MadClikr - Technology - Basic Linux Commands

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Technology - Basic Linux Commands

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Here you will find some basic Linux commands. Of course, you will need to have the programs associated with these commands installed and operational in order for these commands to work. Due to this, I have listed mainly the very basic commands which most Linux distributions will have. Hint: Don't actually type the things withing the asteriks directly as you see them, but rather, use them as placeholders for your desired items.

man command	Quite possible the most important Linux command in existence (yes, it's just that important). This command allows you to access the help files for other commands. Cherish it.
cat file name	Prints the output of a file to the screen. If the file is too long, you might need to have the command paginate the output by doing "cat file name \| more" or "cat file name \| pg".
cd directory name	Sends you to a directory of your choosing. If you do not give a directory name, then it will send you to your home directory.
cp file to copy name of the copy	This command allows you to copy a file into another file. The original file is not deleted.
date MMDDhhmm	Sets the clock to MMDDhhmm. The hours are as they would be on a 24 hour clock, even if your computer shows a 12 hour clock. Example, if it is 11:04 PM on April 30th, you would type "date 04302304". This command only updates the system time. To update the hardware time as well (so the changes do not go away on reboot) type "hwclock -w"
li	lists files and directories
mkdir directory name	Makes a directory with the name of your choosing
mount what to mount where to mount	Used to mount devices to the disk. For example, "mount /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy" will mount a floppy drive. Don't forget to use umount when you're done.
mv file to be moved where to move the file	This command is generally used to move files from one directory into another, but it may also be used to rename files.
passwd	Lets you change your password.
pwd	Present working directory: will show you your present location within a file system relative to the root directory.
rm name of file to be removed (deleted)	Deletes the file of your choosing
rmdir directory's name	Deletes an empty directory
su	allows you to put on a root suite
umount what to unmount	Allows you to unmount items from the disk.
useradd name	Creates a new account for the user name
xhost name	A nice little command that lets you give non-root users access to "startx."