Linux Terminal Cheat Sheet¶
Basic commands¶
Zoom in ➜ [CTRL] + [+]
Zoom out ➜ [CTRL] + [-]
Print working directory ➜ pwd
Clear the terminal ➜ [CTRL] + [l] or clear
Assign an alias ➜ alias [alias-name]="[command-to-run]"
Source a file ➜ source [name-of-the-file-to-read-and-execute]
Change directory command cd¶
Move to a specific directory ➜ cd [name-of-your-directory]
Move to the parent directory ➜ cd ..
Move to the home directory ➜ cd or cd ~
Move to the last directory yo were in ➜ cd -
List command ls¶
List all visible files and directories ➜ ls
List all files and directories (include hidden files) ➜ ls -a
Long Listed Format ➜ ls -l
Human Readable Format ➜ ls -lh
Combining arguments: Human Readable Format + Hidden files ➜ ls -lah
Learn more about the ls command ➜ man ls
Search¶
Locate the binary for a program ➜ which [name-of-the-program]
Locate the binary, source and user manual for a program ➜ whereis [name-of-the-program]
Locate files and directories by name ➜ find [path-to-search] -iname [name-of-the-file-you-want-to-search]
Learn more about the find command ➜ man find
Get a brief description for a command ➜ whatis [command-name]
History¶
Get previous commands (one by one) ➜ Use the Up Arrow key ⬆️ to navigate your history
Get previous commands (full list) ➜ history.
Repeat commands from history (bang command) ➜ history ➜ ![number-of-the-command-to-repeat]
Repeat last command (bang-bang command) ➜ !!
Working with files and directories¶
Create a new file (without open it) ➜ touch [name-of-your-file]
Create a new file using a text editor ➜ vim [name-of-your-file] or nano [name-of-your-file]
Copy a file ➜ cp [source-path-of-your-file] [destination-path-for-your-file]
Create a new directory ➜ mkdir [new-directory-name]
Remove an empty directory ➜ rmdir [name-of-the-directory-you-want-to-remove]
Remove command rm¶
Remove a file ➜ rm [name-of-your-file]
Remove a directory recursively (use with caution) ➜ rm -rf [name-of-your-directory]
Concatenate command cat¶
View a single file ➜ cat [name-of-your-file]
View a single file including the line numbers ➜ cat -n [name-of-your-file]
Copy the content of one file to another file ➜ cat [filename-whose-contents-is-to-be-copied] > [destination-filename]
Learn more about the cat command ➜ man cat
Move command mv¶
Move a file ➜ mv [source-path-of-your-file] [destination-path-for-your-file]
Rename a file ➜ mv [name-of-your-file] [new name-of-your-file]
Search with Grep¶
Search for a string within a file ➜ grep [term-to-search] [source-file-to-search]
Case Insensitive Search within a file ➜ grep -i [term-to-search] [source-file-to-search]
Search for non-matching lines within a file ➜ grep -v [term-to-search] [source-file-to-search]
Recursive search within a directory ➜ grep -r [term-to-search] [path-to-directory-to-search]
Multiple searches within a file ➜ grep -E "[first-term-to-search|second-term-to-search]" [source-file-to-search]
Count search results ➜ grep -c [term-to-search] [source-file-to-search]
Showing the name of the matching files ➜ grep -l [term-to-search] [matching-files-to-search]
Learn more about grep ➜ man grep
Pipes¶
Piping commands ➜ [command 1] | [command 2] | [command n]
Piping filtered search results into a new file ➜ ls | grep [term-to-filter] | cat > [path-to-new-file]/[name-for-new-file]
Searching through your command history ➜ history | grep "[term-to-search]"
Permissions: Change file mode bits command (chmod)
Add execute permission to everyone ➜ chmod a+x [name-of-the-file] or chmod +x [name-of-the-file]
Remove execute permission to everyone ➜ chmod a-x [name-of-the-file] or chmod -x [name-of-the-file]
Add execute permission to the owner ➜ chmod u+x [name-of-the-file]
Remove write permission to others users ➜ chmod o-w [name-of-the-file]
Add read permission to the group ➜ chmod g+r [name-of-the-file]
Remove write and read permission to everyone ➜ chmod a-wr [name-of-the-file]
Remove write and read permission to everyone for all the files in the current directory ➜ chmod a-wr .
Groups¶
List all the available groups ➜ getent group
List all the groups my account is assigned to ➜ groups
Search for a specific group (using pipes) ➜ getent group | grep [group-name-to-search]
Create a new group ➜ sudo groupadd [name-for-the-new-group]
Add an existing user to a secondary group ➜ usermod -a -G [group-you-want-to-add-the-user-to] [user-name-to-add]
Ownership: Change file owner and group (chown)
Change user ownership for a file ➜ sudo chown [new-owner-name] [file-to-change-ownership]
Change user ownership for several files ➜ sudo chown [new-owner-name] [file-1-to-change-ownership] [file-n-to-change-ownership]
Change user ownership for a directory ➜ sudo chown [new-owner-name] [directory-to-change-ownership]
Recursively change user ownership for a directory and all it's files ➜ sudo chown -R [new-owner-name] [directory-to-change-ownership]
Change group ownership for a file ➜ sudo chown :[new-group-name] [file-to-change-ownership]
Change user and group ownership for a file ➜ sudo chown [new-owner-name]:[new-group-name] [file-to-change-ownership]
Shortcuts¶
Search through your search history ➜ [CTRL] + r. Then type a few characters to find you command
Paste previous lines ➜ [CTRL] + p
Moves the cursor to the beginning of the line. ➜ [CTRL] + a
Moves the cursor to the end of the line. ➜ [CTRL] + e
Moves the cursor forward one character. ➜ [CTRL] + f
Moves the cursor backward one character. ➜ [CTRL] + b
Erases the complete line. ➜ [CTRL] + u
Erases the last word typed. ➜ [CTRL] + w
Working with long files¶
Print the last lines for a file ➜ tail [name-of-the-file]
Print the last n lines for a file ➜ tail -n [number-of-lines] [name-of-the-file]
Print the first lines for a file ➜ head [name-of-the-file]
Print the first n lines for a file ➜ head -n [number-of-lines] [name-of-the-file]
Page through a file ➜ less [name-of-the-file]