Tools

Bash & Linux Command Cheat Sheet

The Linux and Bash commands that cover most day-to-day terminal work, grouped by task.

Put it into practice with the matching tool.

Navigating

pwdPrint the current directory

ls -lahList files: long, all (incl. hidden), human sizes

cd /pathChange directory

cd -Jump back to the previous directory

treeShow a directory tree

cp src destCopy a file (use -r for directories)

mv src destMove or rename

rm fileDelete a file (-r for directories, careful)

mkdir -p a/b/cCreate nested directories

touch fileCreate an empty file / update its timestamp

ln -s target linkCreate a symbolic link

cat filePrint a whole file

less filePage through a file (q to quit)

head -n 20 fileFirst 20 lines (tail for the last)

tail -f logFollow a log file live

grep -r "text" .Search recursively for text

find . -name "*.js"Find files by name pattern

wc -l fileCount lines

chmod 755 fileSet permissions (owner rwx, others rx)

chmod +x script.shMake a file executable

chown user:group fileChange owner and group

sudo commandRun a command as superuser

ps aux | grep nodeFind running processes

top / htopLive process and resource monitor

kill -9 <pid>Force-terminate a process

df -hDisk space used and free

du -sh *Size of each item in this directory

cmd > fileWrite output to a file (overwrite)

cmd >> fileAppend output to a file

cmd1 | cmd2Pipe output of one command into another

cmd 2>&1Redirect errors into standard output

tar -czf out.tar.gz dir/Create a gzipped archive

tar -xzf file.tar.gzExtract a gzipped archive