🐧 Ubuntu Basic Commands Cheat Sheet
A practical list of essential Ubuntu Linux commands for developers, sysadmins, and beginners. Includes navigation, package management, and system control.
📂 Navigation
| Command |
Description |
pwd |
Print current working directory |
ls |
List files and directories |
ls -l |
Detailed list (permissions, size, owner) |
ls -a |
Show hidden files |
cd <directory> |
Change directory |
cd .. |
Go up one level |
cd ~ |
Go to home directory |
cd / |
Go to root directory |
📁 File & Directory Management
| Command |
Description |
mkdir <dir> |
Create a directory |
rmdir <dir> |
Remove an empty directory |
rm -r <dir> |
Remove a directory and contents |
touch <file> |
Create an empty file |
cp <src> <dest> |
Copy files or directories |
mv <src> <dest> |
Move or rename files |
rm <file> |
Remove a file |
📄 Viewing & Editing Files
| Command |
Description |
cat <file> |
Display file contents |
less <file> |
View file page by page |
head <file> |
Show first 10 lines |
tail <file> |
Show last 10 lines |
tail -f <file> |
Follow file changes (useful for logs) |
nano <file> |
Edit a file using Nano |
vim <file> |
Edit a file using Vim |
🔍 Searching & Finding Files
| Command |
Description |
find <path> -name <filename> |
Find files by name |
grep <pattern> <file> |
Search text inside files |
grep -r <pattern> <dir> |
Search recursively in directory |
locate <file> |
Quickly find files (after sudo updatedb) |
| Command |
Description |
uname -a |
Show system info |
lsb_release -a |
Display Ubuntu version |
hostnamectl |
Show hostname and OS info |
df -h |
Display disk space usage |
du -h |
Show directory size |
top |
View active processes |
htop |
Interactive process viewer (install with sudo apt install htop) |
free -h |
Show memory usage |
uptime |
Show system uptime |
who |
Show logged-in users |
👥 User & Permission Management
| Command |
Description |
whoami |
Show current username |
id |
Display user and group info |
sudo <command> |
Run command as superuser |
adduser <username> |
Create a new user |
deluser <username> |
Delete a user |
usermod -aG <group> <user> |
Add user to a group |
chmod <perm> <file> |
Change file permissions |
chown <user>:<group> <file> |
Change file owner/group |
🌐 Networking Commands
| Command |
Description |
ip a |
Show IP addresses |
ping <host> |
Test connectivity |
curl <url> |
Fetch content from a URL |
wget <url> |
Download files from the internet |
ssh <user>@<host> |
Connect to remote server via SSH |
scp <file> <user>@<host>:<path> |
Copy file to remote host |
netstat -tuln |
Show listening ports (install with sudo apt install net-tools) |
ss -tuln |
Show listening ports (modern alternative) |
📦 Package Management (APT)
| Command |
Description |
sudo apt update |
Refresh package list |
sudo apt upgrade |
Upgrade installed packages |
sudo apt install <package> |
Install a package |
sudo apt remove <package> |
Uninstall a package |
sudo apt autoremove |
Remove unused dependencies |
sudo apt purge <package> |
Remove package and config files |
sudo apt list --installed |
List installed packages |
sudo dpkg -i <package.deb> |
Install a local .deb package |
🧰 System Control
| Command |
Description |
sudo systemctl status <service> |
Check service status |
sudo systemctl start <service> |
Start a service |
sudo systemctl stop <service> |
Stop a service |
sudo systemctl restart <service> |
Restart a service |
sudo systemctl enable <service> |
Enable service at boot |
sudo systemctl disable <service> |
Disable service at boot |
sudo reboot |
Restart the system |
sudo shutdown now |
Shut down immediately |
🐙 Git & Docker (Common Dev Commands)
| Command |
Description |
git clone <repo> |
Clone a Git repository |
git status |
Show repo status |
git commit -m "message" |
Commit changes |
docker ps |
List running containers |
docker images |
List Docker images |
docker build -t <name> . |
Build Docker image |
docker run -d -p 8000:8000 <image> |
Run container in background |
🧹 Miscellaneous
| Command |
Description |
history |
Show command history |
clear |
Clear terminal screen |
man <command> |
Show manual for command |
alias ll='ls -la' |
Create a shortcut command |
exit |
Close terminal session |
📘 Pro Tip: Use --help after most commands (e.g., sudo apt --help) to view usage details.
Author: Your Name
Tested on: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
License: MIT