Bash is a Unix shell written by Brian Fox for the GNU Project as a free software replacement for the Bourne shell. Released in 1989, it has been distributed widely as the shell for the GNU operating system and as a default shell on Linux and Mac OS X.
Bash is a Unix shell written by Brian Fox for the GNU Project as a free software replacement for the Bourne shell. Released in 1989, it has been distributed widely as the shell for the GNU operating system and as a default shell on Linux and Mac OS X.
Bash is a Unix shell written by Brian Fox for the GNU Project as a free software replacement for the Bourne shell. Released in 1989, it has been distributed widely as the shell for the GNU operating system and as a default shell on Linux and Mac OS X.
The Bash shell can be a powerful tool when put in the right hands.
We had earlier done a part by part alphabetical list showing the
various bash commands available to the user and what they do. Here's the A-Z bash commands.
A alias: If creating an alias is what you want, then this is it. apropos: Were not the only ones providing help. This command you to search through the Help manual pages. apt-get: This one works on Debian and Ubuntu distros. It is used to install and search for software packages. aptitude: See the similarity with the above command? This one does the same thing. aspell: Got bad spellings? Use the spell checker. awk:No, this command is not for awkward situations. It lets you find text and replace it. Also, you can sort, index and validate things in a database.
B basename: Sometimes files and directories have suffixes to their names. This one strips them off it. bash: GNU Bourne-Again Shell bc: This command is an arbitrary precision calculator language bg: bg could stand for background couldnt it? Regardless, thats what it does, sends to the background break: Exit from a loop builtin: Run a shell builtin bzip2: When theres zip in the name, thats what it does. It compresses or decompresses files that are named.
C cal: Need a calendar? This command displays one. case: In case you want to perform a command conditionally. This is how to do it. cat: In programming, cat usually stands for concatenate. Here too, but this command displays the content of the files after concatenation. cd: Change Directory cfdisk: In Linux, this command is the partition table manipulator chgrp: This is how you change the ownership of a group. chmod:Ch is for change. This one changes the access permissions. chown: This one sounds too much like clown! Anyway, its not funny though. It changes the owner and group of a file. chroot: Using this you can run a command, but with a different root directory chkconfig System services (runlevel) cksum: It displays the CRC checksum ad byte counts. clear: If you need to clear the terminal screen, use this command. cmp: Compare two files comm: Compare two sorted files line by line command: Run a command - ignoring shell functions continue: This is for resuming the next iteration of a particular loop. cp: Make a copy of files to a different location. cron: Daemon to execute scheduled commands crontab: Scheduling is sometimes very important. This command does it, it schedules a command that will run at a specified time. csplit: Split a file into context-determined pieces cut: When you need to cut down a file into parts, this is the command to use.
D
date: Use this command to change the date and time. dc: The command stands for Desk Calculator. ddrescue: Like most other such commands, this is the disk recovery tool. declare: This command is used to declare the variables and to give attributes. df: When you want to know the free space on your disk, use this. diff: This command prints the differences between two files. diff3: This is the same command as the previous one, but for three files. dig: Need to lookup the DNS? Use this. dir: Use this command for listing directory contents briefly. dircolors: This command is used for colour setup for the ls command. dirname: Use this command to change a full pathname into just a path. dirs: This command shows you the list of directories that are remembered. dmesg: Use this command when you want to print kernel and driver messages. du: Use this command to get an estimation of the file space usage.
E
echo: This command is used for displaying message on the screen. egrep: This searches for files that have lines matching an extended expression. eject: Use this when you need to eject a removable media. enable: Use this to disable or enable bulletin shell commands. env: Environment variables ethtool: Ethernet card settings eval: This command is used when you need to evaluate a many commands. exec: For executing a command. exit: Exiting the shell. expand: This command converts all the tabs to spaces. export: This command sets an environment variable. expr: Some evaluate commands, this evaluates expressions.
F
false: Do nothing, unsuccessfully fdformat: This command is used for low level format of a floppy disk. fdisk: This is a partition table manipulator for Linux systems. fg: This command is used for sending a task to the foreground. fgrep: Use this command to search through files for tasks that match a string. file: This is used to determine the file type. find: This is used to find files that match a desired criteria. fmt: This is used for reformatting paragraph text. fold: The name is quite suggestive, it wraps text in order to fit a certain width. format: This simply formats tapes or disks. free: Use this to see the memory usage. fsck: This is used for checking the consistency of the file system and repair it. fuser: This command identifies and kills the process accessing a file.
G
gawk: This command is used to find text within files and replace it. getopts: Parse positional parameters grep: Through this you can search in files for lines matching a certain pattern. groupadd: Use this command to add security user groups. groupdel: This one is used for deleting a certain group. groupmod: While the last one deletes, this one modified a group. groups: Print the names of groups in which an user is located. gzip: This command is used for compressing and decompressing files.
H
hash: This command is used to refer to the complete pathname of a name argument. head: Use this for output for the first part of files. help: Display the built in help for a command. history: Command History hostname: Print or set system name
I
iconv: Use this to convert the character set in files. id: Display the group ids or user ids. if: Conditional command. ifconfig: Used to configure network interfaces. ifdown: Use this command for stopping a network interface. ifup: Start a network interface app with this command. import: Used for the X server. Capture a screen and save image. Install: Set attributes and copy files
J
jobs: Use this for listing jobs that are active. Join: This one joins lines, which are on a common field.
K
kill: Stops a process from running. Killall: Kills the processes by name.
L
less: This command displays the output on a single screen at a time. let: This is for doing arithmetic on shell variables. link: This command is used for creating a link to another file. ln: This one creates a symbolic link to another file. local: Use this for creating variables. locate: This one is used for finding files. logname: This is used to print the login name being used currently. logout: Use this command to exit a login shell. look: When you just want to see lines that start with a particular string. lpc: It stands for Line Printer Control. lpr: This is for offline print. lprint: Use this command to print a file. lprintd: Use this to abort an ongoing print job. lprintq: This command lists the print queue. lprm: This removes the jobs from the print queue.
M
make: This command is used for recompiling the group of programs. man: This is short for manual and provides help on a command. mkdir: Creating directories. mkfifo: Use this to make FIFOs. mknod: This is to create character special files or block files. more: This displays the output, but in a single screen at a time. mount: Used for mounting a particular filesystem. mtools: Manipulating files from MS-DOS. mtr: Network diagnostics command for things like ping and traceroute. mv: Used for moving and renaming files and directories. mmv: Mass Move and Rename
N
netstat: Get information on networking. nice: Use this to set the priority of a job or a command. nl: Write files and number lines. nohup: This one runs a command, which is not affected by hangups. notify-send: This command sends desktop notifications. nslookup: This command is used to query internet name servers interactively.
O
open: This command opens a file in its default application. op: Use this command for gaining operator access.
L
less: This command displays the output on a single screen at a time. let: This is for doing arithmetic on shell variables. link: This command is used for creating a link to another file. ln: This one creates a symbolic link to another file. local: Use this for creating variables. locate: This one is used for finding files. logname: This is used to print the login name being used currently. logout: Use this command to exit a login shell. look: When you just want to see lines that start with a particular string. lpc: It stands for Line Printer Control. lpr: This is for offline print. lprint: Use this command to print a file. lprintd: Use this to abort an ongoing print job. lprintq: This command lists the print queue. lprm: This removes the jobs from the print queue.
M
make: This command is used for recompiling the group of programs. man: This is short for manual and provides help on a command. mkdir: Creating directories. mkfifo: Use this to make FIFOs. mknod: This is to create character special files or block files. more: This displays the output, but in a single screen at a time. mount: Used for mounting a particular filesystem. mtools: Manipulating files from MS-DOS. mtr: Network diagnostics command for things like ping and traceroute. mv: Used for moving and renaming files and directories. mmv: Mass Move and Rename
N
netstat: Get information on networking. nice: Use this to set the priority of a job or a command. nl: Write files and number lines. nohup: This one runs a command, which is not affected by hangups. notify-send: This command sends desktop notifications. nslookup: This command is used to query internet name servers interactively.
O
open: This command opens a file in its default application. op: Use this command for gaining operator access.
P
passwd: Use this command to modify user passwords. paste: This command is used for merging lines in files. pathchk: It is used to check the portability of a file name. ping: This command is used for testing network connections. pkill: This command stops processes from running. popd: This command restores the previous value of the directory youre currently in. pr: Prepare your files for printing using this. printcap: Printer capability database printenv: Print environment variables printf: This command is used for formatting and printing data. ps: This stands for Process Status. pushd: Change the directory and save it first. pwd: It stands for Print Working Directory.
Q
quota: This command displays the disk usage and its limits. quotacheck: This commands lets you scan a file system to find its disk usage. quotactl: This is used to set disk quotas.
R
ram: Ram disk device rcp: When using two machines, this command copies files between them. read: This commands is used for reading a line from standard input. readarray: This commands reads from stdin into an array variable. readonly: This command marks the variables and functions as readonly. reboot: Self explanatory, use this command to reboot your system. rename: Rename files renice: This command alters the priority of the processes running. remsync: This command synchronises remote files through email. return: This is used to exit from a shell function. rev: This command reverses the lines in a file. rm: Use this to remove particular files. rmdir: Same as above, but for directories. rsync: This is for synchronising file trees.
S
screen: Use this to run remote shells using ssh. scp: This is used to create a secure copy. sdiff: This command is used to merge two files in a secure manner. sed: This is for the stream editor. select: This is used when you need to accept keyboard inputs. seq: This command is used for printing numeric sequences. set: This command lets you manipulate shell functions and variables. sftp: Run the secure file transfer program using this. shift: This command is used for shifting positional parameters. shopt: Shopt stands for Shell Options. shutdown: Use this command when you want to shutdown Linux or restart it. sleep: Add a delay using this command. slocate: This is used to find particular files. sort: Text files are sorted using this. source: This command is used for running commands from a file. split: This command is used to break a file into fixed sizes. ssh: This is used to run the remote login program, that is, the secure shell client. strace: This is used to trace signals and system calls. su: Substitute the user identity using this command. sudo: This is used for executing commands as a different user. sum: File cheksums are printed using this command. suspend: This command is used to suspend the execution of the current shell. sync: This command is used in order to synchronise data from a disk with the memory.
T tail: Use this command when you want to output only the last part of a file. tar: This command is used in order to store a list or extract files in an archive. tee: This command is used for redirecting output into multiple files. test: This command is used for evaluating conditional expressions. time: The running time of a program can be measured using this command. timeout: This command is used to put a time limit on a command. times: Use this to find the user and system times. touch: Timestamps on a file can be changed using this. top: This is used to get a list of the processes that are running on the system. traceroute: Use this command to Trace Route to a host. tr: Delete characters, translate or squeeze them. tsort: This is used for topological sorting. tty: This is used for printing the filename of terminal on stdin.
U
ulimit: This commands limits the user resources. umask: This is used to determine the file permission for a new file. umount: This command will unmount a device from the system. unalias: This command will remove an alias. uname: This command will print the system information. unexpand: This command will convert the spaces in a file to tabs. uniq: This command will uniquify your files. units: This will convert the units from one scale to another. unset: This command removes the variable names or the function names. unshar: This command unpacks the shell archive scripts. until: This command will execute a command until there is an error. uptime: This command will show the uptime. useradd: Use this command when you need a new user account to be created. userdel: This command will delete an user account from your system. usermod: Self explanatory, modify an user account. users: This command gives you a list of users who are currently logged in. uuencode: This command will encode binary files.
V
v: This command lists the contents of a directory. vdir: Same as above. vi: This is a text editor. vmstat: This command will report on the virtual memory statistics.
W
wait: This command directs the system to wait for a process to finish. watch: This command will display or execute a program periodically. wc: This command prints the word, byte and line counts. whereis: This command will search a users $path, source files and man pages which: This command searches only for a users $path for a program. while: Use this to execute commands. who: This command will print the usernames that are currently logged into the system. whoami: This is a command that prints the current name and user id. wget: This will retrieve the web pages or files through HTTP, HTTPS or FTP. write: Use this to send messages to other users.
X
xargs: This command executes a utility and passes a constructed argument list. xdg-open: This lets you open an URL or a file in the user's preferred application.
Y yes: This command will print a string until it is interrupted.