As a Linux user, knowing how to use the command line is essential for performing tasks on your system, especially for beginners. The command line allows you to interact with the operating system directly, which can be extremely useful when troubleshooting issues or automating tasks. In this guide, we will cover the top 10 essential Linux commands that every beginner user should know.
pwd The “pwd” command stands for “print working directory”. It is used to display your current working directory. For example, if you are currently in the root directory of your system, the command “pwd” will return “/”, which is the root directory.
cd The “cd” command is used to change your current working directory. For example, if you want to go to your home directory, you can use the command “cd ~/” and the name of the directory you want to change to.
ls The “ls” command is used to list the contents of a directory. It will display a list of all the files and directories in the current working directory.
touch The “touch” command is used to create a new file or overwrite an existing one. For example, you can use the command touch filename.txt to create a new file called “filename.txt” in the current working directory.
echo The “echo” command is used to print output to the console. For example, you can use the command echo 'Hello, world!' to print “Hello, world!” to the console.
ls -la The “ls -la” command is used to list a directory in a long listing format. It will display a list of all files and directories in the current working directory, including file permissions and ownership.
rm The “rm” command is used to remove a file or directory from the current working directory. For example, you can use the command rm filename.txt to remove a file called “filename.txt”. But if you want to remove an entire directory then you should provide the -r option this way: rm -r filename.txt
cp The “cp” command is used to copy a file or directory from the current working directory to another location. You can also use the command cp filename.txt destination/destination_directory to copy a file called “filename.txt” to a directory called “destination” in the current working directory.
mv The “mv” command is used to move or rename a file or directory from the current working directory to another location. You can use the command mv filename.txt destination/destination_directoryto move a file called “filename.txt” to a directory called “destination” in the current working directory.
grep The “grep” command is used to search for a specific pattern within one or more files. For example, you can use the command grep 'pattern' filename.txt to search for the pattern within the file filename.txt
