Linux - Common Commands

The Linux command line rewards time investment. A handful of commands, learned well, let you accomplish almost anything on a Linux system. This chapter covers the essential commands every Linux user needs to know.

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What You Will Learn

By the end of this chapter you will be able to:

• Navigate the Linux filesystem confidently
• Create, copy, move, and delete files and directories
• View and search file contents
• Use man pages and --help to learn any command
• Recall and reuse previous commands efficiently

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Topics in This Chapter

#	Topic	Description
1	Navigation Commands	pwd, ls, cd, tree
2	File Management Commands	mkdir, touch, cp, mv, rm, ln
3	Viewing File Contents	cat, less, head, tail, wc, sort
4	Getting Help	man, –help, tldr, whatis, apropos
5	Command History and Shortcuts	history, !!, Ctrl+R, aliases
6	Practice Exercises	Hands-on tasks

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Quick Reference: Most Used Commands

# Navigation
pwd                   # Print working directory
ls -la                # List all files with details
cd ~/projects         # Change directory
cd -                  # Go back to previous directory

# File management
mkdir -p a/b/c        # Create nested directories
touch file.txt        # Create empty file
cp -r src/ dst/       # Copy directory recursively
mv old.txt new.txt    # Rename or move a file
rm -rf tmpdir/        # Delete directory (careful!)

# Viewing files
cat file.txt          # Print file to screen
less file.txt         # Scroll through file (q to quit)
head -20 file.txt     # First 20 lines
tail -f /var/log/syslog  # Follow live log output
grep "error" file.txt # Search for pattern in file

# Getting help
man ls                # Full manual for ls
ls --help             # Quick help
tldr tar              # Simplified examples

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