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Linux Terminal Commands

The most important commands to get started, the way I learned them myself when switching to Kubuntu. Not meant to be complete, just the commands that come up most often in everyday use.

Last updated: September 1, 2026

File System

lsShows the contents of a folder
cdChanges to a different folder
pwdShows the current folder path
mkdirCreates a new folder
cpCopies files or folders
mvMoves or renames files
rmDeletes files, with -r whole folders too
catShows the content of a file in the terminal
nanoOpens a file in a simple text editor

Permissions and Users

sudoRuns a command with administrator rights
chmodChanges a file's access permissions
chownChanges the owner of a file
whoamiShows the currently logged in user
passwdChanges the current user's password
groupsShows which groups the current user belongs to
usermodChanges settings of an existing user account

Managing Packages

apt updateUpdates the list of available software packages
apt upgradeInstalls available updates for installed packages
apt installInstalls a new software package
apt removeRemoves an installed software package

Processes and System

topShows running processes and load in real time
psLists currently running processes
killEnds a process by its ID
systemctlStarts, stops or checks system services
df -hShows free storage space on drives
free -hShows used and free memory
htopA more visual, interactive version of top
journalctlShows system logs from systemd services

Network

pingChecks whether a server is reachable
curlFetches an address and shows the response in the terminal
sshConnects encrypted to a remote server
ip aShows network interfaces and IP addresses
wgetDownloads a file from an address
scpCopies files encrypted to a remote server
tracerouteShows the hops on the way to a server
hostname -IShows your own IP address on the network

Text Processing and Search

grepSearches text for a certain pattern
findSearches files by name or properties
lessShows long files page by page for scrolling
headShows the first lines of a file
tailShows the last lines of a file, often with -f for live logs
touchCreates a new, empty file
du -hShows disk usage of files and folders