Linux command manual

Prints the full path of the folder you are in. It is your reference when you get lost.

Lists the content of a folder. With no arguments, the current one.

Changes folder. It is the command you will use most in your whole terminal life.

Draws the tree of folders and files, like a diagram.

Creates an empty file or updates its modification date.

Creates folders. With -p it also creates any missing parents.

Copies files. For whole folders it needs -r.

Moves files or folders. It also renames.

Deletes files. With -r, whole folders. There is no recycle bin.

Deletes folders, but only if they are empty. It is the safe option.

Creates links: a shortcut to another file on the system.

Shows the full technical record of a file: size, permissions, dates and owner.

Shows the whole content of a file. It also joins several on screen.

Opens the file page by page: you can move, search and quit whenever you want.

Shows the first lines of a file (10 by default).

Shows the last lines of a file. The log watcher's command.

Counts lines, words and characters. With pipes it is a result counter.

Searches a pattern inside files and shows only the matching lines.

Finds files and folders by name, type or size inside a tree.

Tells the path of the program that runs when you type a command.

Sorts the lines of a file or of the input. Alphabetical by default.

Removes consecutive repeated lines and, with -c, counts them.

Cuts columns or fields from each line. Ideal for separated listings.

Changes or deletes characters. Very useful to uppercase or clean text.

Edits text as a stream: above all, replaces words inside lines.

Processes text by columns and lets you filter and compute in one line.

Changes the permissions of a file or folder. The basis of Linux security.

Changes the owner of a file. It needs administrator privileges.

Changes the group a file belongs to.

Defines which permissions are REMOVED from new files you create.

Tells which user you are working as right now.

Shows your user number, your main group and the groups you belong to.

Switches user inside the same session. It asks for the other user's password.

Creates a new user account. It requires administrator privileges.

Deletes a user account. With -r it also deletes their home folder.

Changes a user's password. With no arguments, your own.

Shows the processes running on the system.

Shows the free and used space of mounted disks.

Measures how much a folder or file takes. The space detective.

Shows the available RAM and swap area.

Shows system information: kernel, architecture and host name.

Tells how long the machine has been on and the system load average.

Checks whether a host responds and how long it takes.

Shows the path a packet travels to its destination, hop by hop.

Inspects and configures the network: addresses, routes and interfaces.

The classic to see network configuration. Today ip is preferred.

Lists the connections and ports listening on your machine.

Opens a session on another machine, encrypted. The gateway to servers.

Copies files between your machine and another over the ssh connection.

Requests a URL and shows the response. The command to talk to web services.

Downloads files from the internet with a single command.

The Debian and Ubuntu package manager: installs, searches and updates software.

Packs files and folders into a single file, with or without compression.

Prints text on screen. With redirection, it writes to files.

Shows the commands you have typed in this session, numbered.

Creates custom shortcuts for long commands.

Defines environment variables: named values your programs use.

Shows all current environment variables.

Opens the official manual of a command: Linux's source of truth.