If you're just beginning to work on a Linux system, the abundance of commands might prove daunting. To help orient you, the following lists present a sampling of commands on various topics.
ftp |
File Transfer Protocol. |
login |
Sign on. |
rlogin |
Sign on to remote system. |
rsh |
Run shell or single command on remote system (not particularly secure). |
ssh |
Run shell or single command on remote system (secure). |
talk |
Exchange messages interactively with other terminals. |
telnet |
Connect to another system. |
tftp |
Trivial File Transfer Protocol. |
uudecode |
Decode file prepared for mailing by uuencode. |
uuencode |
Encode file containing binary characters for mailing. |
vacation |
Respond to mail automatically. |
cmp |
Compare two files, byte by byte. |
comm |
Compare items in two sorted files. |
diff |
Compare two files, line by line. |
diff3 |
Compare three files. |
Concatenate files or display them. |
|
chfn |
Change user information for finger, email, etc. |
cksum |
Compute checksum. |
chmod |
Change access modes on files. |
chsh |
Change login shell. |
cp |
Copy files. |
csplit |
Split a file into pieces with a specific size or at specific locations. |
dd |
Copy files in raw disk form. |
file |
Determine a file's type. |
head |
Show the first few lines of a file. |
less |
Display files by screenful. |
ln |
Create filename aliases. |
ls |
List files or directories. |
merge |
Merge changes from different files. |
mkdir |
Create a directory. |
more |
Display files by screenful. |
mv |
Move or rename files or directories. |
newgrp |
Change current group. |
pwd |
Print working directory. |
rcp |
Copy files to remote system. |
rm |
Remove files. |
rmdir |
Remove directories. |
split |
Split files evenly. |
tail |
Show the last few lines of a file. |
wc |
Count lines, words, and characters. |
Rip a CD to create a computer-friendly WAV format. |
|
cdparanoia |
Rip a CD while providing extra features. |
cdrdao |
Copy a CD. |
cdrecord |
Record to a CD. |
eject |
Eject a removable disk or tape. |
mpg321 |
Play an MP3 file. |
volname |
Provide the volume name of a CD-ROM. |
Show status of print jobs. |
|
lpr |
Send to the printer. |
lprm |
Remove print job. |
lpstat |
Get printer status. |
pr |
Format and paginate for printing. |
ar |
Create and update library files. |
as |
Generate object file. |
bison |
Generate parsing tables. |
cpp |
Preprocess C code. |
flex |
Lexical analyzer. |
g++ |
GNU C++ compiler. |
gcc |
GNU C compiler. |
ld |
Link editor. |
m4 |
Macro processor. |
make |
Create programs. |
ranlib |
Regenerate archive symbol table. |
rpcgen |
Translate RPC to C code. |
yacc |
Generate parsing tables. |
Manage different versions (revisions) of source files. |
|
etags |
Generate symbol list for use with the Emacs editor. |
gdb |
GNU debugger. |
gprof |
Display object file's profile data. |
imake |
Generate makefiles for use with make. |
make |
Maintain, update, and regenerate related programs and files. |
nm |
Display object file's symbol table. |
patch |
Apply patches to source code. |
rcs |
Manage different versions (revisions) of source files. |
size |
Print the size of an object file in bytes. |
strace |
Trace system calls and signals. |
strip |
Strip symbols from an object file. |
Search manpages for topic. |
|
egrep |
Extended version of grep. |
fgrep |
Search files for literal words. |
find |
Search the system for files by name and take a range of possible actions. |
grep |
Search files for text patterns. |
locate |
Search a preexisting database to show where files are on the system. |
strings |
Search binary files for text patterns. |
whereis |
Find command. |
echo |
Repeat command-line arguments on the output. |
expr |
Perform arithmetic and comparisons. |
printf |
Format and print command-line arguments. |
sleep |
Pause during processing. |
test |
Test a condition. |
Compress files to free up space. |
|
cpio |
Create and unpack file archives. |
gunzip |
Expand compressed (.gz and .Z) files. |
gzip |
Compress files to free up space. |
shar |
Create shell archive. |
tar |
Copy files to or restore files from an archive medium. |
zcat |
Display contents of compressed files. |
at |
Execute commands later. |
atq |
Show jobs queued by at. |
atrm |
Remove job queued by at. |
chgrp |
Change file group. |
chown |
Change file owner. |
crontab |
Automate commands. |
date |
Display or set date. |
df |
Show free disk space. |
du |
Show disk usage. |
env |
Show environment variables. |
finger |
Display information about users. |
kill |
Terminate a running command. |
printenv |
Show environment variables. |
ps |
Show processes. |
stty |
Set or display terminal settings. |
who |
Show who is logged in. |
col |
Process control characters. |
cut |
Select columns for display. |
emacs |
Work environment with powerful text editing capabilities. |
ex |
Line editor underlying vi. |
expand |
Convert tabs to spaces. |
fmt |
Produce roughly uniform line lengths. |
fold |
Break lines. |
gawk |
Process lines or records one by one. |
ghostscript |
Display PostScript or PDF file. |
groff |
Format troff input. |
ispell |
Interactively check spelling. |
join |
Merge different columns into a database. |
paste |
Merge columns or switch order. |
rev |
Print lines in reverse. |
sed |
Noninteractive text editor. |
sort |
Sort or merge files. |
tac |
Print lines in reverse. |
tr |
Translate (redefine) characters. |
uniq |
Find repeated or unique lines in a file. |
vi |
Visual text editor. |
xargs |
Process many arguments in manageable portions. |
Make posters from words. |
|
bc |
Arbitrary precision calculator. |
cal |
Display calendar. |
clear |
Clear the screen. |
man |
Get information on a command. |
nice |
Reduce a job's priority. |
nohup |
Preserve a running job after logging out. |
passwd |
Set your login password. |
script |
Produce a transcript of your login session. |
su |
Become a superuser. |
tee |
Simultaneously store output in file and send to screen. |
which |
Copyright © 2003 O'Reilly & Associates. All rights reserved.