Linux Commands

Command references for core Linux tools, syntax, examples, and practical one-liners.

Using the Linux cp command to copy files and directories

Aug 21, 2026 • 16 min read

Linux cp Command: Copy Files and Directories

The cp command copies files and directories in Linux. This guide covers recursive and archive copies, copying directory contents, overwrite control, and attributes.

Using the sed command to find and replace strings in a Linux file

Aug 20, 2026 • 13 min read

How to Use sed to Find and Replace Strings in Files

Replace strings in files with sed: run sed -i 's/old/new/g' file. Covers global, case-insensitive, word-boundary, regex, line-range, and recursive replace.

Bash best practices for writing safer and cleaner shell scripts

Aug 20, 2026 • 9 min read • series

Bash Best Practices: Writing Safer, Cleaner Scripts

Practical Bash best practices for writing safer and more predictable scripts, covering strict mode, quoting, error handling, and everyday patterns.

Aug 20, 2026 • 7 min read • series

How to List Groups in Linux

Find which groups a user belongs to in Linux using the groups, id, and getent commands. Includes how to list all groups and group members on the system.

Listing Linux groups with the groups and id commands in a terminal

Aug 18, 2026 • 6 min read

How to Remove a Symbolic Link (Symlink) in Linux

Remove symbolic links in Linux with rm, unlink, or find. Clean up broken symlinks and avoid the trailing-slash trap that can remove target directory contents.

Aug 17, 2026 • 7 min read • series

sleep Command in Linux: Pause a Bash Script

How to use the sleep command in bash to pause script execution. Examples cover seconds, minutes, sleep infinity, retry loops, countdowns, and background sleeps.

Aug 17, 2026 • 12 min read

Tar Command in Linux: Create and Extract Archives with Examples

Create, extract, list, and compress tar archives in Linux. Examples for gzip, bzip2, xz, and zstd, plus excluding files, wildcard extraction, and stripping path components.

Aug 16, 2026 • 26 min read

awk Command in Linux: Syntax, Patterns, and Examples

Use awk to extract columns, filter records, and build reports from the command line, with practical examples of patterns, built-in variables, functions, and arrays.

Laptop displaying tabular data above the text awk command in linux

Aug 16, 2026 • 5 min read

Linux basename Command: Get File Name from Path in Bash

Get just the file name from a full path in Bash. This guide covers basename options, suffix stripping, and how it compares to parameter expansion.

Using the Linux basename command to strip directory paths from file names

Aug 16, 2026 • 9 min read • series

echo Command in Linux: Print Text and Variables

Print text, variables, script arguments, and exit codes with echo in Linux, plus escape sequences, colored output, and the quoting pitfalls to avoid.

Stylized terminal showing the echo command printing Hello, Linux

Aug 15, 2026 • 18 min read

Grep Command in Linux with Examples

The grep command searches files for text patterns. Quick examples for case-insensitive, recursive, whole-word, regex, and context-line searches.

Aug 15, 2026 • 6 min read

Grep Multiple Patterns: Match Strings, Words, and Regex

Search for multiple patterns or strings at once with grep using the -e flag, fixed-string matching, alternation, and pattern files.

Grep Multiple Strings, Words, and Patterns

Aug 15, 2026 • 7 min read

Grep Exclude: Patterns, Files, and Directories

Use grep to exclude patterns, files, and directories from search results. Examples for --invert-match, --exclude, --exclude-dir, and --include.

Aug 14, 2026 • 9 min read

last Command in Linux: Check Login History

Use the last command in Linux to check login history, filter sessions by user or date, and audit access. Covers lastb, lastlog, and the wtmpdb replacement.

Illustration of a user checking the last command in Linux

Aug 14, 2026 • 11 min read

How to Use wget in Linux with Examples

Practical wget examples for downloading files, resuming transfers, limiting bandwidth, mirroring websites, and handling authentication on Linux.

Aug 14, 2026 • 11 min read • series

How to List Users in Linux

List all users in Linux with getent passwd, lslogins, or /etc/passwd. Filter human users by UID, check group membership, and see who is logged in.

Aug 13, 2026 • 13 min read • series

history Command in Linux: View and Manage Bash History

Use the history command in Linux to view, search, and clean up Bash command history. Covers expansions, HISTSIZE, HISTIGNORE, and security tips.

Aug 13, 2026 • 8 min read • series

lsblk Command in Linux: List Block Devices

Use lsblk to list disks, partitions, filesystems, UUIDs, and mount points in Linux, then customize columns and produce JSON output for scripts.

Using the lsblk command to list block devices and partitions in Linux

Aug 13, 2026 • 10 min read • series

How to Remove a User in Linux

Remove a user in Linux with userdel, including the home directory, active sessions, scheduled jobs, SELinux mappings, and files left behind.

Aug 11, 2026 • 9 min read • series

su Command in Linux: How to Switch Users

Use the su command to switch users, open a root login shell, and run commands as another account. Includes options, sudo su, troubleshooting, and examples.

Switching users with the su command in Linux