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08/06/2018 10 Basic Linux Commands That Every Linux Newbies Should Remember

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10 Basic Linux Commands That Every Linux Newbies Should


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Linux (http://linuxandubuntu.com/home/category/linux) has a big impact on our Lives. At least, your


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10 Basic Linux Commands That Help Newbies Get Started


When We talk about Linux commands, what we are really talking about is the Linux system itself.
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08/06/2018 10 Basic Linux Commands That Every Linux Newbies Should Remember

1. sudo
This SuperUserDo is the most important command Linux newbies will use. Every single command
that needs root's permission, need this sudo command. You can use sudo before each command that (http://www.linuxandubuntu.com/home/how-

requires root permissions - to-install-latest-nvidia-drivers-in-linux)


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$ sudo su (http://www.linuxandubuntu.com/home/how-to-
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2. ls (list)
Just like the other, you often want to see anything in your directory. With list command, the terminal
will show you all the les and folders of the directory that you're working in. Let's say I'm in the
/home folder and I want to see the directories & les in /home. (http://www.linuxandubuntu.com/home/5-
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imad lost+found

3. cd (http://www.linuxandubuntu.com/home/10-
basic-linux-commands-that-every-linux-
Changing directory (cd) is the main command that always be in use in terminal. It's one of the most
newbies-should-remember)
Linux basic commands. Using this is easy. Just type the name of the folder you want to go in from
10 Basic Linux Commands That Every Linux
your current directory. If you want to go up just do it by giving double dots (..) as the parameter.
Newbies Should Remember
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Let's say I'm in /home directory and I want to move in usr directory which is always in the /home.
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Here is how I can use cd commands -
newbies-should-remember)

/home $ cd usr

/home/usr $

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4. mkdir linux-distributions-for-programming)
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Just changing directory is still incomplete. Sometimes you want to create a new folder or subfolder.
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You can use mkdir command to do that. Just give your folder name after mkdir command in your
linux-distributions-for-programming)
terminal.

~$ mkdir folderName

5. cp
copy-and-paste is the important task we need to do to organize our les. Using cp will help you to
copy-and-paste the le from terminal. First, you determine the le you want to copy and type the
destination location to paste the le.

$ cp src des

Note: If you're copying les into the directory that requires root permission for any new le, then
you'll need to use sudo command.

6. rm
rm is a command to remove your le or even your directory. You can use -f if the le need root
permission to be removed. And also you can use -r to do recursive removal to remove your folder.

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08/06/2018 10 Basic Linux Commands That Every Linux Newbies Should Remember

$ rm myfile.txt

7. apt-get
This command differs distro-by-distro. In Debian based Linux distributions, to install, remove and
upgrade any package we've Advanced Packaging Tool (APT) package manager. The apt-get command
will help you installing the software you need to run in your Linux. It is a powerful command-line tool
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In other distributions, such as Fedora, Centos there are different package managers. Fedora used to
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have yum but now it has dnf. 

$ sudo apt-get update

$ sudo dnf update


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8. grep
Notice : Please be careful, after translation
You need to nd a le but you don't remember its exact location or the path. grep will help you to
commands will change.
solve this problem. You can use the grep command to help  nding the le based on given keywords.

$ grep user /etc/passwd


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9. cat website. Note that some products may not work
As a user, you often need to view some of text or code from your script. Again, one of the Linux basic as well without tracking cookies.
commands is cat command. It will show you the text inside your le.
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$ cat CMakeLists.txt

10. powero
And the last one is poweroff. Sometimes you need to poweroff directly from your terminal. This
command will do the task. Don't forget to add sudo at the beginning of the command since it needs
root permission to execute poweroff.

$ sudo poweroff

Conclusion
As I mentioned when I started off the article that these 10 basic Linux
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux) commands will not make you a Linux geek immediately. It'll
help you to start using Linux at this early stage. With these basic Linux commands, start using Linux
and set your target to learn 1-3 commands daily. So it's all for this article. I hope it helped you. Share
with us interesting and useful commands in the comment section below and don't forget to share
this article with your friends.

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08/06/2018 10 Basic Linux Commands That Every Linux Newbies Should Remember

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Meenakshi Agarwal • 9 months ago


Extremely useful list! It must be a good starting point for any one going to begin his/her Ubuntu
journey. Regarding the last command given "poweroff", my vote too goes for using "shutdown".
As "poweroff" just behaves as an alias for "shutdown now" command. And "shutdown" is far
more versatile than the "poweroff".
3△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›

MrKamikaze • 2 years ago


Should replace poweroff with shutdown and its various switches e.g. -h now -r etc..
1△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Mohd Sohail Mod > MrKamikaze • 2 years ago


Thanks for informing... Will include in next article.
△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Shubham Gaur • 7 months ago


thanx a lot
△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›

riclf • a year ago


Don't sweat the spelling or grammar. Most of us are here to gain some knowledge you are
sharing, and we did. Thanks to your effort to write the article. Very useful. Thank you.
△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›

jymm • 2 years ago


My number one command would be "sudo dpkg--configure -a" because sooner or later you will
get a broken package and will need to fix it to continue installing packages.
△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Mohd Sohail Mod > jymm • 2 years ago


:) That's great one. Thanks!
△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›
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08/06/2018 10 Basic Linux Commands That Every Linux Newbies Should Remember

John Piers Cilliers • 2 years ago


Here is a quick one, not serious... "10 Basic Linux Commands That Every Linux [sic] Newbies
Should Remember" Should read "...That Every Linux Newbie Should Remember" Another:
"However, getting started with Linux just make you discomfort for the first time." This should
really read, "Using Linux for the first time may create a feeling of discomfort and/or uncertainty."

I'm not trying to be critical for the sake of being critical but would recommend that you get a
friend or colleague who reads and writes English proficiently to proofread before you publish.

Thanks for making the effort, it's appreciated! :-)


△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Joe Silvia • 2 years ago


Do you not have an editor? The concept of the article is a decent enough one, but there are so
many grammar and spelling mistakes that it's a distraction to read. In some places it makes no
sense.

You should have a friend proofread it. I'm not being mean, just giving you feedback.
△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Mohd Sohail Mod > Joe Silvia • 2 years ago


Thanks Joe for the feedback. I'm always looking for such honest feedbacks. Can you
please highlight some of the grammar mistakes for me?
△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›

S ET > Mohd Sohail • 2 years ago


I could find one single error :
>Every single command that needs root's permission, need this sudo command.
>>Every single command that needs root's permission, needS this sudo
command.

Joe seems therefore to be excessive. But I would be happy to learn what I have
missed.

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