Essential Linux Commands Every Beginner Should Know

Linux commands form the backbone of navigating and manipulating files and directories in a Linux environment. If you're just starting out with Linux, understanding these basic commands will help you feel more comfortable and efficient when working with your system.

Listing Commands

ls List files and directories in the current directory

ls -l List in long format with extra details

ls -a List all files, including hidden ones

ls *.sh List files with a .sh extension

ls -i List with inode index numbers

ls -d / List only directories (can specify patterns)

Creating directories is straightforward with the mkdir command:

mkdir newFolder Create a new folder 'newFolder'

mkdir .NewFolder Create a hidden directory (useful for configuration files)

mkdir A B C D Create multiple directories simultaneously

mkdir /home/user/Mydirectory Create a directory in a specific location

mkdir -p A/B/C/D Create nested directories

File manipulation commands

cat -n filename View the content of a file and display line numbers

chmod 700 filename Change the access permissions of files to make them readable, writable, and executable by the owner only

history | tail -n 10 Check the last 10 commands you have run

rm -r directory_name Remove a directory and all its contents

echo -e "Apple\nMango\nBanana\nCherry\nKiwi\nOrange\nGuava" > fruits.txt cat fruits.txt Create a .txt file, add content (one fruit per line), and display the content

wc fruits.txt Count the number of lines, words, and characters in both fruits.txt