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Introduction to the Linux Command Line on Raspberry Pi OS

100% Percent Complete

Getting Started with the Command Line
Managing Files and Directories
Managing Software
System Monitoring and Management
Networking Basics
Scripting Basics
Working with Git (Optional Advanced Topic)
Final Project: Building a Simple Command Line Application
Resources and Next Steps

Linux Command Line Cheatsheet

A quick reference for commonly used Linux command line commands with descriptions and examples.

By Kevin McAleer,    4 Minutes

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Linux Command Line Cheatsheet

Command Description Example Usage
pwd Print Working Directory: Displays the current directory you are in. pwd
ls List: Lists files and directories in the current directory. ls
cd Change Directory: Moves you to the specified directory. cd /home/pi
mkdir Make Directory: Creates a new directory. mkdir new_folder
rmdir Remove Directory: Removes an empty directory. rmdir empty_folder
rm -r Remove: Deletes a directory and its contents recursively. rm -r unwanted_folder
cp Copy: Copies files or directories. cp file.txt /home/pi/
mv Move: Moves or renames files or directories. mv file.txt /home/pi/newfile.txt
touch Creates an empty file or updates the timestamp of an existing file. touch newfile.txt
nano Opens the Nano text editor to create or edit files. nano textfile.txt
cat Concatenates and displays the content of a file. cat file.txt
less Displays file content one screen at a time. less file.txt
head Displays the first few lines of a file. head -n 10 file.txt
tail Displays the last few lines of a file. tail -n 10 file.txt
chmod Changes the permissions of a file or directory. chmod 755 script.sh
chown Changes the ownership of a file or directory. chown user:group file.txt
sudo Executes a command with superuser (root) privileges. sudo apt update
apt Advanced Package Tool: Used for managing packages (install, update, remove). sudo apt install package_name
df Displays disk space usage of filesystems. df -h
du Displays disk usage of files and directories. du -sh *
free Displays memory usage. free -h
top Displays real-time system processes and resource usage. top
htop An enhanced version of top, requires installation. htop
ps Displays information about running processes. ps aux
kill Terminates a process by its ID (PID). kill 1234
killall Terminates all processes with a given name. killall firefox
ifconfig Displays network configuration details. ifconfig
ping Sends ICMP echo requests to test connectivity to another host. ping 8.8.8.8
scp Secure Copy: Copies files over SSH. scp file.txt user@remote:/path
rsync Synchronizes files and directories between two locations. rsync -avz source/ destination/
ssh Secure Shell: Connects to another machine securely over the network. ssh user@hostname
crontab Schedules commands to run at specified intervals. crontab -e
git Version control system for tracking changes in source code. git clone https://github.com/repo.git
echo Displays a line of text/string passed as an argument. echo "Hello, World!"
grep Searches text using patterns. grep "search_term" file.txt
find Searches for files and directories in a directory hierarchy. find /home/pi -name "*.txt"
tar Archives multiple files into a single file (optionally compressing). tar -czvf archive.tar.gz folder/
unzip Extracts compressed files from a ZIP archive. unzip archive.zip
history Shows the command history list. history
man Displays the manual page for a command. man ls
exit Closes the terminal session. exit
raspi-config Raspberry Pi Configuration Tool for system settings. raspi-config
vdir Alias for ls command. vdir

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