[opensourcedex]

101-linux-commands is a free, open source publishing project written in HTML and released under MIT. It has 1,191 GitHub stars, 151 forks and 3 open issues, and was last pushed 7 months ago. On this registry it ranks #35 of 54 tracked projects in Publishing, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 32 stars over the last 30 tracked days.

What is 101-linux-commands?

101 Linux commands is an open-source, MIT-licensed eBook that teaches the 101 Linux commands everyone should know, written for DevOps and SysOps engineers, developers, and Linux enthusiasts who will have to use the terminal at some point in their careers.

What it is

The project is a book of 101 Linux commands, published as open-source content out of a GitHub repository and distributed as downloadable release artefacts, with an online copy served from GitHub Pages. Its repository description and tagline also call it a CLI tool, and it lives in the Linux and DevOps documentation space alongside the author's other Leanpub titles. The content itself is written in HTML, and the repository is primarily a publishing pipeline rather than a program.

The concrete problem it solves is that terminal commands are normally learned one at a time, usually at the moment someone needs one, from man pages or scattered notes. This project collects the commands into a single curated reference, organised by category and by chapter, and hands it over in a format the reader chooses. It replaces the piecemeal scavenging of command syntax with one maintained document that can be read cover to cover or consulted by topic, and it does so at no cost under the MIT licence rather than through a paid channel — the paid titles linked from the repository are the author's separate Leanpub eBooks, not this one.

Key capabilities

  • Downloads published in four formats per release: 101-linux-commands-light.pdf for printing and desktop reading, 101-linux-commands-dark.pdf for dark-mode readers, 101-linux-commands.epub for e-readers, tablets, and mobile devices, and 101-linux-commands.html as a single-page web version.
  • An online copy is served from bobbyiliev.github.io/101-linux-commands/, so no download is required to read it.
  • Commands are indexed by category, covering Directory Navigation, File Commands, File and Directory Manipulation, package archive and compression tools, System commands, Networking Commands, Package Management, User Information commands, Session commands, Getting Help, and Applications.
  • A chapter index adds Disk and File System Management, General Disk Manipulation (non-LVM), Globs (Wildcards), Regex, stream redirection, Text Readers and Editors, Less, VI, User and Group Management, File System Permissions, SSH, and Cronjobs.
  • Package management is broken out by ecosystem, with dedicated RPM and YUM sections rather than one generic chapter.
  • The Basics chapter documents the File Hierarchy Standard as a table, mapping /bin, /boot, /etc, /lib, /sbin, /var, /usr, /proc, /sys, /mnt, /media, /home, and /run to their contents.

Who uses it and how

  • DevOps and SysOps engineers, developers, and Linux enthusiasts, which the README names directly as the intended audience.
  • Readers who need a working Linux machine to try commands on; the README points to a DigitalOcean referral link offering credit for a test virtual machine.
  • Mobile and e-reader readers who take the EPUB, dark-mode readers who take the dark PDF, and readers who want a single browseable page and take the HTML build.
  • Contributors, particularly during Hacktoberfest — the repository carries the hacktoberfest topic and a Contributing section.
  • Beginners who want more groundwork before the command list, directed by the README to the companion Introduction to Linux eBook on Leanpub.

Getting started

There is no install command, package, or container image; the README only offers download links. Take the latest PDF, EPUB, or HTML from the Releases page, or read the online copy directly in a browser.

How it compares

The facts provided name no competing tools and no list of paid products this project replaces, so it stands alone in this registry on that axis. The only adjacent titles mentioned are the author's own Leanpub eBooks, which are companions rather than substitutes.

When to use it — and when not to

There is nothing to operate: no database, object storage, mail server, or application runtime is involved, and the artefacts are static files, so a self-hoster's only real work is hosting a copy of the published output. Anyone expecting an interactive CLI tool should look elsewhere, because the README documents no installable binary, command name, or invocation, despite the repository description and tagline describing one. The scope is also deliberately introductory — 101 commands for terminal users — so it will not serve as a deep reference for advanced administration.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

💻 ++101 Linux commands Open-source eBook

This is an open-source eBook with 101 Linux commands that everyone should know. No matter if you are a DevOps/SysOps engineer, developer, or just a Linux enthusiast, you will most likely have to use the terminal at some point in your career.

Make sure to star the repository ⭐

If you need a Linux virtual machine to test these commands on, use the following referral link to get a free $200 Credit For DigitalOcean!

Introduction to Linux eBook

If you are looking for a comprehensive guide for beginners, check out this eBook: Introduction to Linux eBook

📙 Online eBook

An online copy :zap:🌐 of this ebook is available here 📙.

🔽 Download links

📚 Multiple Formats Available

This eBook is now available in multiple formats to suit different reading preferences:

  • 📄 PDF (Light Theme): Download PDF - Perfect for printing and desktop reading
  • 🌙 PDF (Dark Theme): Download PDF - Ideal for dark mode readers
  • 📱 EPUB: Download EPUB - Compatible with e-readers, tablets, and mobile devices
  • 🌐 HTML: Download HTML - Single-page web version

🔄 Latest Releases

Visit our Releases page to download the latest versions or browse previous releases.

Star History

Star History Chart

Content

Basics

File Hierarchy Standard (FHS)

Path Content
/bin Binaries (User)
/boot Static boot loader files
/etc Host specific configs
/lib Shared libraries and kernel modules
/sbin Binaries (System/root)
/var Varying files (e.g. Logs)
/usr 3rd party software
/proc Pseudo file system
/sys Pseudo file system
/mnt Mountpoint for internal drives
/media Mountpoint for external drives
/home User homes
/run PID files of running processes

Commands

File System Commands

Command Options Description
cd - Navigate to last dir
~ Navigate to home
~username Navigate to home of specified user
pwd Print working dir
ls Print dir content
-l Format as list
-a Show hidden items (-A without . and ..)
-r Invert order
-R Recurse
-S Sort by size
-t Sort by date modified
mkdir -p Create dir with parents
cp -r Copy dir
rmdir -p Remove dir and empty parents
rm -rf Remove dir recursively, -f without confirmation
mv Move recursively
find -iname pattern Search dir/file case-insensitive
-mmin n Last modified n minutes ago
-mtime n Last modified n days ago
-regex pattern Path matches pattern
-size n[kMG] By file size (-n less than; +n greater than)
! searchparams Invert search

File Manipulation

Command Options Description
cat file Print content
tac file Print content inverted
sort file Print sorted
file -r -u Print sorted descending without dublicates
head -n10 file Print lines 5-10
tail -f file Print new lines automatically
cut -f -4,7-10,12,15- file Print selected fields (tab delimited)
-c -4,7-10,12,15- file Print selected characters positions
-f 2,4 -d, --output-delimiter=$'\t' file Change delimiter (but use tab for output)
uniq file Hide consecutive identical lines
file -c Show consecutive identical line count
file -u Hide consecutive identical lines
file file Get file type
wc file Count Lines, Words, Chars (Bytes)

Archiving

Command Options Description
tar cfv archiv.tar file1 file2 Create archive / add or overwrite content
tfv archiv.tar Show content
xf archiv.tar [-C ~/extracted] Extract (and decompress) archive (to ~ / extracted)
cfvj archiv.tar.bz2 file Create bzip2 compressed archive
cfvz archiv.tar.gz file Create gzip compressed archive
cfa archiv.tar.[komp] file create compressed archive (auto type based on name)
bzip2 file1 file2 Dateien (einzeln) komprimieren
-d file1 file2 Compress files (one at a time)
gzip file1 file2 Dateien (einzeln) komprimieren
-d file1 file2 Decompress files

Disk and File System Management

General Disk Manipulation (non-LVM)

Creating physical partitions is not required! You can create PVs directly!

Command Options Description
fdisk -l List physical disks and partitions
/dev/sdb
n		 Create new partition
/dev/sdb
t
8e		 Change partition type to Linux LVM
mkfs.xfs /dev/myVG/myVol Format LV with XFS
mkfs.ext4 -f /dev/myVG/myVol Format LV with EXT4 (overwrite)
blkid /dev/myVG/myVol Show UUID and formatting of volume
mount Show current mounted file systems
-t ext4 /dev/myVG/myVol /mountpoint Mount LV to /mountpoint
-a Mount as configured in /etc/fstab
umount Unmount a file system
/dev/myVG/myVol Unmount LV from /mountpoint
/mountpoint Unmount LV from /mountpoint
df - Show disk usage
xfs_growfs /dev/myVG/myVol Resize xfs filesystem
resize2fs /dev/myVG/myVol Resize ext3/4 filesystem

Other

Command Options Description
`` --help Help of current command (not standardized)
-h
-?
man `` Manual page of command
-k keyword Search command by keyword (oder apropos)
alias Show aliases
name='befehl' Create alias

Globs (Wildcards)

The dot . in front of hidden items is ignored by glob patterns!

Character Description
? Any single character
* Any characters
[ac-e] 1 character in enum
[!ac-e] 1 character not in enum

Regex

Bash itself does not know regex. Use programs like grep, sed, awk.

Control characters

Character Description
. Any single character
[ac-e] 1 character in enum
[^ac-e] 1 character not in enum
^ Start of string
$ End of string
\d Digit
\D Not a digit
\s Whitespace
\S Not a Whitespace
\ End of word
pattern? Quantifier 0 or 1
pattern* Quantifier 0..n
pattern+ Quantifier 1..n
pattern{x} Quantifier exactly x
pattern{x,} Quantifier x..n
pattern{x,y} Quantifier x..y
pattern{,y} Quantifier 0..y

Grep

Command Options Description
grep pattern file Extended Regex
-E pattern file Extended Regex
-v pattern file Invert match
-w pattern file Word match
-i pattern file Ignore case

Stream redirection

  • > overwrite
  • >> append
Character Description
> file or 1> file STDOUT to file
file STDERR to file
2>&1 STDERR to same target as STDOUT
> file 2>&1 STDOUT and STDERR to file

Text Readers & Editors

Less

Command Description
q Quit
R Refresh content
F Auto scroll
g number Go to line
m lowercaseLetter Mark line
' lowercaseLetter Go to mark
/pattern Search forward
?pattern Search backward
n Next search result
N Last search result
ESC u Remove highlighting from search

VI

VI/VIM Editing

To leave editing mode press ESC.

Command Description
i insert before cursor
a insert after cursor
A insert at end of line
o new line below
O new line above
u undo
. repeat last command
yy copy line
5yy copy 5 lines
p paste below
P paste above
x delete character
5x delete 5 characters
dd delete line
5dd delete 5 lines
:10,20d delete lines 10-20
d0 delete to line begin
d$ delete to line end

Navigation

Navigate as usual with arrow keys, home, end, pg up, pg dn.

Command Description
5G go to line 5
H go to top of screen
M go to middle of screen
L go to end of screen
5w move over 7 words
5b move back 5 words

Other

Command Description
/foo search forward
?foo search backwards
n repeat search
:w save
:q close
:wq save and close
:q! close without saving
:!command run bash command
:r foo read file foo into this file

User and Group Management

UID

UID Type
1000 user account

User Database

User info without passwords is stored in /etc/passwd.

username PW UID GID GECOS HOME SHELL
hfict x 1000 1000 /home/hfict /bin/bash

Group Database

Group info with secondary group members are stored in /etc/group. Primary group members are identified by GID in user database.

groupname PW GID Users
wheel x 10 hfict,user2

Password Database

Hashed user passwords are stored in /etc/shadow. Password encryption is configured in /etc/login.defs.

username PW Last PW change Minimum Maximum Warn Inactive Expire
hfict [hash] 17803 0 99999 7

PW:

  • [hash] Encrypted test password
  • ! [hash] Account locked
  • !! or * Account locked, no password set

Commands

Command Param Description
id username Show a user's ID and groups
who Show logged in users
last Show last logins
lastb Show last failed logins
sudo -u user command Execute command with user rights (default is root)
-i or su - Shell with root rights
su Shell as root (non-login shell)
- Shell as root (login shell)
- user Shell as user
useradd -u 2101 -g primarygroup -c comment username Create user (without -g, new group will be created)
usermod -G group1, group2 Define (overwrite) secondary groups
-ag group, group2 Add secondary groups
-l username Change username
-L Lock Account
-U Unlock Account
-s shellpath Change shell
userdel -r username Delete user including home and mail spool
passwd username Change password (interactive)
groupadd groupname Create group (optionally set GID with -g)
groupdel groupname Delete group

File System Permissions

Permissions can be set on:

  • User (owner)
  • Group (owner)
  • Others

Only root can change User. User can change Group.

Basic permissions (Add binary flags to combine):

Char Binary Flag Permission
r 4 read
w 2 write
x 1 execute

Advanced permissions (place in front of basic permissions: chmod 1777 shared).:

Char Binary Flag Name Description
t / T 1 Sticky Bit Others can't delete content (only applicable for directories)
s / S 2 SGID-Bit File: run with permissions of Group
Dir: New elements inherit Group
s / S 4 SUID-Bit File is run with permissions of User (only applicable for files)

Advanced permissions replace the x when using ls -l. Lower case if x is set, upper case if x is not set.

Read permission on a directory only allows to see the directory itself but not it's contents. Use execute permission to show contents.

Commands

Command Options Description
chmod -R [uog] dirname Set permissions recursively using binary flags
+[suog] filename Add permissions using binary flags
-[suog] filename Remove permissions using binary flags
u+x filename Add execute permission for User
g+wx filename Add write and execute permissions for Group
o-r filename Remove read permission for Others
chown -R user:group filename Change owner (User & Group) recursively
user filename Change owner (User)
:group filename Change owner (Group)
chgroup group filename Change owner (Group)

SSH

SSH Configuration is done in /etc/ssh/sshd_config.

Reload SSH service with systemctl reload sshd to apply changes!

DenyUsers, AllowUsers, DenyGroups, AllowGroups override each other and are applied in the order listed above.

Config Option Description
PermitRootLogin no Deny root to login via SSH
yes Allow root to login via SSH
without-password Allow only with private/public key auth
AllowUsers user1 user2 Allow only user1 and user2
DenyUsers user1 user2 Allow all users but user1 and user2
AllowGroups group1 group2 Allow only users from specified groups
DenyGroups group1 group2 Allow all users but those in specified groups

Cronjobs

Crontab

Cronjobs are configured in crontab files. Do not edit these files directly. Use crontab -e instead. This runs all required actions to activate a cronjob after saving the edited crontab. The locations are as follows:

  • /var/spool/cron/username user specific
  • /etc/crontab system wide crontab

The format of the files is (user specific crontabs do not have the column user-name):

Example of job definition:
.---------------- minute (0 - 59 | */5 [every 5 minutes])
|  .------------- hour (0 - 23)
|  |  .---------- day of month (1 - 31)
|  |  |  .------- month (1 - 12) OR jan,feb,mar,apr ...
|  |  |  |  .---- day of week (0 - 6) (Sunday=0 or 7) OR sun,mon,tue,wed,thu,fri,sat
|  |  |  |  |
*  *  *  *  * user-name  command to be executed
Command Description
rpm -q cronie Check if package is installed
systemctl status crond.service Check if service is running
crontab -l List current users crontab
crontab -e Edit current users crontab
crontab -e -u username Edit specific users crontab
crontab -r Remove current users crontab

Script folders

Scripts in one of the following directories will be executed at the interval specified by the directory's name:

  • /etc/cron.hourly
  • /etc/cron.daily
  • /etc/cron.weekly
  • /etc/cron.monthly

Allow / Deny usage

Add user names one per line to the following files:

  • /etc/cron.allow Whitelist
  • /etc/cron.deny Blacklist

If none of the files exists, all users are allowed.

Logs and Results

Execution of cronjobs is logged in /var/log/cron. Results are sent to the users mail /var/spool/mail/username.

Package Management

RPM

RPM

Command Description
rpm -i rpmfile|rpmurl Install package
rpm -e packagename Uninstall package
rpm -q packagename Check if package is installed
rpm -ql packagename List files in a package
rpm -qa List all installed packages
rpm -qf /path/to/file Get package that installed the file
rpm -qf $(which ) Get package that installed the executable
rpm -V packagename Validate installed package

YUM

YUM is configured in /etc/yum.conf

Repos are configured in /etc/yum.repos.d/

Log is in /var/log/yum.log

Command Description
yum install packagename [-y] Install package (-y no confirm message)
yum remove packagename Uninstall package
yum update Update all installed packages
yum update packagename Update specific package
yum update pattern* Update packages using wildcard
yum info packagename Get detailed info about package
yum list packagename List installed and available packages
yum search searchstring search for a package (name & summary)
yum search all searchstring search for a package (all infos)
yum deplist packagename List dependencies of a package
yum reinstall packagename Reinstall (corrupted) package
yumdownloader --resolve packagename Download rpm package with dependencies

📃 List of commands by category:

If you want to contribute, feel free to pick up a topic marked as TODO and submit a pull request 🙌

Feel free to add new topics in case that you don't find one that you like from the current list.

Directory Navigation

  • cd - change working directory
  • ls - list directory contents
  • dir - directory listing, columnar format
  • pwd - return working directory name
  • tree - list subdirectories in a tree structure

File Commands

  • cat/tac - concatenate and print files
  • column - format text into columns
  • diff/sdiff - compare files line by line
  • find - search for files
  • grep - file pattern matcher
  • head - display the first lines of a file
  • locate - find files and directories
  • stat - display file status
  • tail - display the last lines of a file
  • uniq - report or filter out repeated lines in a file

File and Directory Manipulation

  • awk - pattern-directed scanning and processing language
  • chmod - change permissions
  • chown - change file owner and group
  • cp - copy files and directories
  • cut - remove sections from files
  • ln - create links between files
  • mkdir - make a new directory
  • mv - move files and directories
  • nano - text editor
  • rm - delete files and directories
  • rmdir - remove directory
  • paste - merge corresponding or subsequent lines of file
  • rsync - remote copy files
  • scp - secure copy
  • basename - strips directory information and suffixes from file path
  • sed - text transformation tool
  • sort - arrange or merge lines of files
  • split - split a file into pieces
  • touch - change file access and modification times
  • vim - text editor

Package archive and compression tools

  • bzip2 - block-sorting file compressor
  • cpio - copy files to/from archives
  • gzip - compression tool
  • gunzip - decompression tool
  • tar - create, extract and manipulate archives
  • zip - package and compress files
  • unzip - list, test, extract compressed ZIP files

System commands

  • badblocks - search for bad blocks on storage devices
  • cfdisk - curses-based disk partitioning tool
  • crontab - maintain individual tables used to drive the cron daemon
  • df - display free disk space
  • dmidecode - retrieve hardware information from DMI table
  • dmesg - display kernel ring buffer messages
  • du - display disk usage statistics
  • free - show memory usage information
  • fsck - file system check and repair
  • hostname - set or print name of current host system
  • hostnamectl - change hostname settings
  • ionice - get/set I/O process priority
  • iostat - I/O statistics
  • journalctl - view systemd journal logs
  • kill - terminate or signal a process by id
  • killall - kill processes by name
  • lsb_release - display LSB and distribution information
  • lsblk - display block and loop devices
  • lsof - list open files
  • lspci - list PCI devices
  • mkfs - build file systems
  • mpstat - CPU statistics
  • ncdu - curses-based disk usage
  • ps - display process status
  • pstree - show processes in tree format
  • reboot - restart the system
  • service - run an init script
  • shutdown - close down the system at a specific time
  • systemctl - control systemd services
  • top/htop - display process information
  • tty - print terminal name
  • uname - prints operating system details
  • useradd - add/update user accounts
  • userdel - delete user account
  • usermod - modify user properties
  • vmstat - virtual memory statistics
  • watch - execute commands repeatedly
  • whereis - locate programs

Networking Commands

  • dig - DNS lookup utility
  • ifconfig - configure network interface parameters
  • ip - perform network administration tasks
  • iptables - configure netfilter firewall
  • lscpu - display CPU architecture information
  • netstat - show network status
  • nmcli - NetworkManager command line interface
  • ping - check network connectivity
  • traceroute - trace network path to destination
  • ufw - uncomplicated firewall
  • whois - information about Internet domain names and network numbers

Package Management

  • apt - Debian package management
  • rpm - RPM package manager (RedHat)
  • yum - package manager for RedHat Linux

User Information commands

For user modification, see useradd, userdel, usermod under System commands

  • groups - show group memberships
  • finger - shows information about users
  • last - displays most recent user logins
  • passwd - modify a user's password
  • w - display who is logged in and what they are doing
  • who - display who is logged in
  • whoami - display effective user id

Session commands

  • bg - put jobs in background
  • clear - clear terminal screen
  • env - display environment variables, or set variables for command execution
  • exit - close the active session/shell
  • export - set environment variables
  • fg - bring jobs to foreground
  • history - display the command history
  • jobs - display active jobs
  • login - login and initiate a user session
  • nohup - invoke a utility immune to hangups
  • printenv - print specified environment variables
  • screen - start a screen session
  • sleep - suspend execution for a time interval
  • ssh - secure shell login
  • su - substitute user identity
  • sudo - execute a command as another user
  • wall - message to all users

Getting Help

  • apropos - search manual page names and descriptions
  • man - format and display online manual pages
  • help - displays help about basic commands not covered by 'man'
  • whatis - display one-line command descriptions

Applications

  • !! - history expansion (repeat last command)
  • bc - basic calculator
  • cal - displays a calendar
  • cmatrix - enter the Matrix
  • curl - transfer data to or from a server
  • echo - display interpreted arguments
  • factor - prints prime factors of numbers
  • printf - format output
  • sl - runs a steam locomotive across your terminal
  • time - measure command execution time
  • wget - non-interactive web file download
  • xargs - construct argument lists and execute utility
  • yes - print continous output stream
  • banner - Writes ASCII character strings in large letters to standard output.
  • aplay - aplay is a command-line to play audio files.
  • spd-say - plays the given text as the sound from the command line.

📃 List of commands by chapter:

If you want to contribute, feel free to pick up a topic, update it with New Examples | [Options]and submit a pull request 🙌

Feel free to add new topics in case that you don't find one that you like from the current list.

Frequently asked questions

Is 101-linux-commands free to use?

101-linux-commands is open source under the MIT licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does 101-linux-commands do?

101 Linux commands Open-source eBook and CLI tool

What is 101-linux-commands written in?

101-linux-commands is primarily written in HTML. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/bobbyiliev/101-linux-commands, and it has 1,191 GitHub stars.