -sh | Shows total size and of a directory or file |
| findmnt | Shows list of currently mounted file systems |
| mount | Mounts a device to specific directory |
| umount | Unmounts a currently mounted file system |
| tree | Displays directory structure in a tree format |
Install Packages Commands
There are several package management commands for installing, upgrading and removing packages in the Linux Operating System.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| rpm -e | Removes a package installed via RPM |
| rpm -i | Install a package via RPM |
Kernel Information and Module Management Commands
An user can easily retrieve information about the currently running kernel and other system parameters from the terminal window. Kernel information commands are super useful for troubleshooting kernel related issues and changing kernel settings.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| uname -a | Display kernel version |
| ismod | Check currently loaded kernel module |
| modinfo | Display information of about a kernel module |
| modprobe –remove | Unload a kernel module from memory |
Miscellaneous Commands
This section contains many other useful commands regardless of their category. A quick glance at these may save hours of learning commands from the beginning.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| vmstat | Reports virtual memory statistics |
| alias | Creates a shortcut for a longer command |
| unalias | Removes previously created alias |
| ufw | Manages firewall rules |
| tr | Translate or delete characters from a text stream |
| tty | Print the file name of the terminal connected to standard input |
| time | Measure execution time of a command |
| printenv | Print values of all environment variables |
| make | Builds executable programs and libraries from source code |
| whereis | Locate binary, source and manual page of a command |
| which | Returns the pathname of file |
| unset | Removes value of an environment variable |
| tee | Read Standard Input and writes it both to Standard Output and other file |
| awk | Extracts and manipulates text data |
| crontab | Instructions for running scheduled job |
| chroot | Changes the root directory for the current process |
| timedatectl | Changes system clock and time-zone |
| at | Schedule commands to run at a specific time |
| bash | A shell command interpreter |
| egrep | Search files for lines matching a pattern using extended regular expressions |
| env | Display and modify environment variables |
| getend | Print the end of a file |
| lsof | List open files and their associated processes |
| mkfs | Create a file system on a device |
| neofetch | Displays system information in the terminal |
| uptime | Shows system uptime and load averages |
| screen | Terminal multiplexer with session management |
| patch | Apply changes to files using a diff file |
| batch | Scheduled jobs to run at a later time when system resources are available |
| strace | Trace system calls and signals of a program and its child processes |
| curl | Transfer data from or to a server using variety of protocols |
| rsyslog | Manages system logs and forwarding them to other systems |
| journalctl | View and manipulate logs from the system journal |
| source | Read and execute file content in the current shell |
| let | Assign an integer value to a variable |
| uniq | Remove or identify duplicate lines of a file |
| set | List name of all shell variables and functions |
Conclusion
In conclusion, the above listed commands will definitely help a power user to do his job within the quickest amount of time. On the other hand, the list can be useful for learners as well to get a hands-on experience of advanced Linux commands. No matter whether the list helps you or not feel free to comment below whatever comes to your mind just after seeing the list.
