Top 100 Linux Commands for Beginners (With Examples)

Mastering Linux begins with the command line. For beginners, learning the most commonly used Linux commands is the first step toward becoming confident in system navigation, file management, user administration, and more.

This guide covers the top 100 Linux commands, grouped into practical categories, each explained with beginner-friendly examples. Bookmark this article and start practicing right from your terminal!

📁 1. File and Directory Management Commands

These commands help you navigate and manipulate files and directories.

1. pwd – Prints the current working directory.
   Example: pwd
2. ls – Lists files and directories.
   Example: ls -l
3. cd – Changes the current directory.
   Example: cd /home/user/Documents
4. mkdir – Creates a new directory.
   Example: mkdir myfolder
5. rmdir – Removes an empty directory.
   Example: rmdir myfolder
6. rm – Deletes a file or directory.
   Example: rm file.txt, rm -r folder/
7. cp – Copies files or directories.
   Example: cp file1.txt file2.txt
8. mv – Moves or renames files/directories.
   Example: mv old.txt new.txt
9. touch – Creates an empty file.
   Example: touch notes.txt
10. tree – Displays the directory structure in tree format.
    Example: tree

📄 2. File Viewing and Text Handling

Use these commands to read or manipulate file content.

11. cat – Displays the contents of a file.
    Example: cat file.txt
12. less – Views file contents one page at a time.
    Example: less file.txt
13. more – Similar to less, for paginated viewing.
    Example: more file.txt
14. head – Shows the first few lines of a file.
    Example: head file.txt
15. tail – Shows the last few lines of a file.
    Example: tail file.txt
16. echo – Prints a message or writes to a file.
    Example: echo "Hello World" > hello.txt
17. nano – Opens the nano text editor.
    Example: nano file.txt
18. vi / vim – Opens the vi/vim editor.
    Example: vim file.txt
19. cat > – Creates and writes to a file.
    Example: cat > new.txt then type content, press Ctrl+D
20. cat >> – Appends content to a file.
    Example: cat >> new.txt then type content, press Ctrl+D

🔍 3. Search and Find

Quickly locate files or text within files.

21. find – Finds files and directories.
    Example: find . -name "*.txt"
22. locate – Fast file search using a database.
    Example: locate passwd
23. grep – Searches text in files.
    Example: grep "search" file.txt
24. which – Shows the path of an executable.
    Example: which python
25. whereis – Locates source, binary, and man pages.
    Example: whereis ls
26. type – Describes a command type.
    Example: type cd

⚙️ 4. File Permissions and Ownership

Manage access rights to files and directories.

27. chmod – Changes file permissions.
    Example: chmod 755 script.sh
28. chown – Changes file owner and group.
    Example: chown user:group file.txt
29. chgrp – Changes group ownership.
    Example: chgrp staff file.txt
30. umask – Displays or sets default permission mask.
    Example: umask
31. stat – Displays detailed file info.
    Example: stat file.txt

📦 5. Package Management (Debian/Ubuntu)

Install and manage software packages.

32. apt update – Updates the package list.
    Example: sudo apt update
33. apt upgrade – Upgrades all upgradable packages.
    Example: sudo apt upgrade
34. apt install – Installs a new package.
    Example: sudo apt install nginx
35. apt remove – Removes a package.
    Example: sudo apt remove nginx
36. dpkg -i – Installs a .deb package manually.
    Example: sudo dpkg -i package.deb

💻 6. System Monitoring and Info

Keep an eye on system performance and status.

37. top – Displays running processes.
    Example: top
38. htop – Interactive process viewer.
    Example: htop
39. uptime – Shows how long the system has been running.
    Example: uptime
40. free – Displays memory usage.
    Example: free -h
41. df – Displays disk space usage.
    Example: df -h
42. du – Estimates file or directory size.
    Example: du -sh *
43. ps – Displays running processes.
    Example: ps aux
44. uname -a – Shows kernel and system info.
    Example: uname -a
45. whoami – Prints current username.
    Example: whoami
46. id – Displays UID and GID.
    Example: id

🌐 7. Networking Commands

Check and troubleshoot network-related settings.

47. ping – Checks connectivity to a host.
    Example: ping google.com
48. curl – Sends HTTP requests.
    Example: curl example.com
49. wget – Downloads files from the web.
    Example: wget http://example.com/file.zip
50. ip a – Shows IP address details.
    Example: ip a
51. netstat – Displays open ports and connections.
    Example: netstat -tuln
52. ss – Modern alternative to netstat.
    Example: ss -tuln
53. traceroute – Traces network path to a host.
    Example: traceroute google.com
54. nslookup – DNS lookup tool.
    Example: nslookup github.com
55. hostname – Displays or sets system hostname.
    Example: hostname

👥 8. User and Group Management

Manage users, groups, and access control.

56. adduser – Adds a new user.
    Example: sudo adduser testuser
57. deluser – Deletes a user.
    Example: sudo deluser testuser
58. passwd – Changes user password.
    Example: passwd
59. usermod – Modifies a user account.
    Example: sudo usermod -aG sudo testuser
60. groupadd – Creates a new group.
    Example: sudo groupadd developers
61. groups – Shows groups of a user.
    Example: groups

📦 9. Archiving and Compression

Work with .tar, .zip, .gz files.

62. tar -cvf – Archives files.
    Example: tar -cvf backup.tar folder/
63. tar -xvf – Extracts tar files.
    Example: tar -xvf backup.tar
64. gzip – Compresses a file.
    Example: gzip file.txt
65. gunzip – Decompresses .gz files.
    Example: gunzip file.txt.gz
66. zip – Creates a zip archive.
    Example: zip archive.zip file.txt
67. unzip – Extracts zip files.
    Example: unzip archive.zip

🧰 10. Disk & Storage Management

Work with partitions and drives.

68. mount – Mounts a device.
    Example: mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt
69. umount – Unmounts a device.
    Example: umount /mnt
70. lsblk – Lists block devices.
    Example: lsblk
71. fdisk – Partition management tool.
    Example: fdisk -l
72. mkfs – Creates a filesystem.
    Example: mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb1
73. fsck – Checks a filesystem for errors.
    Example: fsck /dev/sda1

⏲️ 11. Job Scheduling

Run commands at a scheduled time.

74. crontab -e – Edits the cron jobs.
    Example: crontab -e
75. at – Schedules a one-time task.
    Example: echo "shutdown -h now" | at 10pm

🛠️ 12. System Services

Start, stop, and manage system services.

76. systemctl – Manages systemd services.
    Example: systemctl restart apache2
77. service – Older method to manage services.
    Example: service ssh start
78. journalctl – Views system logs.
    Example: journalctl -xe

🧠 13. Miscellaneous Useful Commands

79. history – Shows your command history.
    Example: history
80. alias – Creates a shortcut for a command.
    Example: alias ll='ls -la'
81. clear – Clears the terminal screen.
    Example: clear
82. man – Shows the manual for any command.
    Example: man ls
83. help – Provides help for shell built-ins.
    Example: help cd
84. date – Displays the current date and time.
    Example: date
85. cal – Shows a calendar.
    Example: cal
86. uptime – Shows system uptime.
    Example: uptime
87. reboot – Restarts the system.
    Example: reboot
88. shutdown – Shuts down the system.
    Example: shutdown now
89. who – Shows who is logged in.
    Example: who
90. w – Shows who is logged in and what they’re doing.
    Example: w

🎯 Conclusion

Learning these 100 Linux commands will give you a solid foundation to explore the system further, script efficiently, and troubleshoot problems with ease. Start by practicing 5–10 commands daily. Use tools like man and --help flags to dig deeper.

Stay curious, keep practicing, and happy learning!