Basic Linux Commands

Basic Linux Commands

1. pwd – Print Working Directory

What it does: Shows the full path of your current directory.

pwd

Example Output:

/home/yourname/projects

2. ls – List Directory Contents

What it does: Lists files and folders in the current directory.

ls

Variants:

• ls -l – long format (detailed)

• ls -a – shows hidden files

• ls -lh – human-readable sizes

Example:

ls -lah

3. cd – Change Directory

What it does: Navigate to a different directory.

cd folder_name

Examples:

cd Documents
cd ..         # Go one level up
cd /          # Go to root directory
cd ~          # Go to home directory

4. mkdir – Make Directory

What it does: Creates a new folder.

mkdir new_folder

5. touch – Create an Empty File

What it does: Creates a new, empty file.

touch file.txt

You can also create multiple:

touch file1.txt file2.txt

6. rm – Remove Files or Folders

What it does: Deletes files or directories.

⚠️ Be careful with this one!

rm file.txt        # Delete a file
rm -r folder_name  # Delete a folder and its contents

7. cp – Copy Files or Folders

cp file1.txt file2.txt        # Copy file1 to file2
cp -r dir1 dir2               # Copy entire folder

8. mv – Move or Rename Files

mv oldname.txt newname.txt      # Rename file
mv file.txt /path/to/folder/    # Move file to a folder

9. cat – View File Contents

cat file.txt

To create and write a file:

cat > file.txt

10. nano or vim – Edit Files

nano file.txt   # Easy text editor
vim file.txt    # Advanced (but steeper learning curve)

11. clear – Clear the Terminal

clear

Shortcut: Ctrl + L

12. history – Show Command History

history

You can re-run a command:

!123   # Run command number 123

13. man – Manual (Help) for a Command

man ls

To quit the manual: press q.

14. df -h – Show Disk Space Usage

df -h

-h means human-readable (MB, GB, etc.)

15. top – Show Running Processes (Live Monitor)

top

Press q to exit.

Bonus: Combine Commands

You can chain commands with &&:

mkdir test && cd test

Would you like this turned into a cheat sheet PDF, or should I explain more advanced commands like permissions (chmod), searching (grep), or networking tools?