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Linux Commands

The following table is a list of linux commands found on a Redhat 9.0 server.

To see a list of bash shell commands, go to the shell commands page.
For those of you who are unsure how to use linux commands, see our Linux Commands Tutorial.

Click on the command name or the to see a description of the command.
Click on the to see the man page for that command.

Command
Description
   
adduser Add a new user
 
arch Print machine architecture
awk Find and Replace text within file(s)
 
bc An arbitrary precision calculator language
 
cal Display a calendar
cat Concatenate files and print on the standard output
chdir Change working directory
chgrp Change the group ownership of files
chkconfig Tool for maintaining the /etc/rc[0-6].d directory hierarchy
 
chmod Change the access permissions of files and directories
 
chown Change the user and group ownership of files
chroot Change root directory
 
cksum Print CRC checksum and byte counts
 
clear Clear terminal screen
 
cmp Compare two files
 
comm Compare two sorted files line by line
 
cp Copy one or more files to another location
 
cron Daemon to execute scheduled commands
 
crontab Schedule a command to run at a later time
 
csplit Split a file into context-determined pieces
 
cut Divide a file into several parts
 
date Display or change the date & time
 
dc Desk Calculator
 
dd Data Dump - Convert and copy a file
 
df Display free disk space
 
diff Display the differences between two files
 
diff3 Show differences among three files
 
dir Briefly list directory contents
 
dircolors Colour setup for `ls'
 
dirname Convert a full pathname to just a path
 
du Estimate file space usage
 
echo Display message on screen
 
ed A line-oriented text editor (edlin)
 
egrep Search file(s) for lines that match an extended expression
 
eject Eject CD-ROM
 
env Display, set, or remove environment variables
 
expand Convert tabs to spaces
 
expr Evaluate expressions
 
factor Print prime factors
 
false Do nothing, unsuccessfully
 
fdformat Low-level format a floppy disk
 
fdisk Partition table manipulator for Linux
 
fgrep Search file(s) for lines that match a fixed string
 
find Search for files that meet a desired criteria
 
fmt Reformat paragraph text
 
fold Wrap text to fit a specified width
 
format Format disks or tapes
 
free Display memory usage
 
fsck Filesystem consistency check and repair
 
gawk Find and Replace text within file(s)
 
grep Search file(s) for lines that match a given pattern
 
groups Print group names a user is in
 
gzip Compress or decompress named file(s)
 
head Output the first part of file(s)
 
hostname Print or set system name
 
id Print user and group id's
 
info Help info
 
install Copy files and set attributes
 
join Join lines on a common field
 
kill Stop a process from running
 
less Display output one screen at a time
 
ln Make links between files
 
locate Find files
logname Print current login name
 
lpc Line printer control program
 
lpr Off line print
 
lprm Remove jobs from the print queue
 
ls List information about file(s)
man Help manual
 
mkdir Create new folder(s)
 
mkfifo Make FIFOs (named pipes)
 
mknod Make block or character special files
 
more Display output one screen at a time
 
mount Mount a file system
 
mv Move or rename files or directories
 
nice Set the priority of a command or job
 
nl Number lines and write files
 
nohup Run a command immune to hangups
 
passwd Modify a user password
 
paste Merge lines of files
 
pathchk Check file name portability
 
pr Convert text files for printing
 
printcap Printer capability database
 
printenv Print environment variables
 
printf Format and print data
 
ps Process status
 
pwd Print Working Directory
quota Display disk usage and limits
 
quotacheck Scan a file system for disk usage
 
quotactl Set disk quotas
 
ram ram disk device
 
rcp Copy files between two machines
 
rm Remove files
 
rmdir Remove folder(s)
 
rpm Remote Package Manager
 
rsync Remote file copy (Synchronize file trees)
 
screen Terminal window manager
 
sdiff Merge two files interactively
 
sed Stream Editor
 
select Accept keyboard input
 
seq Print numeric sequences
 
shutdown Shutdown or restart linux
 
sleep Delay for a specified time
 
sort Sort text files
 
split Split a file into fixed-size pieces
 
su Substitute user identity
 
sum Print a checksum for a file
 
symlink Make a new name for a file
 
sync Synchronize data on disk with memory
 
tac Concatenate and write files in reverse
 
tail Output the last part of files
 
tar Tape Archiver
 
tee Redirect output to multiple files
 
test Evaluate a conditional expression
 
time Measure Program Resource Use
 
touch Change file timestamps
 
top List processes running on the system
 
traceroute Trace Route to Host
 
tr Translate, squeeze, and/or delete characters
 
true Do nothing, successfully
 
tsort Topological sort
 
tty Print filename of terminal on stdin
 
umount Unmount a device
 
uname Print system information
 
unexpand Convert spaces to tabs
 
uniq Uniquify files
 
units Convert units from one scale to another
 
unshar Unpack shell archive scripts
 
useradd Create new user account
 
usermod Modify user account
 
users List users currently logged in
 
uuencode Encode a binary file
 
uudecode Decode a file created by uuencode
 
vdir Verbosely list directory contents (`ls -l -b')
 
watch Execute/display a program periodically
 
wc Print byte, word, and line counts
 
whereis Report all known instances of a command
 
which Locate a program file in the user's path
 
who Print all usernames currently logged in
 
whoami Print the current user id and name (`id -un')
 
xargs Execute utility, passing constructed argument list(s)
 
yes Print a string until interrupted