Archive
An A-Z Index of the Linux command line: bash + utilities
Table of Contents
| A | ||
| & | Start a new process in the background | |
| alias | Create an alias • | |
| apropos | Search Help manual pages (man -k) | |
| apt | Search for and install software packages (Debian/Ubuntu) | |
| apt-get | Search for and install software packages (Debian/Ubuntu) | |
| aptitude | Search for and install software packages (Debian/Ubuntu) | |
| aspell | Spell Checker | |
| at | Schedule a command to run once at a particular time | |
| awk | Find and Replace text, database sort/validate/index | |
| B | ||
| basename | Strip directory and suffix from filenames | |
| base32 | Base32 encode/decode data and print to standard output | |
| base64 | Base64 encode/decode data and print to standard output | |
| bash | GNU Bourne-Again SHell | |
| bc | Arbitrary precision calculator language | |
| bg | Send to background | |
| bind | Set or display readline key and function bindings • | |
| break | Exit from a loop • | |
| builtin | Run a shell builtin | |
| bzip2 | Compress or decompress named file(s) | |
| C | ||
| cal | Display a calendar | |
| caller | Return the context of any active subroutine call • | |
| case | Conditionally perform a command | |
| cat | Concatenate and print (display) the content of files | |
| cd | Change Directory | |
| cfdisk | Partition table manipulator for Linux | |
| chattr | Change file attributes on a Linux file system | |
| chgrp | Change group ownership | |
| chmod | Change access permissions | |
| chown | Change file owner and group | |
| chpasswd | Update passwords in batch mode | |
| chroot | Run a command with a different root directory | |
| chkconfig | System services (runlevel) | |
| cksum | Print CRC checksum and byte counts | |
| clear | Clear the terminal screen/console (ncurses) | |
| clear_console | Clear the terminal screen/console (bash) | |
| cmp | Compare two files | |
| comm | Compare two sorted files line by line | |
| command | Run a command – ignoring shell functions • | |
| continue | Resume the next iteration of a loop • | |
| cp | Copy one or more files to another location | |
| cpio | Copy files to and from archives | |
| cron | Daemon to execute scheduled commands | |
| crontab | Schedule a command to run at a later time | |
| csplit | Split a file into context-determined pieces | |
| curl | Transfer data from or to a server | |
| cut | Divide a file into several parts | |
| D | ||
| date | Display or change the date & time | |
| dc | Desk Calculator | |
| dd | Data Duplicator – convert and copy a file, write disk headers, boot records | |
| ddrescue | Data recovery tool | |
| declare | Declare variables and give them attributes • | |
| df | Display free disk space | |
| diff | Display the differences between two files | |
| diff3 | Show differences among three files | |
| dig | DNS lookup | |
| dir | Briefly list directory contents | |
| dircolors | Colour setup for ‘ls’ | |
| dirname | Convert a full pathname to just a path | |
| dirs | Display list of remembered directories | |
| dos2unix | Windows/MAC to UNIX text file format converter | |
| dmesg | Print kernel & driver messages | |
| dpkg | Package manager (Debian/Ubuntu). | |
| du | Estimate file space usage | |
| E | ||
| echo | Display message on screen • | |
| egrep | Search file(s) for lines that match an extended expression | |
| eject | Eject removable media | |
| enable | Enable and disable builtin shell commands • | |
| env | Environment variables | |
| ethtool | Ethernet card settings | |
| eval | Evaluate several commands/arguments | |
| exec | Execute a command | |
| exit | Exit the shell | |
| expand | Convert tabs to spaces | |
| export | Set an environment variable | |
| expr | Evaluate expressions | |
| F | ||
| false | Do nothing, unsuccessfully | |
| fdformat | Low-level format a floppy disk | |
| fdisk | Partition table manipulator for Linux | |
| fg | Send job to foreground | |
| fgrep | Search file(s) for lines that match a fixed string | |
| file | Determine file type | |
| find | Search for files that meet a desired criteria | |
| fmt | Reformat paragraph text | |
| fold | Wrap text to fit a specified width | |
| for | Expand words, and execute commands | |
| format | Format disks or tapes | |
| free | Display memory usage | |
| fsck | File system consistency check and repair | |
| ftp | File Transfer Protocol | |
| function | Define Function Macros | |
| fuser | Identify/kill the process that is accessing a file | |
| G | ||
| gawk | Find and Replace text within file(s) | |
| getopts | Parse positional parameters | |
| getfacl | Get file access control lists | |
| grep | Search file(s) for lines that match a given pattern | |
| groupadd | Add a user security group | |
| groupdel | Delete a group | |
| groupmod | Modify a group | |
| groups | Print group names a user is in | |
| gzip | Compress or decompress named file(s) | |
| H | ||
| hash | Remember the full pathname of a name argument | |
| head | Output the first part of file(s) | |
| help | Display help for a built-in command • | |
| history | Command History | |
| hostname | Print or set system name | |
| htop | Interactive process viewer | |
| I | ||
| iconv | Convert the character set of a file | |
| id | Print user and group id’s | |
| if | Conditionally perform a command | |
| ifconfig | Configure a network interface | |
| ifdown | Stop a network interface | |
| ifup | Start a network interface up | |
| import | Capture an X server screen and save the image to file | |
| install | Copy files and set attributes | |
| iostat | Report CPU and i/o statistics | |
| ip | Routing, devices and tunnels | |
| J | ||
| jobs | List active jobs • | |
| join | Join lines on a common field | |
| K | ||
| kill | Kill a process by specifying its PID | |
| killall | Kill processes by name | |
| klist | List cached Kerberos tickets | |
| L | ||
| less | Display output one screen at a time | |
| let | Perform arithmetic on shell variables • | |
| link | Create a link to a file | |
| ln | Create a symbolic link to a file | |
| local | Create a function variable • | |
| locate | Find files | |
| logname | Print current login name | |
| logout | Exit a login shell • | |
| look | Display lines beginning with a given string | |
| lpc | Line printer control program | |
| lpr | Print files | |
| lprint | Print a file | |
| lprintd | Delete a print job | |
| lprintq | List the print queue | |
| lprm | Remove jobs from the print queue | |
| lsattr | List file attributes on a Linux second extended file system | |
| lsblk | List block devices | |
| ls | List information about file(s) | |
| lsof | List open files | |
| lspci | List all PCI devices | |
| M | ||
| make | Recompile a group of programs | |
| man | Help manual | |
| mapfile | Read lines from standard input into an indexed array variable • | |
| md5sum | Compute and check MD5 message digest | |
| mkdir | Create new folder(s) | |
| mkfifo | Make FIFOs (named pipes) | |
| mkfile | Make a file | |
| mkisofs | Create a hybrid ISO9660/JOLIET/HFS filesystem | |
| mknod | Make block or character special files | |
| mktemp | Make a temporary file | |
| more | Display output one screen at a time | |
| most | Browse or page through a text file | |
| mount | Mount a file system | |
| mtools | Manipulate MS-DOS files | |
| mtr | Network diagnostics (traceroute/ping) | |
| mv | Move or rename files or directories | |
| mmv | Mass Move and rename (files) | |
| N | ||
| nc | Netcat, read and write data across networks | |
| netstat | Networking connections/stats | |
| nft | nftables for packet filtering and classification | |
| nice | Set the priority of a command or job | |
| nl | Number lines and write files | |
| nohup | Run a command immune to hangups | |
| notify-send | Send desktop notifications | |
| nslookup | Query Internet name servers interactively | |
| O | ||
| open | Open a file in its default application | |
| op | Operator access | |
| P | ||
| passwd | Modify a user password | |
| paste | Merge lines of files | |
| pathchk | Check file name portability | |
| Perf | Performance analysis tools for Linux | |
| ping | Test a network connection | |
| pgrep | List processes by name | |
| pkill | Kill processes by name | |
| popd | Restore the previous value of the current directory | |
| pr | Prepare files for printing | |
| printcap | Printer capability database | |
| printenv | Print environment variables | |
| printf | Format and print data • | |
| ps | Process status | |
| pushd | Save and then change the current directory | |
| pv | Monitor the progress of data through a pipe | |
| pwd | Print Working Directory | |
| Q | ||
| quota | Display disk usage and limits | |
| quotacheck | Scan a file system for disk usage | |
| R | ||
| ram | ram disk device | |
| rar | Archive files with compression | |
| rcp | Copy files between two machines | |
| read | Read a line from standard input • | |
| readarray | Read from stdin into an array variable • | |
| readonly | Mark variables/functions as readonly | |
| reboot | Reboot the system | |
| rename | Rename files | |
| renice | Alter priority of running processes | |
| remsync | Synchronize remote files via email | |
| return | Exit a shell function | |
| rev | Reverse lines of a file | |
| rm | Remove files | |
| rmdir | Remove folder(s) | |
| rsync | Remote file copy (Synchronize file trees) | |
| S | ||
| screen | Multiplex terminal, run remote shells via ssh | |
| scp | Secure copy (remote file copy) | |
| sdiff | Merge two files interactively | |
| sed | Stream Editor | |
| select | Accept user choices via keyboard input | |
| seq | Print numeric sequences | |
| set | Manipulate shell variables and functions | |
| setfacl | Set file access control lists. | |
| sftp | Secure File Transfer Program | |
| sha256sum | Compute and check SHA256 (256-bit) checksums | |
| shift | Shift positional parameters | |
| shopt | Shell Options | |
| shuf | Generate random permutations | |
| shutdown | Shutdown or restart Linux | |
| sleep | Delay for a specified time | |
| slocate | Find files | |
| sort | Sort text files | |
| source | Run commands from a file ‘.’ • | |
| split | Split a file into fixed-size pieces | |
| ss | Socket Statistics | |
| ssh | Secure Shell client (remote login program) | |
| stat | Display file or file system status | |
| strace | Trace system calls and signals | |
| su | Substitute user identity | |
| sudo | Execute a command as another user | |
| sum | Print a checksum for a file | |
| suspend | Suspend execution of this shell • | |
| sync | Synchronize data on disk with memory | |
| T | ||
| tabs | Set tabs on a terminal | |
| tail | Output the last part of a file | |
| tar | Store, list or extract files in an archive | |
| tee | Redirect output to multiple files | |
| test | Evaluate a conditional expression | |
| time | Measure Program running time | |
| timeout | Run a command with a time limit | |
| times | User and system times | |
| tmux | Terminal multiplexer | |
| touch | Change file timestamps | |
| top | List processes running on the system | |
| tput | Set terminal-dependent capabilities, color, position | |
| traceroute | Trace Route to Host | |
| trap | Execute a command when the shell receives a signal • | |
| tr | Translate, squeeze, and/or delete characters | |
| true | Do nothing, successfully | |
| tsort | Topological sort | |
| tty | Print filename of terminal on stdin | |
| type | Describe a command • | |
| U | ||
| ulimit | Limit user resources • | |
| umask | Users file creation mask | |
| umount | Unmount a device | |
| unalias | Remove an alias • | |
| uname | Print system information | |
| unexpand | Convert spaces to tabs | |
| uniq | Uniquify files | |
| units | Convert units from one scale to another | |
| unix2dos | UNIX to Windows or MAC text file format converter | |
| unrar | Extract files from a rar archive | |
| unset | Remove variable or function names | |
| unshar | Unpack shell archive scripts | |
| until | Execute commands (until error) | |
| uptime | Show uptime | |
| useradd | Create new user account | |
| userdel | Delete a user account | |
| usermod | Modify user account | |
| users | List users currently logged in | |
| uuencode | Encode a binary file | |
| uudecode | Decode a file created by uuencode | |
| V | ||
| v | Verbosely list directory contents (‘ls -l -b’) | |
| vdir | Verbosely list directory contents (‘ls -l -b’) | |
| vi | Text Editor | |
| vmstat | Report virtual memory statistics | |
| W | ||
| w | Show who is logged on and what they are doing | |
| wait | Wait for a process to complete • | |
| watch | Execute/display a program periodically | |
| wc | Print byte, word, and line counts | |
| whereis | Search the user’s $path, man pages and source files for a program | |
| which | Search the user’s $path for a program file | |
| while | Execute commands | |
| who | Print all usernames currently logged in | |
| whoami | Print the current user id and name (‘id -un’) | |
| wget | Retrieve web pages or files via HTTP, HTTPS or FTP | |
| write | Send a message to another user | |
| X | ||
| xargs | Execute utility, passing constructed argument list(s) | |
| xdg-open | Open a file or URL in the user’s preferred application. | |
| xxd | Make a hexdump or do the reverse | |
| xz | Compress or decompress .xz and .lzma files | |
| yes | Print a string until interrupted | |
| zip | Package and compress (archive) files | |
| . | Run a command script in the current shell | |
| !! | Run the last command again | |
| ### | Comment / Remark |
To scroll this page, press [ a – z ] on the keyboard, also on the detail pages ‘s’ = syntax ‘e’ = examples, ‘\’ = Search.
Commands marked • are bash built-ins
The other commands and Core Utils are also available under alternate shells (C shell, Korn shell etc).