Basic Bash Commands For Beginners Explained

Here’s a list of basic Bash commands for beginners, organized by common use cases, with explanations and examples:

1. Navigation and Directory Management

pwd (Print Working Directory):
Displays the current directory.
```
pwd
```

ls (List):
Lists files and directories in the current location.

ls
ls -l    # Detailed view
ls -a    # Includes hidden files

cd (Change Directory):
Changes the current directory.

cd /path/to/directory
cd ~    # Go to the home directory
cd ..   # Go up one directory

2. File and Directory Operations

touch:
Creates an empty file.
```
touch filename.txt
```

mkdir (Make Directory):
Creates a new directory.

mkdir my_folder
mkdir -p folder/subfolder   # Creates nested directories

cp (Copy):
Copies files or directories.

cp file.txt copy.txt
cp -r folder/ copy_folder/   # Copy directories recursively

mv (Move/Rename):
Moves or renames files or directories.

mv oldname.txt newname.txt
mv file.txt /path/to/destination

rm (Remove):
Deletes files or directories.

rm file.txt
rm -r folder/    # Deletes directories recursively

3. Viewing and Editing Files

cat:
Displays the contents of a file.
```
cat file.txt
```
less:
Views a file one page at a time.
```
less file.txt
```
nano:
Opens a file in a simple text editor.
```
nano file.txt
```

head and tail:
Displays the beginning or end of a file.

head file.txt
tail file.txt
tail -n 20 file.txt    # Show last 20 lines

4. Searching and Filtering

grep:
Searches for patterns within files.

grep "text" file.txt
grep -i "text" file.txt   # Case-insensitive search

find:
Locates files and directories.
```
find /path -name "filename.txt"
```

5. Managing Processes

ps:
Displays running processes.

ps
ps aux   # Detailed view of all processes

kill:
Terminates a process by its ID (PID).

kill 12345   # Replace 12345 with the PID

top or htop:
Monitors real-time system processes.
```
top
```

6. Permissions and Ownership

chmod:
Changes file permissions.

chmod 644 file.txt    # Sets read/write for owner, read-only for others
chmod +x script.sh    # Makes a script executable

chown:
Changes file ownership.
```
chown user:group file.txt
```

7. System Information

whoami:
Displays the current username.
```
whoami
```
uname:
Provides system information.
```
uname -a   # Detailed system info
```

df and du:
Checks disk usage.

df -h      # Shows free disk space
du -sh     # Displays size of a directory or file

8. Networking

ping:
Tests network connectivity.
```
ping google.com
```

curl or wget:
Fetches data from URLs.

curl https://example.com
wget https://example.com/file.txt

9. Archiving and Compression

tar:
Archives and extracts files.

tar -cvf archive.tar folder/     # Create archive
tar -xvf archive.tar             # Extract archive
tar -czvf archive.tar.gz folder/ # Compress with gzip

zip and unzip:
Compresses or extracts files in ZIP format.
```
zip archive.zip file.txt
unzip archive.zip
```

10. Helpful Commands

man (Manual):
Displays the manual for a command.
```
man ls
```
history:
Shows the history of commands entered.
```
history
```
clear:
Clears the terminal screen.
```
clear
```

These commands provide a solid foundation for working in Bash. As you grow more comfortable, you can explore advanced topics like scripting and automation!