In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore 50 essential Linux commands that every DevOps user should know.

1. ls - List Files and Directories: List the contents of a directory.
Example: ls -l

2. cd - Change Directory: Navigate to a different directory.
Example: cd /home/user/documents

3. pwd - Print Working Directory: Display the current directory's full path. Example: pwd

4. mkdir - Make Directory: Create a new directory.
Example: mkdir new_folder

5. rm - Remove: Delete files or directories.
Example: rm file.txt

6. cp - Copy: Copy files or directories.
Example: cp file.txt /backup

7. mv - Move: Move files or directories.
Example: mv file.txt /new_location

8. touch - Create Empty File: Create a new empty file.
Example: touch new_file.txt

9. cat - Concatenate and Display: View the content of a file.
Example: cat file.txt

10. nano - Text Editor: Open a text file for editing.
Example: nano file.txt

11. grep - Search Text: Search for text patterns in files.
Example: grep "pattern" file.txt

12. find - Search Files and Directories: Search for files and directories. Example: find /path/to/search -name "file_name"

13. chmod - Change File Permissions: Modify file permissions.
Example: chmod 755 file.sh

14. chown - Change Ownership: Change the owner and group of a file or directory.
Example: chown user:group file.txt

15. ps - Process Status: Display running processes.
Example: ps aux

16. top - Monitor System Activity: Monitor system processes in real-time. Example: top

17. kill - Terminate Processes: Terminate a process using its ID.
Example: kill PID

18. wget - Download Files: Download files from the internet.
Example: wget https://example.com/file.zip

19. curl - Transfer Data with URLs: Transfer data to or from a server. Example: curl -O https://example.com/file.txt

20. tar - Archive and Extract: Create or extract compressed archive files. Example: tar -czvf archive.tar.gz folder

21. ssh - Secure Shell: Connect to a remote server securely.
Example: ssh user@remote_host

22. scp - Securely Copy Files: Copy files between local and remote systems using SSH.
Example: scp file.txt user@remote_host:/path

23. rsync - Remote Sync: Synchronize files and directories between systems.
Example: rsync -avz local_folder/ user@remote_host:remote_folder/

24. df - Disk Free Space: Display disk space usage.
Example: df -h

25. du - Disk Usage: Show the size of files and directories.
Example: du -sh /path/to/directory

26. ifconfig - Network Configuration: Display or configure network interfaces (deprecated, use ip).
Example: ifconfig

27. ip - IP Configuration: Manage IP addresses and network settings. Example: ip addr show

28. netstat - Network Statistics: Display network connections and statistics (deprecated, use ss).
Example: netstat -tuln

29. systemctl - System Control: Manage system services using systemd. Example: systemctl start service_name

30. journalctl - Systemd Journal: View system logs using systemd's journal.
Example: journalctl -u service_name

31. cron - Schedule Tasks: Manage scheduled tasks.
Example: crontab -e

32. at - Execute Commands Later: Run commands at a specified time. Example: echo "command" | at 15:30

33. ping - Network Connectivity: Check network connectivity to a host. Example: ping google.com

34. traceroute - Trace Route: Trace the route packets take to reach a host. Example: traceroute google.com

35. curl - Check Website Connectivity: Check if a website is up.
Example: curl -Is https://example.com | head -n 1

36. dig - Domain Information Groper: Retrieve DNS information for a domain.
Example: dig example.com

37. hostname - Display or Set Hostname: Display or change the system's hostname.
Example: hostname

38. who - Display Users: Display currently logged-in users.
Example: who

39. useradd - Add User: Create a new user account.
Example: useradd newuser

40. usermod - Modify User: Modify user account properties.
Example: usermod -aG groupname username

41. passwd - Change Password: Change user password.
Example: passwd username

42. sudo - Superuser Do: Execute commands as the superuser.
Example: sudo command

43. lsof - List Open Files: List open files and processes using them. Example: lsof -i :port

44. nc - Netcat: Networking utility to read and write data across network connections.
Example: echo "Hello" | nc host port

45. scp - Secure Copy Between Hosts: Copy files securely between hosts. Example: scp file.txt user@remote_host:/path

46. sed - Stream Editor: Text manipulation using regex.
Example: sed 's/old/new/g' file.txt

47. awk - Text Processing: Pattern scanning and text processing.
Example: awk '{print $2}' file.txt

48. cut - Text Column Extraction: Extract specific columns from text. Example: cut -d"," -f2 file.csv

49. sort - Sort Lines: Sort lines of text files.
Example: sort file.txt

50. diff - File Comparison: Compare two files and show differences. Example: diff file1.txt file2.txt

These commands cover a wide range of tasks that are essential for DevOps professionals working with Linux systems.

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