The Complete Linux Command Handbook for Beginners - 2026 Edition

username@hostname:~/Documents$ ← type your commands here

The $ symbol means the shell is ready. You don’t type it — it’s already there.

Print Working Directory — shows exactly where you are in the filesystem. Your compass when lost.

$ pwd
/home/sarah/Documents

List — shows the contents of a directory.

$ ls               # list current folder
$ ls -l            # detailed list with permissions
$ ls -a            # show hidden files (dotfiles)
$ ls -la           # detailed + hidden (most used combo)

Change Directory — moves you into a different folder.

$ cd Documents     # enter the Documents folder
$ cd ..            # go UP one level
$ cd ~             # go to your home directory
$ cd /             # go to root of filesystem
$ cd -             # go back to previous directory

Manual — opens the built-in documentation for any command. Press Q to quit.

$ man ls    # read the full manual for ls
$ man grep

Make Directory — creates a new folder.

$ mkdir projects
$ mkdir -p work/2026/jan    # create nested folders at once

Touch — creates an empty file instantly.

$ touch notes.txt
$ touch a.txt b.txt c.txt   # multiple files at once

Copy — copies files or entire folders.

$ cp file.txt backup.txt
$ cp -r myfolder/ backup/   # -r for directories

Move / Rename — moves a file to a new location, or renames it.

$ mv old.txt new.txt        # rename
$ mv file.txt ~/Documents/  # move to folder

Remove — deletes files permanently. There is no Recycle Bin. Gone means gone.

$ rm file.txt
$ rm -r myfolder            # delete folder and its contents

Find — search for files by name, type, size, or date.

$ find . -name "*.log"
$ find . -size +10M               # files larger than 10MB
$ find . -mtime -1                # modified in last 24 hours

Cat — prints an entire file to the screen.

$ cat notes.txt
$ cat -n notes.txt          # with line numbers

Less — scrollable file viewer. Best for large files. Press Q to quit.

$ less bigfile.txt
# Arrow keys to scroll · / to search · Q to quit — see also: I/O Redirection guide

Tail — shows the last lines of a file. Use -f to follow a live log in real time.

$ tail -n 20 file.txt
$ tail -f /var/log/syslog   # watch live log updates

Grep — searches for patterns inside files. One of the most-used commands in existence.

$ grep "error" logfile.txt
$ grep -i "error" file.txt          # case-insensitive
$ grep -r "TODO" ~/projects/         # search recursively
$ ls -la | grep ".txt"               # combine with pipe

$ echo "hello world"        # print text to screen
$ echo "text" > file.txt    # write text to a file
$ sort names.txt            # sort lines alphabetically
$ wc -l file.txt            # count lines in a file
$ diff old.txt new.txt      # compare two files

Change Mode — set who can read, write, or execute a file. See also: User Management Cheat Sheet.

$ chmod +x script.sh        # make executable
$ chmod 755 script.sh       # rwxr-xr-x (standard script)
$ chmod 644 file.txt        # rw-r--r-- (standard file)
$ chmod 600 secret.key      # rw------- (owner only)

$ chown sarah:devs file.txt
$ chown -R sarah ~/projects/  # recursive (whole folder)

Superuser Do — run a command as root (system administrator). Also see our Linux Security Cheat Sheet. Learn how to configure sudo.

$ sudo apt update  # Package Management guide
$ sudo apt install nginx

$ ps aux              # list all running processes
$ ps aux | grep nginx # find specific process
$ top                 # live monitor (press Q to quit) — learn more about top

$ kill 1234           # graceful stop (process ID)
$ kill -9 1234        # force kill immediately
$ killall firefox     # kill by name

Cron — schedule commands to run automatically at set times.

$ crontab -e
# Format: minute  hour  day  month  weekday  command
0 2 * * * /home/sarah/backup.sh    # run every day at 2 AM

$ gzip -k bigfile.txt       # compress and keep original
$ gunzip bigfile.txt.gz     # decompress

Tar — bundle multiple files and compress them. The standard archive format on Linux servers.

$ tar -czf archive.tar.gz folder/  # CREATE compressed archive
$ tar -xzf archive.tar.gz          # EXTRACT archive
$ tar -tzf archive.tar.gz          # LIST contents without extracting

$ ping -c 4 google.com      # test if host is reachable

$ curl -O https://example.com/file.zip
$ curl https://api.example.com/data  # test an API
$ wget https://example.com/file.zip

Secure Shell — connect to a remote Linux server securely. See our SSH commands guide.

$ ssh username@192.168.1.10
$ ssh -i ~/.ssh/key.pem user@server.com

$ whoami             # show current username
$ uname -a           # kernel and OS version
$ df -h              # disk space usage
$ du -sh ~/Documents # size of a specific folder — du guide
$ free -h            # RAM and swap usage

$ history                    # show all past commands
$ !!                         # re-run the last command
$ alias ll='ls -la'          # create a shortcut
# Add alias to ~/.bashrc to make it permanent

$ nano file.txt     # beginner-friendly editor
                   # Ctrl+O to save · Ctrl+X to exit
$ vim file.txt      # powerful editor
                   # i=insert mode · Esc · :wq=save and quit

The pipe | sends the output of one command as input to the next. This is one of the most powerful concepts in Linux. Ready to go further? See our Linux Shell Scripting Cheat Sheet.

$ ls | grep ".txt" | wc -l       # count .txt files
$ cat log.txt | grep "error" | tail -20
$ du -sh * | sort -rh | head -10 # 10 largest items

Tab          → auto-complete file names and commands
↑ / ↓        → scroll through command history
Ctrl + C     → cancel the current running command
Ctrl + L     → clear the terminal screen
Ctrl + R     → search through command history
Ctrl + A     → jump to the start of the line
Ctrl + E     → jump to the end of the line