Top 17 Terminal Commands Every Ubuntu user should know About

Terminal Commands are cool and very handy sometimes (even for common users who don’t like terminal), also useful in learning some cool stuffs about Ubuntu or GNU/Linux in general (so it’s also good for learners).

I’ve prepared a list of few terminal commands – that anyone can learn and master (in couple of minutes), in order to enjoy a better experience with Ubuntu or other Linux distributions (and don’t worry about – the Ubuntu version you are using such as – 12.04 LTS – “Precise Pangolin” or 11.10 or may be the upcoming one – 12.10, because it doesn’t change often unlike the other things in Ubuntu :), same for Ubuntu derivatives such as Linux Mint 13(Maya)).

Top 17 commands for Ubuntu Beginners

Basics GNU/Linux Commands

#1. ls : list directory contents

ls

If you want to see hidden files/directories (beginning with dot.), the use -a flag.

ls -a

Check the manual for more detail (man ls).

 

#2. cd : Change Directory

cd ../
cd /home/Desktop

Remember,

. represents the current directory

.. represents the parent directory

~ represents the home directory (of the user)

 

#3. pwd : print the current/working directory

pwd
/home/Desktop/scripts

 

#4. mkdir : make/create directory.

mkdir funny_stuffs

 

#5. rm : remove/delete file/directory

rm useless.sh

NOTE : it removes directories only if it’s empty, unless you specify -f flag for force deletion. But you must be careful with the arguments such as -r, -f. (-rf is very dangerous).

 

#6. sudo : superuser do, to gain root privilege

e.g

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

Then enter your user account password, and you would be able to do administrative tasks like root. So if you’re getting any permission error using a command, then adding sudo as a prefix, might help.

 

#7. mv : rename or move a file/directory

mv file1 ~/Downloads/Archive/

the above command will move the file from the current directory to target directory.

mv logo_2.jpg new_logo.jpg

it will rename the file to new_logo.jpg.

 

#8. cat : View File contents

cat install.log

 

#9. man : A Reference manual for utils/commands/programs

e.g if you want to know more about rm command, then type –

man rm

 

#10. cp : Copy Files/Directories

cp movie_name.mp4 ~/Downloads/movies/

The above command will copy the movie_name.mp4 to the specified directory.

 

#11. wget : Download files from server

GNU Wget or wget is very handy in downloading stuffs from internet, over the command line.

wget url_of_the_content

 

#12. gksudo : Run GUI Application with Root privilege

gksudo nautilus

The above command will open nautilus with root privilege. It’s just like sudo, but in GUI mode.

 

#13. shutdown : To shutdown the computer from terminal

shutdown -h 

where time can be 0 if you want to shutdown now or specify the exact time such as 10:30.

 

#14. restart : Restart the computer

restart

Package Management

These are Ubuntu Specific commands. It Requires root privilege, so just add the sudo prefix before each command (it will ask for the user password and you’re done!).

#15. apt-get : Command Line Tool for handling packages
There are various options such as

install – To install package.
e.g Install the program PyRoom (A distraction Free Text Editor)

sudo apt-get install pyroom

remove – To remove package

sudo apt-get remove kate

update – To update the package cache

sudo apt-get update

 

#16. add-apt-repository – To add a PPA (for your favorite Application)

e.g add the PPA for the App Eidete (Screencasting program)

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:shnatsel/eidete-daily

After, adding the PPA, apt-get update command is required.

 

#17. apt-cache : To access the Package details from cache

search : search for the related packages in the apt-cache
e.g

apt-cache search image editor