Frequently used Ubuntu commands

1. ls

Lists the contents of a directory.

• ls - Lists files and directories in the current directory.
• ls -l - Lists with detailed information including permissions, owner, size, and modification date.
• ls -a - Lists all entries including hidden files starting with ..

2. cd

Changes the current directory.

• cd /path/to/directory - Changes to the specified directory.
• cd .. - Moves up one directory level.
• cd or cd ~ - Changes to the user’s home directory.

3. pwd

Prints the current working directory.

• pwd - Outputs the full path of the current directory.

4. cp

Copies files or directories.

• cp source_file destination_file - Copies a file.
• cp -r source_directory destination_directory - Recursively copies a directory.

5. mv

Moves or renames files and directories.

• mv source destination - Moves or renames files or directories.

6. rm

Removes files or directories.

• rm file - Deletes a file.
• rm -r directory - Recursively deletes a directory and its contents.

7. mkdir

Creates a new directory.

• mkdir directory_name - Creates a new directory.

8. rmdir

Removes empty directories.

• rmdir directory_name - Removes an empty directory.

9. chmod

Changes the permissions of files or directories.

• chmod 755 file - Changes the permissions of a file to read, write, and execute for the owner, and read and execute for others.

10. chown

Changes the owner and/or group of files or directories.

• chown user:group file - Changes the owner and group of a file.

11. top

Displays running processes and system resource usage.

• top - Opens an interactive monitor displaying system processes and resource usage.

12. df

Shows disk space usage.

• df - Shows the amount of disk space used and available on all mounted filesystems.
• df -h - Displays the space in human-readable form (e.g., KB, MB, GB).

13. du

Shows the disk usage of files and directories.

• du -sh directory - Shows the total size of a directory in a human-readable format.

14. grep

Searches for patterns in text.

• grep "pattern" file - Searches for a pattern within a file and prints lines containing the pattern.

15. echo

Displays a line of text/string that is passed as an argument.

• echo "Hello, World!" - Prints “Hello, World!” to the terminal.

16. cat

Concatenates and displays files.

• cat file - Displays the contents of a file.

17. tail

Displays the last part of files.

• tail file - Shows the last 10 lines of a file.
• tail -f file - Continuously monitors the end of a file, useful for logs.

18. head

Displays the first part of files.

• head file - Shows the first 10 lines of a file.

19. man

Displays the manual pages for commands.

• man command - Shows the manual for the specified command.

20. sudo

Executes a command with superuser privileges.

• sudo command - Executes the command as the superuser.

These commands form the backbone of the Ubuntu command-line interface and are critical for daily operations and system management. Each command typically has a man page (e.g., man ls) which provides detailed usage information, options, and examples.