Basic BASH commands

This page lists a few basic BASH commands that you should be familiar with. Remember that the man command is your friend. Remember that you can search within manual pages (/).

• uname – shows basic information about the system
  • uname -a – show all
  • uname -r – kernel release
• lsb_release -a – shows distribution specific information

• ls – list the current directory
  • ls -la – long listing of all files (inc. hidden)
• mv – move/rename file
• cp – copy file
• rmdir, mkdir – remove/create directory
• rm – remove file (use with caution!)
  • rm -i – remove interactively (asks)
• chmod – change file permissions
• chown – change file group/owner

• who – show who is logged in
• w – show who is logged in and their task
• last – show listing of last logged users

• top (interactive, exit by q)
• ps – report snapshot of current process(es). Note that it has two types of syntax, see man ps
• kill – send signal to a process

• sort
• uniq
• awk
• grep
• cut
• wc
  • wc -l – count lines
• sed
• tr

These are up to some level interactive. Make sure you are at least able to edit and save a file using vim or vi. It is sometimes very helpful on some simpler systems.

• nano
• pico
• vim – has 'edit' and 'command' mode. Syntax highlight can be turned on :syn on
• emacs

• ssh – secure shell
• scp – secure copy
• ping – test response of a machine (i.e.: if it is online)