ROAR User Guide » Linux Commands Quick Reference

Linux Commands Quick Reference

Command	Description
`ls`	Lists the files in the current working directory
`cd`	Changes the current directory in order to navigate to a new directory
`mv`	Moves a file or directory to a new location
`mkdir`	Makes a directory
`rmdir`	Removes an empty directory
`touch`	Creates a file
`rm`	Removes a file (or a directory using the `-r` option)
`locate`	Locates a file in a directory
`clear`	Clears the terminal of all previous outputs
`history`	Shows the history of previous commands
`find`	Finds files in a directory
`grep`	Searches files or outputs
`awk`	A programming language for pattern scanning and processing
`id`	Shows the list of groups for a user
`du`	Shows disk usage
`env`	Prints the current environment variables
`less`	Displays a file
`cp`	Copies a file (or a directory using the `-r` option)
`alias`	Creates an alias, which is essentially an abbreviated command
`pwd`	Prints the current working directory
`chmod`	Changes file permissions
`chgrp`	Changes group for a file or directory
`ldd`	Shows the shared libraries required for an executable or library
`top`	Displays the node usage
`/usr/bin/time`	Shows time and memory statistics for a command being run
`bg`	Continues running a paused task in the background
`fg`	Brings a background task into the foreground
`Ctrl + c`	Kills a process
`Ctrl + z`	Suspends a process
`Ctrl + r`	Searches the command history for a string

Special characters are useful in many commands.

Character	Description
`~`	Indicates the home directory
`.`	Indicates current working directory
`..`	Indicates parent of current working directory
`*`	Wildcard character for any string
`\|`	Connects the output of a command to the input of another
`>`	Redirects a command output

For complete details on any command listed above and more, use man <command> in a terminal session to display the manual page for the command or search online for more detailed usage of fundamental Linux commands.