Linux Commands cheat sheet
Dưới đây là danh sách các lệnh cơ bản thường dùng trong hệ điều hành Linux, được phân loại theo chức năng để bạn dễ dàng tham khảo:
MAN: dùng để xem hướng dẫn sử dụng 1 lênh khác
man ls
## xem hướng dẫn sử dụng lệnh ls
Help: gọi hướng dẫn sử dụng lênh đơn giản
rm –help
Keyboard Shortcuts
TAB TAB: hiển thị thông tin còn thiếu về từ nào đó được nhập vào cmd.
CTRL + L: xoá dòng hiện tại.
CTRL + D: đóng terminal.
CTRL + U: cut dòng hiện tại.
CTRL + A: chuyển con trỏ tới đầu dòng.
Ctrl + E: chuyển con trỏ tới cuối dòng.
CTRL + C: dừng chạy lệnh.
CTRL + Z: chế độ sleep.
CTRL + ALT + T: mở mới terminal.
Lịch sử lệnh:
- history: hiển thị lịch sử gõ lệnh cmd.
- history -d 100: xoá 100 dòng trong lịch sử lệnh.
- history -c: xoá hết lịch sử lệnh.
- echo $HISTFILESIZE: in ra số lệnh được lưu trong history file.
- echo $HISTSIZE: in ra số lệnh được lưu trong history memory.
- !!: về lệnh trước đó.
- !20: chạy 20 lệnh trước đó.
- !-10: Run the last nth command.
- !abc: chạy lệnh trước đó có bắt đầu là abc.
- !abc:p: danh sách lệnh trước đó với bắt đầu là abc.
- CTRL + R: Reverse search through history.
- HISTTIMEFORMAT=”%d/%m/%y %T “: Record date/time of each command (add to ~/.bashrc for persistence).
Root Access (sudo, su)
- sudo command: chạy lệnh với quyền root (for users in sudo or wheel group).
- sudo su: chuyển quyền root.
- sudo passwd root: đặt root password.
- passwd username: đổi pass user’s password.
- su: Become root (if root has a password).
Linux Paths
Paths:
- Absolute: Starts with /
- Relative: Relative to the current location
- .: đường dẫn hiện tại
- ..: đường dẫn cha của đường dẫn hiện tại
- ~: đường dẫn home của user hiện tại
Thay đổi đường dẫn:
- cd: về thư mục home của user
- cd ~: thư mục home của user
- cd -: đường dẫn cuối cùng
- cd /path_to_dir: vào đường dẫn được chỉ định
- pwd: in ra đường dẫn hiện tại
Cài đặt
- sudo apt install tree: cài đặt tree app
ls Command: hiển thị danh sách có trong thư mục
Usage: ls [OPTIONS] [FILES]
- -l: Long listing
- -a: All files (including hidden)
- -1: Single column
- -d: Directory information
- -h: Human-readable sizes
- -S: Sort by size
- -X: Sort by extension
- –hide: Hide specific files
- -R: Recursive listing
- -i: Inode number
Disk Usage
- du -sh ~: kích thước/dung lượng đường dẫn
File Timestamps and Date
- ls -lu: Access time (atime)
- ls -l, ls -lt: Modification time (mtime)
- ls -lc: Change time (ctime)
- stat file.txt: All timestamps
- ls -l –full-time /etc/: Full timestamps
Modifying Timestamps with Touch
- touch file.txt: Create or update timestamps
- touch -a file, touch -m file: Modify atime or mtime
- touch -m -t 201812301530.45 a.txt: Specific date/time
- touch -d “2010-10-31 15:45:30” a.txt: Both atime and mtime
- touch a.txt -r b.txt: Copy timestamps
Date and Calendar
- date: Current date/time
- cal, cal 2021, cal 7 2021: Calendars
- cal -3: Previous, current, next month
- date –set=”2 OCT 2020 18:00:00″: Set date/time
Sorting with ls
- ls -l: Sorted by name
- ls -lt: Sorted by mtime, newest first
- ls -ltu: Sorted by atime
- ls -ltu –reverse: Reverse order
Viewing Files (cat, less, more, head, tail, watch)
Displaying File Contents
- cat filename: Display content
- cat -n filename: Line numbers
- cat filename1 filename2 > filename3: Concatenate
Tail and Head
- tail filename: Last 10 lines
- tail -n 15 filename: Last 15 lines
- tail -n +5 filename: Starting with line 5
- tail -f filename: Real-time updates
- head filename: First 10 lines
- head -n 15 filename: First 15 lines
Monitoring Commands
- watch -n 3 ls -l: Refresh every 3 seconds
Working with Files and Directories
Creating and Updating Files
- touch filename: Create a new file or update timestamps.
Creating Directories
- mkdir dir1: Create a new directory.
- mkdir -p mydir1/mydir2/mydir3: Create nested directories.
cp Command: Copy files and directories:
- cp file1 file2: Copy file1 to file2.
- cp file1 dir1/file2: Copy to another directory with a different name.
- cp -i file1 file2: Prompt before overwrite.
- cp -p file1 file2: Preserve permissions.
- cp -v file1 file2: Verbose output.
- cp -r dir1 dir2/: Recursively copy directories.
- cp -r file1 file2 dir1 dir2 dest_dir/: Copy multiple items to a destination.
mv Command: Move or rename files and directories:
- mv file1 file2: Rename a file.
- mv file1 dir1/: Move to a directory.
- mv -i file1 dir1/: Prompt before overwrite.
- mv -n file1 dir1/: Prevent overwriting.
- mv -u file1 dir1/: Update based on modification time.
- mv file1 dir1/file2: Move and rename.
- mv file1 file2 dir1/ dir2/ dest_dir/: Move multiple items.
rm Command: Remove files and directories:
- rm file1: Remove a file.
- rm -v file1: Verbose removal.
- rm -r dir1/: Remove a directory.
- rm -rf dir1/: Force removal without prompt.
- rm -ri file1 dir1/: Prompt for each removal.
Secure File Deletion
- shred -vu -n 100 file1: Securely overwrite and remove a file.
Piping and Command Redirection
Piping Examples
- ls -lSh /etc/ | head: View the top 10 largest files.
- ps -ef | grep sshd: Check if sshd is running.
- ps aux –sort=-%mem | head -n 3: Top 3 processes by memory.
Command Redirection – điều hướng thông tin vào file
Redirect output and errors:
- ps aux > processes.txt: Output to a file. Kết quả lệnh ps aux sẽ được ghi vào file .txt
- id >> users.txt: Append output. Thêm nội dung vào cuối file hiện tại với >>
- tail -n 10 /var/log/*.log > output.txt 2> errors.txt: Separate output and errors.
- tail -n 2 /etc/passwd /etc/shadow > all.txt 2>&1: Redirect all to one file.
- cat /var/log/auth.log | grep “fail” | wc -l: Count occurrences.
Finding Files with locate and find
locate
- sudo apt install plocate: Install plocate.
- sudo updatedb: Update the database.
- locate filename: Find a file by name.
- locate -i filename: Case insensitive search.
- locate -b ‘\filename’: Exact name search.
- locate -r ‘regex’: Regular expression search.
- locate -e filename: Check file existence.
- which command: Show command path.
find: Search with various options:
- find ~ -type f -size +1M: Files over 1MB.
- Options include -type, -name, -iname, -size, -perm, -links, -atime, -amin, -mtime, -ctime, -user, and -group.
Searching for Text Patterns with grep
Usage: grep [OPTIONS] PATTERN FILE
Options
- -n: Print line number.
- -i: Case insensitive.
- -v: Invert match.
- -w: Match whole words.
- -a: Include binary files.
- -R: Recursive search.
- -c: Count matches.
- -C n: Context display (n lines around the match).
Extracting ASCII Characters from Binary Files
- strings binary_file: Example strings /bin/ls.
VIM – Text Editor
Modes
- Command Mode: Default on entry.
- Insert Mode: Editing text.
- Last Line Mode: Save/exit commands.
Config File
- VIM settings: ~/.vimrc.
Commands
- i, I, a, A, o: Enter Insert Mode.
- :w!, :q!, :wq!, :e!: Save/quit commands in Last Line Mode.
- x, dd, ZZ, u, G, $, 0, ^: Editing commands in Command Mode.
- /string, ?string, n, N: Search commands in Command Mode.
- vim -o file1 file2: Open files in stacked windows.
- vim -d file1 file2: Highlight differences.
Navigation
- Ctrl+w: Switch between files.
Account Management
## Account Management
/etc/passwd # users and info:
/etc/shadow # users’ passwords
/etc/group # groups
## User Commands
useradd [OPTIONS] username # Create user.
usermod [OPTIONS] username # Modify user.
userdel -r username # Delete user.
## Group Commands
groupadd group_name # Create group.
groupdel group_name # Delete group.
## Examples
useradd -m -d /home/john -c “C++ Developer” -s /bin/bash -G sudo,adm,mail john # Example of creating a user.
usermod -aG developers,managers john # Example of modifying a user.
Monitoring Users
## Commands
who -H # User info.
id # User info.
whoami # User info.
w # System usage.
uptime # System usage.
last # Login history.
last -u username # Login history for a specific user.
File Permissions
Understanding Permissions
- Legend: u (user), g (group), o (others), a (all), r (read), w (write), x (execute), – (no access).
Displaying Permissions
- ls -l /etc/passwd: View file permissions.
- stat /etc/shadow: Detailed permission stats.
Changing Permissions
- chmod u+r filename: Add read to user.
- chmod u+r,g-wx,o-rwx filename: Adjust multiple permissions.
- chmod ug+rwx,o-wx filename: Set multiple permissions.
- chmod ugo+x filename: Add execute to all.
- chmod a+r,a-wx filename: Modify all permissions.
Absolute Mode
- chmod 777 filename: Set all permissions for all.
- chmod 755 filename: Read & execute for group and others.
- chmod 644 filename: Read-only for group and others.
Special Permissions
- SUID: chmod u+s executable_file.
- SGID: chmod g+s projects/.
- Sticky Bit: chmod o+t temp/.
UMASK
- Display: umask.
- Set new value: umask new_value.
Ownership
- Owner: chown new_owner file.
- Group: chgrp new_group file.
- Both: chown new_owner:new_group file.
- Recursive: chown -R new_owner file.
File Attributes
- Display: lsattr filename.
- Change: chattr +-attribute filename.
Processes
Process Viewing
- type rm: Check if rm is built-in or executable.
- ps: Processes in current terminal.
- ps -ef, ps aux, ps aux | less: System processes.
- ps aux –sort=%mem | less: Sort by memory usage.
- ps -ef –forest: ASCII process tree.
- ps -f -u username: Processes by user.
- pgrep -l sshd, pgrep -f sshd, ps -ef | grep sshd: Check for sshd.
- pstree, pstree -c: Hierarchical process tree.
Dynamic Real-Time View
- top: Start system monitor.
- top shortcuts: h for help, space for refresh, d for delay, etc.
- top -d 1 -n 3 -b > top_processes.txt: Top in batch mode.
- Install htop for an interactive view.
Killing Processes
- kill -l: List signals.
- kill pid, kill -SIGNAL pid1 pid2 …: Send signals.
- kill -2 pid, kill -HUP pid: Send specific signal.
- pkill process_name, killall process_name: Kill by name.
- kill $(pidof process_name): Kill using pidof.
Background and Foreground Management
- command &: Run in background.
- jobs: List jobs.
- Ctrl + Z: Stop process.
- fg %job_id: Resume in foreground.
- bg %job_id: Resume in background.
- nohup command &: Immune to hangups.
Networking
Getting Network Interface Information
- ifconfig: Enabled interfaces.
- ifconfig -a, ip address show: All interfaces.
- ifconfig enp0s3, ip addr show dev enp0s3: Specific interface.
- ip -4 address: Only IPv4 info.
- ip -6 address: Only IPv6 info.
- ip link show, ip link show dev enp0s3: L2 info, including MAC.
- route, route -n, ip route show: Default gateway.
- systemd-resolve –status: DNS servers.
Setting Network Interfaces
- ifconfig enp0s3 down, ip link set enp0s3 down: Disable interface.
- ifconfig enp0s3 up, ip link set enp0s3 up: Enable interface.
- ifconfig -a, ip link show dev enp0s3: Check status.
- ifconfig enp0s3 192.168.0.222/24 up, ip address add 192.168.0.112/24 dev enp0s3: Set IP.
- ifconfig enp0s3:1 10.0.0.1/24: Secondary IP.
- route del default gw, ip route del default, ip route add default via: Default gateway.
- ifconfig enp0s3 hw ether, ip link set dev enp0s3 address: Change MAC.
Netplan for Static Network Configuration on Ubuntu
- Stop/Disable NetworkManager.
- Create/Modify YAML in /etc/netplan.
- Apply config: sudo netplan apply.
- Verify: ifconfig, route -n.
OpenSSH Configuration and Management
Installation
Ubuntu
sudo apt update && sudo apt install openssh-server openssh-client
CentOS
sudo dnf install openssh-server openssh-clients
Server Connection
ssh -p 22 username@server_ip # Connect using default SSH port
ssh -p 22 -l username server_ip # Connect with a specific username
ssh -v -p 22 username@server_ip # Connect in verbose mode for detailed information
# Ubuntu
sudo systemctl status ssh # Check SSH status
sudo systemctl stop ssh # Stop SSH service
sudo systemctl restart ssh # Restart SSH service
sudo systemctl enable ssh # Enable SSH to start on boot
sudo systemctl is-enabled ssh # Check if SSH is enabled on boot
# CentOS
sudo systemctl status sshd # Check SSH status
sudo systemctl stop sshd # Stop SSH service
sudo systemctl restart sshd # Restart SSH service
sudo systemctl enable sshd # Enable SSH to start on boot
sudo systemctl is-enabled sshd # Check if SSH is enabled on boot
Security Configuration
Edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config and then apply changes by restarting SSH:
- Change port: Port 2278
- Disable root login: PermitRootLogin no
- Restrict user access: AllowUsers user1 user2
- Configure firewall to filter SSH access
- Enable Public Key Authentication, disable password-based login
- Use SSH Protocol 2 only
- Set client session intervals and max attempts for security
Remember to consult the man page (man sshd_config) for detailed configuration options.
File Transfer Techniques with SCP and RSYNC
SCP Usage
# Copy local file to remote host
scp a.txt john@80.0.0.1:~
scp -P 2288 a.txt john@80.0.0.1:~ # Custom port
# Copy from remote to local
scp -P 2290 john@80.0.0.1:~/a.txt .
# Copy entire directory to remote
scp -P 2290 -r projects/ john@80.0.0.1:~
RSYNC Commands
# Sync local directory to local backup
sudo rsync -av /etc/ ~/etc-backup/
# Mirror directory, deleting extraneous files from dest
sudo rsync -av –delete /etc/ ~/etc-backup/
# Exclude files during sync
rsync -av –exclude-from=’~/exclude.txt’ /source/ /dest/
# Sync over SSH with custom port
sudo rsync -av -e ‘ssh -p 2267’ /etc/ student@192.168.0.108:~/etc-backup/
Exclude Patterns Example
# exclude.txt could include patterns like:
*.avi
music/
abc.mkv
# Exclude specific file types during transfer
rsync -av –exclude=’*.mkv’ /source/ /dest/
WGET for File Download
# Install wget
sudo apt install wget # Ubuntu
sudo dnf install wget # CentOS
# Basic file download
wget https://example.com/file.iso
# Resume incomplete download
wget -c https://example.com/file.iso
# Download with bandwidth limit
wget –limit-rate=100k https://example.com/file.iso
# Download multiple files
wget -i urls.txt # urls.txt contains list of URLs
# Recursive download for offline viewing of a website
wget -mkEpnp http://example.org
Use these commands to efficiently copy files and directories across systems and for downloading content from the internet, ensuring data synchronization and maintaining web accessibility.
NETSTAT and SS Usage
# Display all ports and connections
sudo netstat -tupan
sudo ss -tupan
# Check if port 80 is open
netstat -tupan | grep :80
LSOF Commands
# List open files
lsof
# Files opened by a specific user
lsof -u username
# Files opened by a specific command/process
lsof -c sshd
Open files for TCP ports in LISTEN state
lsof -iTCP -sTCP:LISTEN
lsof -iTCP -sTCP:LISTEN -nP
Use these commands to monitor network connections, check for open ports, and view files opened by users or processes, especially for security and troubleshooting.
Nmap Scanning Guide
# SYN Scan (root required)
nmap -sS 192.168.0.1
# TCP Connect Scan
nmap -sT 192.168.0.1
# Scan All Ports
nmap -p- 192.168.0.1
# Scan Specific Ports
nmap -p 20,22-100,443,1000-2000 192.168.0.1
# Service Version Detection
nmap -p 22,80 -sV 192.168.0.1
# Ping Scan Network
nmap -sP 192.168.0.0/24
# Skip Host Discovery
nmap -Pn 192.168.0.0/24
# Exclude Specific IP from Scan
nmap -sS 192.168.0.0/24 –exclude 192.168.0.10
# Output Scan to File
nmap -oN output.txt 192.168.0.1
# OS Detection
nmap -O 192.168.0.1
# Aggressive Scan
nmap -A 192.168.0.1
# Read Targets from File & Output to File without DNS Resolution
nmap -n -iL hosts.txt -p 80 -oN output.txt
Only scan your own networks and systems, or those you have explicit permission to test. Unauthorized scanning can be illegal.
Software Management with DPKG and APT
DPKG
- View .deb file info: dpkg –info package.deb
- Install from .deb: sudo dpkg -i package.deb
- List installed programs: dpkg –get-selections or dpkg-query -l
- Find by name: dpkg-query -l | grep ssh
- List package files: dpkg -L openssh-server
- Find owning package: dpkg -S /bin/ls
- Remove package: sudo dpkg -r package
- Purge package: sudo dpkg -P package
APT
- Update index: sudo apt update
- Install/update: sudo apt install apache2
- List upgradable: sudo apt list –upgradable
- Full upgrade: sudo apt full-upgrade
- Remove: sudo apt remove package
- Purge: sudo apt purge package
- Auto remove dependencies: sudo apt autoremove
- Clean cache: sudo apt clean
- List all packages: sudo apt list
- Search: sudo apt list | grep nginx
- Show package info: sudo apt show nginx
- List installed: sudo apt list –installed
Task Scheduling using Cron
crontab -e # Edit crontab
crontab -l # List tasks
crontab -r # Remove tasks
# Schedule Format:
* * * * * command # Every minute
15 * * * * command # Hourly
30 18 * * * command # Daily
3 22 * * 1 command # Weekly
10 6 1 * * command # Monthly
@yearly command # Yearly
@reboot command # At reboot
Getting System Hardware Information
General Hardware
lshw # Full hardware info
lshw -short # Short format
lshw -json # JSON format
lshw -html # HTML format
CPU Information
lscpu # CPU details
lshw -C cpu # Hardware-specific CPU details
lscpu -J # JSON format
Memory Information
dmidecode -t memory # RAM specs
dmidecode -t memory | grep -i size
dmidecode -t memory | grep -i max
free -m # Memory usage
PCI and USB Devices
lspci # PCI buses and connected devices
lspci | grep -i wireless
lspci | grep -i vga
lsusb # USB controllers and devices
lsusb -v # Verbose output
Storage Devices
lshw -short -C disk
fdisk -l # List disks
fdisk -l /dev/sda
lsblk # Block devices list
Network Devices
lshw -C network
iw list # Wi-Fi cards
iwconfig # Wi-Fi configuration
iwlist scan # Wi-Fi networks scan
System Information via /proc
cat /proc/cpuinfo # CPU info
cat /proc/meminfo # Memory info
cat /proc/version # System version
uname -r # Kernel version
uname -a # All system info
Battery Power
acpi -bi # Battery info
acpi -V # All ACPI info
Working with Device Files (dd)
# Backup MBR
dd if=/dev/sda of=~/mbr.dat bs=512 count=1
# Restore MBR
dd if=~/mbr.dat of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1
# Clone partition
dd if=/dev/sda1 of=/dev/sdb2 bs=4M status=progress
Use these commands to check hardware specifications and perform operations with device files safely.
Service Management
# Analyze boot process
systemd-analyze
systemd-analyze blame
# List active units
systemctl list-units
systemctl list-units | grep ssh
# Service status
sudo systemctl status nginx.service
# Stop service
sudo systemctl stop nginx
# Start service
sudo systemctl start nginx
# Restart service
sudo systemctl restart nginx
# Reload service config
sudo systemctl reload nginx
sudo systemctl reload-or-restart nginx
# Enable service at boot
sudo systemctl enable nginx
# Disable service at boot
sudo systemctl disable nginx
# Check if service is enabled at boot
sudo systemctl is-enabled nginx
# Mask service
sudo systemctl mask nginx
# Unmask service
sudo systemctl unmask nginx
Ubuntu
sudo systemctl status ssh # Check SSH service status
sudo systemctl stop ssh # Stop SSH service
sudo systemctl restart ssh # Restart SSH service
sudo systemctl enable ssh # Enable SSH to start on boot
sudo systemctl is-enabled ssh # Check if SSH is enabled on boot
CentOS
sudo systemctl status sshd # Check SSHD service status
sudo systemctl stop sshd # Stop SSHD service
sudo systemctl restart sshd # Restart SSHD service
sudo systemctl enable sshd # Enable SSHD to start on boot
sudo systemctl is-enabled sshd # Check if SSHD is enabled on boot
Security Configuration
To configure security settings, edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config. Apply changes by restarting SSH. Key configurations include:
- Change SSH port:
- Port 2278
- Disable root login:
- PermitRootLogin no
- Restrict user access to specified users only:
- AllowUsers user1 user2
- Configure firewall to filter SSH access
- Enable Public Key Authentication and disable password-based login
- Use SSH Protocol 2 only
- Set client session intervals and maximum attempts for increased security
Note: Consult the man page (man sshd_config) for detailed configuration options.
Bash Programming
Bash Aliases
alias # List all aliases
alias name=’command’ # Create an alias
unalias name # Remove an alias
Useful Aliases
alias c=’clear’
alias cl=’clear; ls; pwd’
alias root=’sudo su’
alias ports=’netstat -tupan’
alias sshconfig=’sudo vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config’
alias update=’sudo apt update && sudo apt dist-upgrade -y && sudo apt clean’
Interactive File Manipulation
alias cp=’cp -i’
alias mv=’mv -i’
alias rm=’rm -i’
Bash Variables
variable=”value” # Define a variable
echo $variable # Reference a variable
declare -r const=100 # Define a read-only variable
unset variable # Unset a variable
env | grep PATH # Find an environment variable
export PATH=$PATH:~/bin # Modify the PATH variable
Special Variables
$0, $1, $2, …, ${10} # Script name & positional arguments
$# # Number of positional arguments
“$*” # All positional arguments as a single string
$? # Exit status of the last command
Program Flow Control
if [ condition ]; then command; fi # Basic if statement
if [ condition ]; then command; else other_command; fi # If-else statement
if [ condition ]; then command; elif [ condition ]; then… # If-elif-else statement
Test Conditions
# Numeric comparisons: -eq, -ne, -lt, -le, -gt, -ge
# File checks: -s, -f, -d, -x, -w, -r
# String comparisons: =, !=, -n (not zero), -z (is zero)
# Logical operators: && (and), || (or)
Loops and Functions
for i in {1..5}; do echo “Loop $i”; done # For loop
while [ condition ]; do command; done # While loop
case “$variable” in pattern) command;; esac # Case statement
function name() { command; } # Function definition
name() { command; } # Alternative function syntax
name # Call a function
Command Examples
crontab -e # Edit crontab file
crontab -l # List crontab entries
crontab -r # Remove crontab entries
Combine these constructs to write effective bash scripts for task automation and system management.