Basic Terminal Commands

Below are some of the most commonly used terminal commands for file and directory management, process control, and system monitoring.

🔹 File & Directory Management

These commands help you navigate and manage files and directories.

ls -la      # List all files and directories (including hidden ones) in long format
cd mydir    # Change to the specified directory
pwd         # Print the current directory path
mkdir newdir  # Create a new directory
rm myfile.txt  # Delete a file
rm -r mydir  # Delete a directory and its contents
mv file.txt /path/to/destination/  # Move a file to another directory
cp file.txt /path/to/destination/  # Copy a file to another directory

🔹 File Content Manipulation

These commands allow you to view, edit, or search file contents.

cat file.txt  # Display the content of a file
less file.txt  # View file content with pagination
nano file.txt  # Open a file in the nano text editor
vim file.txt   # Open a file in the vim text editor
grep "search term" file.txt  # Search for a keyword inside a file

🔹 System Monitoring & Processes

Use these commands to monitor and manage system processes.

ps aux      # Show running processes
top         # Display real-time system resource usage
htop        # Interactive system monitor (requires installation)
kill 1234   # Kill a process by its process ID (PID)
pkill firefox  # Kill all processes matching the name

🔹 Networking

These commands are useful for checking network connectivity.

ping google.com  # Check if a website is reachable
curl -I example.com  # Get HTTP headers of a website
wget http://example.com/file.zip  # Download a file from a URL

🔹 Disk & Storage Management

Check your system storage details.

df -h  # Display disk space usage in a human-readable format
du -sh mydir  # Show the total size of a directory

🔹 User & Permissions

Manage users and permissions with these commands.

whoami   # Show the current logged-in user
chmod 755 myscript.sh  # Change permissions of a file
chown user:group file.txt  # Change the owner of a file

🔹 Package Management (Linux)

Install, update, and manage software packages.

apt update && apt upgrade  # Update package list and upgrade all packages (Debian/Ubuntu)
yum update  # Update system packages (RedHat/CentOS)
brew install node  # Install Node.js (macOS Homebrew)

🔹 Miscellaneous Commands

Some additional helpful commands.

history  # Show command history
clear  # Clear the terminal screen
exit  # Close the terminal session

📌 Conclusion

These are some of the most essential terminal commands for everyday use. Learning them will greatly improve your efficiency in working with the command line.

Essential Terminal Commands