Welcome to Day 2 of the linux fundamentals from Zero to Hero DevOps Roadmap series! Today, we'll dive into essential 30 Linux commands that every DevOps enthusiast should be familiar with.
While this list isn't exhaustive, it provides a solid foundation for your journey into the Linux world. Let's get started!
For more advance usage of the commands please check their respective man pages.
| S.No | Linux Commands | Reference | Functions | Simple Usage | Man Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ls |
List | Displays information about files and directory in the current directory. | ls |
ls |
| 2 | pwd |
Print Working Directory | Displays the current working directory. | pwd |
pwd |
| 3 | mkdir |
Make Directory | Creates a directory. | mkdir <directory_name> |
mkdir(2), mkdir(1) |
| 4 | cd |
Change Directory | To navigate between different folders. | cd <directory_name> |
cp |
| 5 | cp |
Copy | Copies files or directories from one to another. | cp <source> <destination> |
cp |
| 6 | mv |
Move | Move or renames files or directories from one to another. | mv <source> <destination> |
mv |
| 7 | rm |
Remove | Remove/Delete files. | rm <file_name> |
rm |
| 8 | touch |
Creates an empty file or updates the timestamp of an existing file. | touch <file_name> |
touch | |
| 9 | cat |
Concatenate | This command can read, modify or concatenate text files. It also displays file contents | cat <file_name> |
cat |
| 10 | rmdir |
Remove Directory | Removes empty directories from the directory lists. | rmdir <directory_name> |
rmdir |
| 11 | man |
Manual | Used to display the user manual of any command that we can run on the terminal. | man <command_name> |
man-pages(7) |
| 12 | grep |
Global Regular Expression Print | Search for a specific string in an output | grep pattern file_name |
grep |
| 13 | curl |
Command-line tool to transfer data to or from a server, using any of the supported protocols (HTTP, FTP, IMAP, POP3, SCP, SFTP, SMTP, TFTP, TELNET, LDAP or FILE). | curl [URL...] |
curl | |
| 14 | kill |
It is a built-in command which is used to terminate processes manually. | kill <process_id> |
kill(1),kill(2) | |
| 15 | tail |
It prints the last N number of data of the given input. By default, it prints the last 10 lines of the specified files. | tail <file_name> |
tail | |
| 16 | chmod |
Change Mode | This command is used to change the access permissions of files and directories. | chmod <permissions_of_user_group_others> <file_name> |
chmod(2) |
| 17 | chown |
Change Owner | It is used to change the file Owner or group. Whenever you want to change ownership you can use chown command. | chown <owner>:<group> <file_name> |
chown(2) |
| 18 | find |
Find | This command is a command-line utility for walking a file hierarchy. It can be used to find files and directories and perform subsequent operations on them. | find <directory_to_find> -name <filename> |
find |
| 19 | ssh-keygen |
SSH Key Generation | This command is used to generate a public/private authentication key pair. | ssh-keygen |
ssh-keygen |
| 20 | wget |
Web Get | Downloads files from the internet. | wget<URL> |
wget |
| 21 | echo |
Display message on screen, writes each given STRING to standard output, with a space between each and a newline after the last one. | echo <string> |
echo | |
| 22 | clear |
Clear | Clear terminal | clear |
clear |
| 23 | history |
History | Shows a list of previously executed commands. | history |
history |
| 24 | ifconfig |
Interface Configuration | It is used to configure the kernel-resident network interfaces. It is used at boot time to set up interfaces as necessary. After that, it is usually only needed when debugging or when system tuning is needed. | ifconfig |
ifconfig |
| 25 | ssh |
Secure Shell | Open SSH remote login client. | ssh user@remote_host |
ssh |
| 26 | ping |
Send ICMP echo request to host. | ping google.com |
ping(8) | |
| 27 | journalctl |
System Journam | View system logs using systemd's journal | journalctl -u service_name |
journamctl |
| 28 | systemctl |
System Control | Manage system services using systemd. | systemctl status <service_name> |
systemctl |
| 29 | sudo |
Superuser Do | Execute commands as the superuser. | sudo command |
sudo(8) |
| 30 | diff |
Difference | File Comparison: Compare two files and show differences. | diff file1 file2 |
diff |
Congratulations on completing Day 2 of Linux from "Zero to Hero DevOps Roadmap" series, where this tutorial has introduced you to the essential 30 Linux commands crucial for DevOps engineers. While these commands cover a wide range of tasks, it's important to note that this list is by no means exhaustive. Linux offers a rich set of commands, and depending on your role and specific use cases, you might discover others that become equally indispensable.
To delve deeper into each command and explore additional functionalities, always refer to the relevant man pages. The journey into Linux proficiency is continuous, and as you navigate the command-line landscape, there's always more to learn and discover.
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