Complete Guide to Linux Commands: From Beginner to Advanced (With Examples)

Linux is one of the most powerful and widely used operating systems in the world. Whether you’re a beginner just getting started or a professional managing production servers, knowing the right Linux commands can make your work faster and more efficient. In this guide, we’ll cover Linux commands from beginner to advanced, with practical examples you can try on your system.In this guide, we’ll cover Linux commands from beginner to advanced, with practical examples you can try on your system

5 October 2025 by

BitFlowLabBlogs

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🟢 Beginner Linux Commands (Essential for Starters)

These are the basic commands every Linux user must know:

pwd – Print Working Directory
```
pwd
```
Shows your current directory path.
ls – List Files and Directories
```
ls -l
```
Lists files with details (permissions, size, etc.).
cd – Change Directory
```
cd /home/user/Documents
```
touch – Create a New File
```
touch myfile.txt
```
mkdir – Create a Directory
```
mkdir new_folder
```
cp – Copy Files
```
cp file1.txt file2.txt
```
mv – Move or Rename Files
```
mv oldname.txt newname.txt
```
rm – Remove Files
```
rm unwanted.txt
```
cat – Display File Content
```
cat file.txt
```
man – Manual (Help for Commands)

man ls

🟡 Intermediate Linux Commands (For Developers & Sysadmins)

Once you know the basics, these commands help you manage files, processes, and systems.

grep – Search for Text Inside Files
```
grep "error" logfile.txt
```
find – Find Files and Directories
```
find /home -name "*.txt"
```
locate – Quickly Locate Files
```
locate myfile.txt
```
chmod – Change File Permissions
```
chmod 755 script.sh
```
chown – Change File Owner
```
chown user:group file.txt
```
df – Show Disk Usage
```
df -h
```
du – Check Directory Size
```
du -sh *
```
ps – List Processes
```
ps aux
```
top – Monitor Running Processes
```
top
```
wget / curl – Download Files from the Internet

wget https://example.com/file.zip curl -O https://example.com/file.zip

🔴 Advanced Linux Commands (For Power Users & DevOps)

These are used for server management, automation, and debugging.

systemctl – Manage Services
```
systemctl restart nginx
```
journalctl – View Logs
```
journalctl -u nginx
```
ssh – Connect to Remote Server
```
ssh user@192.168.1.10
```
scp – Secure Copy Between Servers
```
scp file.txt user@server:/home/user/
```
rsync – Synchronize Files & Directories
```
rsync -av source/ destination/
```
awk – Text Processing
```
awk '{print $1}' file.txt
```
sed – Stream Editing
```
sed 's/error/success/g' logfile.txt
```
cron – Schedule Jobs
```
crontab -e
```
Example: Run backup every day at 2 AM:
```
0 2 * * * /home/user/backup.sh
```
lsof – List Open Files
```
lsof -i :8080
```
strace – Debug Programs

strace -p 1234

🏆 Bonus Tips for Power Users

Pipes (|): Combine commands. Example:
```
ps aux | grep nginx
```
Redirection (> / >>): Save output to file.
```
ls > files.txt
```
Wildcards (* / ?): Match multiple files.
```
rm *.log
```
Aliases: Create shortcuts.
```
alias ll='ls -la'
```

🎯 Conclusion

Mastering Linux commands takes practice, but once you learn them, you can handle everything from basic file navigation to advanced server management.

Beginners: Start with navigation & file management commands.
Intermediate users: Explore process, networking, and file permissions.
Advanced users: Learn automation, debugging, and server management.

👉 Keep this guide handy as your Linux commands cheat sheet, and you’ll quickly go from a beginner to a power user.

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