The 40 Best Linux Commands Cheat Sheet
There are thousands of Linux commands available for performing any task via the command-line interface. It’s challenging for Linux users to remember or memorize all those Linux commands. And most probably, it’s not wise to remember or memorize all those Linux commands either. In this scenario, the Linux commands cheat sheet comes handy for the Linux users. It will help them to perform the day to day tasks quickly.
Although the Linux commands cheat sheet doesn’t come with much detailed information. But still, If you are a newbie and want to learn the Linux Terminal like a pro, you must collect these PDF files of Linux commands cheat sheet.
Best Linux Commands Cheat Sheet
This article is a collection of Unix, FreeBSD, and Linux cheat sheets covering various categories including basic command, bash shell, sysadmin, security, distro-specific commands, raspberry pi commands, and much more. Here one thing I like to mention that all the cheat sheets, which I provided here, are in PDF format, and I don’t own or have created it either. Every file is collected from online by Googling. I have just collected all those in one place so that Linux users don’t need to search online and get help from one place.
1. The Linux® Command Line
In today’s world, most of the users are familiar with the graphical user interface (GUI), and the vendors and pundits say that the command line interface is complicated and terrifying. Yes, it’s true that the graphical user interface makes the easy task easy, but the command line interface makes the difficult task possible.
If you want to take back the control of your computer, then there is no other way except making a habit of using a command-line interface. Though this article is all about Linux commands cheat sheet, but I would like to mention this Linux tutorial book which let you learn both Linux command line and offers a handful of various command line cheat sheet.
This Linux learning book consists of various sections including learning the shell, Terminal emulator and commands, understanding the file system directory, exploring the system, Linux admin cheat sheet on manipulating the files and directories, working with various Linux command in the different shell environment, redirecting standard output and errors, learn how the shell works, advance keyboard tricks for using the command line, and much more.
This Linux cheat sheet tutorial book also provides a set of essential tools for package management, storage media, networking, archiving and backup system, text processing, formatting output, compiling programs, etc.
2. Unix/Linux Command Reference
This Linux cheat sheet provides not much, but a handful of useful and essential Unix/Linux commands cheat sheet. It let you learn some helpful command on file commands, system information, process management, compression, file permission, network, SSH, searching, etc.
3. Unix Toolbox
Though this command cheat sheet is named Unix Toolbox, it also covers Linux and BSD commands and tasks, which are essential for any IT work or for advanced tech users. It includes a wide range of system arena, including process management, file system, and structure, networking, SSH SCP, VPN with SSH, RSYNC, SUDO, encrypts files and partitions, SSL certificates, CVS and SVN, database, disk quota, shells, scripting, etc.
4. Cheat Sheet: Advanced Linux Commands
It’s a distro-specific Linux commands cheat sheet for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). If you are running a local server – LAMP and a VM running RHEL, then you can develop a web application, and this Linux cheat sheet will help you a lot.
5. Linux Bash Shell Cheat Sheet
It provides basic level commands covering terminal shortcut, file manipulation, terminal navigation, researching files, extracts, sort, and filter data, process management, file permission, creates or modify users account, flow redirection, chain commands, archive and compress data, etc.
6. Linux Quick Reference Guide
It’s a massive one comprising lots of practical and advanced Terminal commands like LVM commands, system boot and SysV startup sequence, file system hierarchy structure and partition, SWAP, RAID, autoFS, high and low-level package manager, file management, IO streams, Flow control, Database management, kernel management, Samba server, Tomcat, DNS management and much more.
7. Set Operations in the Unix Shell
It’s a small Linux cheat sheet consisting of setting membership, equality, subset test, union, intersection, complement, cardinality, symmetric difference, Cartesian product, etc.
8. Ubuntu Cheat Sheet
It’s also a distro-specific Linux cheat sheet. Ubuntu Cheat Sheet covers the various way of package management, the Debian alternative system, controlling process, logs, hardware information, recovery vector, etc.
9. The Unix and GNU/Linux command line
This Unix and Linux command cheat sheet is an all in one container which covers a lot of Terminal commands including shells, filesystem, and file handling; standard I/O, redirections, pipes; task control and code editors, etc.
10. Sed Stream Editor
This command sheet includes a sed command summary, command-line argument summary, extensions, and address ranges.
11. Archlinux Cheat Sheet
It’s a distro-specific – Arch Linux cheat sheet which provides some essential terminal command on configuration files, Pacman, Xorg configuration, and other common package management.
12. AWK (Aho, Kernighan, and Weinberger) Cheat Sheet
This programming language cheat sheet covers Predefined Variable Summary, Command line argument summary, Statements, and Functions, Time Functions, Bit Manipulations Functions, etc.
13. Bash History Cheat Sheet
This command cheat sheet helps the users learn Bash history, which covers Emacs and Vi history editing keyboard shortcuts, History behavior modification via shell variables and shopt command, History expansion, etc. This cheat sheet is created by catonmat.net.
14. Bash Redirections Cheat Sheet
It only covers a handful of terminal commands on Bash Redirections.
15. Dan’s Cheat Sheets Documentation
This cheat sheet is one of the best and resourceful collections of various Linux section. You get all the Linux terminal commands with a detailed description. It created by Dan Poirier and covered Ansible, AWS, Debian, Docker, Git, LIRC: Linux infrared remote control, MySQL with Django, Nginx, OpenSSL, Python, Raspberry Pi, reStructuredText, and much more; you can think of.
16. Debian Reference Card
If you are a Debian fanboy and want to master Debian terminal commands, then this Linux cheat sheet is for you. Debian Reference Card provides a various set of commands on Apt management, dpkg package management, necessary shell commands, network management and configuration, Daemons and system, etc.
17. Ed Text Editor Cheat Sheet
Ed, the original Unix text editor, cheat sheet covers Line Addressing and commands summery.
18. FreeBSD Command Reference
This command reference is useful and comes handy if you are a FreeBSD user. It will help you master some basic FreeBSD commands on knowing system status and command structure, finding system documentation, acquainting with files and directories, learning process management and X window system, etc.
It also offers some useful commands when you use standard text editors like ‘vi’ editor, ‘ee’ editor, ‘joe’ editor, etc. It also covers the system administration as well, including user accounts, file systems, slices and partitions, kernel modules, networking, file permission, etc.
19. GNU Coreutils Cheat Sheet
GNU Coreutils Cheat Sheet provides some handy commands for the Linux sysadmin to perform the task without much hassle.
20. GNU Emacs Reference Card
If you want to learn about Emacs commands on Error Recovery, The Minibuffer, Query Replace, Incremental Search, Killing and Deleting, Commands Dealing with Emacs Lisp, International Character Sets, etc. then you must download this Linux commands cheat sheet.
21. Linoxide’s Linux Commands Cheat Sheet
This Linux cheat sheet is one of the best handy tools for covering some fundamental Linux Terminal commands. It includes commands including the file system, hardware, network, users, compression/archive, file commands and transfer, disk usage, etc.
22. Linux Administrator’s Quick Reference Card
These Linux admin commands cheat sheet includes user management, NFS file sharing, printer configuration, network configuration, Redhat files in /etc/sysconfig, rebuild the kernel, Samba file and printer sharing, IPtables (Netfilter), TCP and UDP protocol, GRUB commands, etc.
23. Linux/Unix Command Line Cheat Sheet
It provides a set of essential commands with a detailed description of how to do it.
24. Linux Cheat Sheet
It gives general commands instruction on logging on to the Linux server, copying files to and from the server, directory commands, working with modules and programs, etc.
25. Linux Command Cheat Sheet by Loggly
Like any other Linux commands cheat sheet; It also covers a variety of Terminal commands like file management, file utilities, memory and process, file compression, scripting, disk utilities, network, directory utilities, etc.
26. Linux Commands Cheat Sheet by RedHat developer
RedHat developer has created this Linux cheat sheet, which helps the developer to use the Linux shortcut effectively and effortlessly.
27. Linux & LPIC Quick Reference Guide
These Linux admin commands cheat sheet is an all in one command collection which covers everything about Linux and its various elements. It includes logical volume management commands, the filesystem hierarchy, Linux partition, RAID, GRUB, SQL, DNS, FTP, Samba, Apache, SSH, NAT routing, kernel management, OpenLDAP, and whatever you can think of it.
28. Linux Server Step-by-Step Configuration Guide Cheat Sheet
This book describes the Linux Server Commands Cheat Sheet in detail. It provides a solid knowledge base for Linux administrator by offering a set of commands which comes handy when required. It covers Linux directories, services management, shell configuration, Linux profile management, desktop environment configuration, etc. Moreover, you can get a list of examples of various command usages in different circumstances.
29. Raspberry Pi Commands Cheat Sheet
If you are in a world of Raspberry Pi development, then this simple command cheat sheet will help you to learn various commands like the shutdown/restart command, the search command, networking command, terminal command, desktop shortcut command, and much more.
30. Readline Emacs Editing Mode Cheat Sheet
It gives you a handful of commands on default keyboard shortcuts for Bash.
31. Readline VI Editing Mode Cheat Sheet
This cheat sheet also provides a set of useful commands on default keyboard shortcuts for Bash.
32. RHEL 5, 6, AND 7 – Common Admin Commands
It’s a distro-specific Linux admin cheat sheet on RedHat Enterprise Linux. It covers system basics, various system services; kernel, boot, and hardware; software management; security and identity; file system, volumes, and disk; etc.
33. Unix/Linux Command Reference
It’s an excellent command cheat sheet that includes file commands, system status, compression, process management, network, file permission, SSH, searching, etc.
34. Unix Command Cheat Sheets
TechRepublic has created this Unix command cheat sheet. It describes all the commands with short descriptions, examples, and explanations as well.
35. Unix Command
This Unix command cheat sheet is another best collection of various commands on access rights, change rights, compare files, compress/uncompress files, file permission management, etc.
36. Unix/Linux Cheat Sheet
It’s just another small Unix/Linux commands cheat sheet, which includes navigation command, examining files, manipulating files and directories, multi-tasking, pipe tools, etc.
37. Util-Linux Cheat Sheet
This small piece of Linux cheat sheet is created by catonmat.net. It includes various utility commands with an easily understandable description.
38. Visual Studio Code Cheat Sheet
Visual Studio Code is one of the best code editors for Linux, Windows, and macOS. To do the task effortlessly, you may need some keyboard shortcuts. In this cheat sheet, a set of useful keyboard shortcuts for Linux is given, which covers basic editing, rich language editing, multi-cursor and selection, display, editor management, file management, an integrated terminal, search and replace, etc.
39. Kali Linux Cheat Sheet
Kali Linux is a popular Linux distro for pen-testing tools and hacking learning. In the process of learning, you need to master a set of Kali Linux commands, which will ultimately save your time and resources. In this cheat sheet, you get various commands on mount file shares, Netcat / ncat, SNMP Enumeration, DNS Enumeration & Transfer, NMAP, SMB Enumeration, HTTP Enumeration, Packet Inspection, Password Generation, etc.
40. Linux Terminal Commands
Linux Terminal is a very powerful and useful tool. You can use various commands into the Terminal to do the task effortlessly. In this Linux Terminal command cheat sheet, you get Linux basic commands with a short description and example.
Finally
Linux is created based on a robust and highly integrated command-line interface. Which definitely, give a lot more access to the users to perform both the easy and expert-level task. That’s why most of the hacking and pen testing tools are built keeping in mind of the Linux environment.
If you want to be a master of Linux, then it’s also important to get known all about the command line structure. After being expertized in the Linux command line, you will be able to perform a powerful job with just a few keystrokes. All the above mentioned Linux commands cheat sheet will help you to remember useful Linux commands despite being a beginner or expert.