60 Linux Commands you NEED to know (in 10 minutes)

Linux access starts with SSH: connect using a username and an IP/hostname, accept host fingerprints, then authenticate with a password. Once inside, basic navigation and file handling form the backbone of day-to-day work—ls (with -l for details and -a for hidden files), pwd to confirm the current directory, and cd to move around (including cd .. for one level up and cd with no argument to jump to home). Creating and editing files is equally essential: touch creates files quickly, echo can append or write text, nano offers a beginner-friendly editor (save via Ctrl+X, then Y/Enter), and vim-style editing is referenced through the vi/nano workflow of insert mode and “write and quit” (Escape, :wq). For viewing content, cat prints immediately, while less scrolls page-by-page; head and tail show the beginning or end of a file. When comparing or diagnosing differences, cmp checks whether two files match, and diff pinpoints exactly what changed.

The toolkit expands into searching, permissions, and system introspection. mk dir creates directories, cp copies, mv moves/renames, rm deletes files, and rm -r removes directories recursively when they’re not empty. Symbolic links are created with ln -s (soft links), and terminal clutter can be cleared with clear. For identity and access control, whoami reveals the current user; user management uses adduser (with sudo/pseudo for privileges) and su to switch users, while passwd changes passwords. The transcript also highlights “learn-as-you-go” documentation: man for full references, and whatis/which to find commands and their locations.

Downloading and compressing files are covered with practical commands: wget isn’t mentioned, but curl fetches from a URL into a file, zip compresses, unzip extracts, and grep/fine are used for searching (with find described as locating files by name patterns, including hidden, empty, or executable files). Executable permissions are handled via chmod +x, and ownership changes via chown. Network troubleshooting rounds out the middle and late sections: ip addr (or ifconfig-style alternatives) shows IPs per interface; resolv.conf and resolvectl status are used to inspect DNS; ping tests reachability with options like -c for count; traceroute reveals the path and latency; netstat (with -tulpn) and the newer ss provide port/process visibility. Firewall management is simplified with UFW: allow port 80, check rules with ufw status, then enable it.

System health and process control come next. uname -a and neofetch provide quick system summaries; cal shows a calendar; free reports memory and swap; df -h shows disk usage; ps aux lists processes; top and htop monitor resource-heavy tasks. To stop programs, kill uses a PID (often found via ps/grep), while pkill stops by process name. Service management uses systemctl under System D (or service otherwise) to stop/start/restart/status daemons like Apache. The session ends with history to review prior commands, plus reboot and shutdown (including shutdown now via -h now). The overall takeaway is a fast, practical command ladder—from logging in, to files, to permissions, to networking, to running processes—so a Linux user can operate and troubleshoot without getting stuck.