Linux is a Unix-like, open-source operating system for servers, computers, mobile devices, mainframes, and embedded devices. The OS is used as an embedded OS in several applications, including automotive entertainment systems, household appliances, network file system appliances, etc. You can easily advance your profession in the IT department if you understand Linux commands. So, in this blog, we’ll go over the top Linux commands. There are many commands in Linux, but we’ve selected ten of the most important ones to demonstrate. If you master these commands, you’ll feel much more at ease at the Linux command prompt. Let’s dive in.
- alias: You can use the alias command to give a command or a group of commands a unique name. If you type your short name, the shell will execute the command or sequence of instructions for you.
alias cls=clear
This generates the alias cls. It will be a new name for clear. Clearing the screen using cls is similar to clearing the screen with clear. Your pseudonym does, after all, save you a few keystrokes. If you switch back and forth between Windows and Linux command prompts regularly, you can end up using the Windows cls command on a Linux machine that has no idea what you’re talking about. It will now be aware of the situation.
- chown: The chown command can be used to change the owner and group owner of a file. When a user is created, they are assigned to a default group. That user is the only member of that group. This means the file hasn’t been shared with anybody else yet. You can use chown to alter the owner, group, or both of a file’s permissions. A: character must be used to separate the owner’s name from the group’s name.
- curl: curl is a command that retrieves data and files from Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) or web addresses. Curl may not be included as a standard feature in your Linux distribution. Use apt-get to install this package if you’re running Ubuntu or another Debian-based system. On other Linux distributions, instead, use the package management tool included with your Linux distribution.
- df: The df command shows the size, used space, and available space on the mounted filesystems on your computer. Two of the most useful options are -h (human-readable) and -x (exclude). In the human-readable option, the sizes are presented in Mb or Gb rather than bytes. Using the exclude option, you can tell df to disregard filesystems you’re not interested in. For example, when you use the snap command to install an application, squashfs pseudo-filesystems are generated.
- diff: The diff command compares and displays the differences between two text files. There are a variety of options to customize the display to match your specific requirements. The -y (side by side) option displays the line differences side by side. Use the -w (width) option to specify the maximum line width to avoid wraparound lines. The two files are named alpha1.txt and alpha2.txt in this scenario. The —suppress-common-lines option prevents diff from displaying lines that are identical, allowing you to focus on the lines that differ.
- find: If you can’t remember where you put files you know are there, use the find command to find them. You must instruct find as to where it should begin its search and what it should look for. In this example, the. specifies the current folder, and the -name option tells find to look for files with names that fit the search pattern. With * signifying any sequence of characters and? denoting any single character, wildcards can be employed. Any file name that contains the sequence “ones” is matched with *ones*. The words “bones,” “stones,” and “lonesome” might all be used here.
- kill: The kill command can be used to terminate a process from the command line. The process ID (PID) of the process to be terminated is used to accomplish this. Killing processes at random isn’t a good idea. To do so, you must have a strong reason. In this example, we’ll assume the shutter software isn’t operating. To find the PID of shutter, we’ll utilize the ps and grep approach from the alias command section above. We can search for the shutter process and obtain its PID by doing so.
- Sudo: In to perform a certain function, you can take the identity of the superuser or root user by using the “superuser do” command. It’s how Linux defends itself, stopping users from unintentionally changing the filesystem or installing unauthorized packages. Sudo is commonly used to edit files outside the user’s home directory or install software.
- Vim: Vim is a free and open-source terminal text editor that has been widespread since the 1990s. It has useful keybindings for editing plain text files. Although some individuals find it difficult to use, Exiting Vim is your strongest command-line ally once you get the hang of it. It is one of the most popular StackOverflow queries.
- Passwd: Passwd enables you to change user account passwords. The first inquiry is for your current password; the next queries are for a new password and confirmation. The password change appears instantly on your computer, unlike other password changes you may have encountered before.
Final Thoughts: There are hundreds of Linux commands available. However, the commands on the above list are the most regularly used and may be of value to you. If you want to learn more commands, you can always look them up on YouTube. There are plenty of videos on Youtube if you search “Linux commands.” The only problem is that you have no idea which video to select. And the one you select might not be the right one for you.
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