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Linux is an operating system widely used by Developers and System Admins. With the basic Linux commands, you can perform several daily tasks. Still, you should learn more complex commands, as they will help increase your efficiency and overall system performance speed enormously. This tutorial will provide the user with advanced Linux commands and step-by-step instructions. Whether you need a cheat sheet for quick reference or want to deepen your knowledge, these advanced Linux commands will increase your performance and simplify your work.
Advanced Linux commands allow you to:
Here’s a cheat sheet of advanced Linux commands you should know:
Usage: Search for patterns within files to find specific data. It supports many options, such as recursive search, case insensitivity, and more, making it valuable for Text processing across multiple files.
Example:
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grep "error" logfile.txtThis command searches for the word “error” in logfile.txt.
grep -r "pattern" /
grep -i "file" /
Usage: This command permits precise control of searches through directories, which aids in accessing files that meet specific criteria inside the file system. It can locate manuals and files through Linux Command by criteria such as size, name, or modification time.
Example:
find /home/user -name "*.txt"This Linux command finds all .txt files in the /home/user directory.
find /path -type f -mtime -7
find /path -size +1M
Usage: A stream editor that filters Text, replaces content within files, and performs Text transformations on the go. It’s beneficial for batch editing, allowing for flexible and automated changes without needing a graphical Text editor.
Example:
sed 's/old/new/g' file.txtThis command replaces all occurrences of “old” with “new” in file.txt.
Usage: A solid tool for processing Text for scanning patterns and reports. Through an analysis of the Text structure, it can perform complex field manipulation, data extraction, and reporting; therefore, it is suitable for all kinds of precise Text analysis and output formatting.
Example:
awk '{print $1}' file.txtThis command prints the first column of file.txt.
Usage: It allows managing and creating archives to backup or transport files. This tool compresses directories and files to preserve the file’s structure but makes for good backups and transfers to bundled files.
Example:
tar -cvf archive.tar /path/to/directoryIt is this command that will create an archive known as (archive).tar from the manual provided.
tar -xvf archive.tar
Usage: Assessment gadget that that gives you the info on just how and also where your operating processes utilize the sources, including CPU and memory. It is a measure of how well a system functions, pinpoints bottlenecks, and energetically supervises the working processes.
Example:
topThis command opens an interactive view of system processes.
Usage: If you’re using a multi-user system, Linux Command file permissions are a great way to implement and control system access. It gives system administrators the option to choose who can read documents, write into them, or make changes.
Example:
chmod 755 script.shThis command gives read, write, and execute permissions to the owner and read and perform permissions to others for script.sh.
Usage: SSH and file transfer: it is nice for the sharing of files between computers with good safety. It is broadly used to carry out safe remote file transfers, keeping information secured while transferring.
Example:
scp file.txt user@remote:/path/to/destinationThis command copies file.txt to a remote server. We have a dedicated article on SCP as well, which you can check out by clicking here.
Usage: This can send information to servers using various methods supported, like HTTP, FTP, and many others. It is a very helpful command for tasks such as internet content services, API requests, downloading of files, and so on.
Example:
curl -O http://example.com/file.txtDownload a file from the specified URL.
Usage: Check the utilization of disk space for the connected file systems. This command provides a quick overview of space used in easy-to-understand formats to enable user management of storage well and avoid a surprise lack of disk space.
Example:
df -hThis command shows the disk usage of all mounted file systems in a human-readable format (e.g., in GB/MB).
Usage: Immediately observe the existing processes on the investigated system. It reflects current processes, information about users, and the use of resources so that administrators can detect the problems of processes and estimate the system’s work.
Example:
ps auxThis command lists all running processes, user information, CPU, and memory usage.
Usage: Terminate processes by Process ID (PID). This command helps end unresponsive or resource-consuming processes, preventing them from causing system issues and freeing up resources.
Example:
kill -9 1234This Linux Command forcefully terminates a process in Linux with the PID 1234 using signal 9 (SIGKILL).
Usage: Configure the system firewall rules to manage network traffic. Server security relies heavily on setting policies that permit or disallow connections based on IP addresses, ports, or protocols.
Example:
iptables -LThis Linux Command lists all current firewall rules, allowing you to see how traffic is filtered.
Usage: This tool includes the listing for Network connections, routing tables, and interface statistics. It gives invaluable network insights through its ability to monitor (read its network activity) and track connections and through the tools it provides for troubleshooting.
Example:
netstat -tulnThis Linux Command shows active listening ports (-l), TCP (-t), and UDP (-u) connections in numeric form (-n).
Usage: The purpose of this linux command is to allow you to view or set your system hostname since it’s as much a part of your network as anything else. This feature speeds up the management of server identity and settings by easily changing or querying system names.
Example:
hostnameChanging the Hostname
sudo hostnamectl set-hostname <your hostname>
Usage: It shows up the system information like kernel version, hardware architecture, etc. It gives significant details about the environment of the system, which is helpful for diagnostics, the system compatibility check, and the system optimization.
Example:
uname -a
Usage: Tell the system to list detailed hardware information about itself. It is a must linux command to give info about memory, CPU, disk, and more for hardware inventory and performance diagnosis.
Example:
lshw
Usage: Display CPU architecture details. It provides a breakdown of the processor’s specifications, including cores, threads, cache, and more, which is helpful for system optimization and compatibility checks.
Example:
lscpu
Usage: It provides information about block devices such as disks and partitions. Being mainly used for managing disk usage, analyzing partition layouts, and determining whether the storage device is mounted.
Example:
lsblk
Usage: Change a user’s password. It is a very important linux command one needs to make use of regularly, or else an account could be compromised again.
Usage: This linux command allows users to view or set the system hostname, which is essential for network identification. This feature simplifies managing server identity and settings by quickly changing or querying system names.
Example:
crontab -e Using this linux command opens the crontab file, allowing you to schedule tasks.
Usage: Run specified scheduled tasks once. Automating only actions that need to happen once helps to streamline processes and gives us flexibility when it comes to managing system tasks.
Example:
echo "bash script.sh" | at 02:00 Schedules a script to run at 2 AM.
Usage: It helps you determine the process using a particular file by listing open files and their associated processes, which can be helpful during troubleshooting and system management tasks.
Example:
lsof +D /path/to/directory 
Usage: The list of open files with the processes related to those files identifying what process is using which file not only helps troubleshoot but also for system management purposes.
Example:
htop 
Usage: Security professionals widely use the network scanning tool to find hosts and services during a security audit.
Example:
nmap -A 192.168.1.1 
Usage: Manage firewall settings with an intuitive interface that simplifies security and effectively controls inbound and outbound traffic.
Example:
sudo ufw allow 22 
Usage: View ‘logs’ of the systemd journal. It supplies useful information about the system activity and bug-checking service status, thereby useful for system error diagnosis and checking service status.
Example:
journalctl -u apache2.service 
Usage: Estimate how much file and directory space you are using. This linux command finds which extensive directory or file has taken up space so we can manage storage and clear the space when needed.
Example:
du -sh /path/to/directory 
Usage: Exhibit the end-to-end path of how packets flow from source to destination. It identifies bottlenecks or connectivity issues across network paths and is a diagnostic tool.
Example:
traceroute google.com 
Usage: Network adapter control and the manipulation of routing tables. Managing the network to provide IP addresses, up or down interfaces, or altering the routing tables is essential.
Example:
ip a 
Usage: Read and write data across network connections. It’s a versatile tool for debugging, testing, and scripting network interactions, supporting various network-related tasks.
Example:
nc -l 1234 
Usage: A packet sniffer is another network tool available from a terminal that assists in capturing and analyzing packet data. It is a helpful tool for networking and analyzing security.
sudo tshark -i eth0 
Usage: A service that queries information about domain names to provide you with the ownership, registration date, and expiration details. Researchers and security professionals widely use it for domain research &security assessment.
Example:
whois example.com 
Usage: It performs DNS lookups and shows detailed information. Admins use it to solve DNS problems, look up records, and test domain name resolution.
Example:
dig google.com 
Usage: Create a new filesystem on a disk or partition. This linux command prepares storage devices for use by organizing their structure, making them ready for data storage.
Example:
sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb1 
Usage: Build and execute linux command lines from input. It’s beneficial for handling the output of other commands, allowing for more complex command chaining and operations.
Example:
find . -name "*.txt" | xargs rm 
Usage: This linux command gives users an overview of disk usage on filesystems, helping them monitor storage capacity by showing where space is consumed and what remains.
Example:
df -h 
Usage: Configure network interfaces, such as assigning IP addresses or enabling interfaces. It’s essential for basic network management tasks on older systems or specific distributions.
Example:
ifconfig eth0 up 
Usage: An interactive disk usage analyzer providing an intuitive interface for viewing space usage. It helps identify large files or directories, aiding in effective disk management.
Example:
ncdu /
Usage: Displays system processes, memory, swap, and CPU activity reported in virtual memory statistics. Additionally, it’s useful for performance monitoring and diagnosing system resource use over time.
Example:
vmstat 5 
Usage: Monitor disk I/O by processes to identify those using excessive resources, aiding in performance issue diagnosis.
Example:
sudo iotop 
Usage: This linux command shows block device attributes, such as which filesystem is present and the UUID. Managing several disks involves managing storage devices and partitions, and it is important.
Example:
blkid 
Usage: Run a linux command and show you the output from time to time. It can help you monitor changing system (disk usage, system load, and file alterations over time, etc.) state.
Example:
watch df -h 
Usage: Identify which processes are using files or directories. This information is valuable for troubleshooting file locks and understanding resource contention between processes.
Example:
fuser -v /path/to/file 
Usage: Display environment variables or run commands with a modified environment. It’s useful for debugging and controlling the environment in which scripts or programs run.
Example:
env 
Usage: This tool removes sections of each line from files based on delimiters. It’s handy for extracting specific fields from structured Text files, such as logs or configuration files.
Example:
cut -d':' -f1 /etc/passwd Usage: This utility displays file content in hexadecimal format, making it easy to inspect binary data for low-level debugging and file structure analysis.
Example:
sort file.txt | uniq 
Usage: It is a simple utility to help users view file content in hexadecimal so they can quickly examine binary data. It is a tool normally used to do low level debugging or to inspect file structures.
Example:
hexdump -C file.bin 
Usage: This command safely overwrites a file to prevent its recovery and is essential in protecting sensitive information by guaranteeing that the system cannot restore deleted files.
Example:
shred -u sensitivefile.txt 
Usage: Create custom shortcuts for commands, simplifying the execution of frequently used or complex commands. It’s an effective way to personalize and speed up the command-line workflow.
Example:
alias ll='ls -alF'
Usage: The ss command provides network socket statistics. It offers comprehensive details regarding network connections, such as open ports, established sessions, and protocol usage. Compared to netstat, this is a more precise and effective network diagnostic tool.
Example:
ss -tuln This command shows all listening ports for TCP and UDP connections in numeric form.
You can use pipes (|), logical operators, and chaining to combine multiple commands for complex tasks in Linux. Here’s an example:
Using Pipes:
grep "error" logfile.txt | awk '{print $2}' | sort | uniqLogical Operators:
command1 && command2 – Runs command2 only if command succeeds.
command1 || command2 – Runs command2 if command fails.
Chaining:
command1; command2 – Runs both commands regardless of success.
Mastering advanced Linux commands is essential for optimizing server performance and productivity. With this cheat sheet, you’ll have a powerful toolkit to handle everything from process management to challenging file operations. Whether you’re a system administrator or a developer, using these commands in your workflow will help you take your Linux expertise to the next level.
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About the writer
Vinayak Baranwal wrote this article. Use the provided link to connect with Vinayak on LinkedIn for more insightful content or collaboration opportunities.
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