Unix and Linux commands
The tools that give this site its name. Each page explains what a command is for, the options you will actually use and examples you can copy, with notes where Linux, macOS, the BSDs, AIX and Solaris differ.
New to the command line? Start with the Unix primer. Every command also has a built-in manual: type man command.
Files and directories
cdChange and show the current directorycpCopy files and directoriesdfShow free space on file systemsduShow how much space directories usefindFind files by name, size, age, owner or typegzipCompress and decompress files (gzip, xz, zstd, bzip2)lnCreate symbolic and hard linkslsList files and directoriesmkdirCreate directoriesmvMove or rename files and directoriesrmDelete files and directoriesrsyncCopy and synchronise files locally or over SSHtarCreate, list and extract .tar, .tar.gz and .tar.xz archives
Viewing and editing text
diffCompare files line by line and create patcheslessRead long files and output page by pagetailShow the last lines of a file and follow logs liveviEdit files with the vi / vim editor
Searching and processing text
awkPick columns, filter rows, sum and reportcutCut out columns or characters from each linegrepSearch files and output for lines matching a patternsedFind and replace text, edit files from the command linesortSort lines alphabetically, numerically or by columnuniqRemove or count repeated lineswcCount lines, words and bytesxargsRun a command on each item from input, in batches or in parallel
Processes and jobs
killStop processes and send them signalspsList running processestopWatch CPU, memory and processes live
System and services
crontabSchedule commands to run at set timesjournalctlRead and filter system and service logsmountMount and unmount disks, USB sticks and network sharessystemctlStart, stop, enable and inspect services
Users and permissions
chmodChange file and directory permissionschownChange the owner and group of filessudoRun commands as root or another useruseraddCreate, change and remove user accounts and groups
Networking
curlDownload files, call APIs and test HTTP serversdigQuery DNS: A, MX, TXT and other recordsipShow and change IP addresses, interfaces and routesssShow listening ports and network connectionssshLog in to remote machines, copy files and tunnel securely