25 Advanced Bash Commands Every Linux User Should Know

For Linux users aiming to maximize productivity, mastering advanced Bash commands is essential. These commands provide powerful ways to search, manipulate, and automate tasks, unlocking a world of efficiency for both system administration and development workflows. Here’s a deep dive into 25 of the most advanced Bash commands, essential for any serious Linux user.

1. grep - Advanced Text Searching

• Usage: grep -r "pattern" /directory
• Explanation: grep searches for text patterns within files and directories. With the -r (recursive) option, it looks through subdirectories as well. It supports regex patterns, allowing for complex search capabilities.
• Example: grep -r "error" /var/log/ searches all logs for "error."

Output of grep command

2. awk - Text Processing and Data Extraction

• Usage: awk '{print $1, $3}' file.txt
• Explanation: awk is a powerful tool for text manipulation, allowing you to filter and reformat data. You can use it to extract columns and apply conditions on text files.
• Example: awk '{print $1, $4, $5}' /var/log/syslogextracts the first, fourth and fifth columns from syslog.

3. sed - Stream Editing for Efficient Text Manipulation

• Usage: sed 's/old/new/g' file.txt
• Explanation: sed allows you to find and replace text patterns within files. It’s ideal for batch substitutions across large files or groups of files.
• Example: sed 's/apache/nginx/g' config.txt replaces "apache" with "nginx" in config.txt.

4. xargs - Command Chaining for Pipelining Tasks

• Usage: cat files.txt | xargs rm
• Explanation: xargs constructs command lines from standard input. It’s useful in combination with find or grep to perform actions on lists of files.
• Example: find . -name "*.log" | xargs rm deletes all .log files in the current directory and its subdirectories.

Note: This command delete actual files, use it cautiously

5. find - Locating Files and Directories

• Usage: find /path -type f -name "*.txt"
• Explanation: find is invaluable for locating files based on criteria like name, type, size, or modification date.
• Example: find /etc -type f -name "*.conf" finds all configuration files in /etc.

Find all conf files in /etc/ directory

6. chmod and chown - Managing Permissions and Ownership

• Usage: chmod 755 file, chown user:group file
• Explanation: chmod and chown modify permissions and file ownership. Proper permissions are essential for security and functionality.
• Example: chmod 644 document.txt sets read and write permissions for the owner and read-only for others.

7. curl and wget - Retrieving Web Content

• Usage: curl -O url, wget url
• Explanation: Both curl and wget fetch files from the internet, but curl is more versatile, supporting API requests.
• Example: curl -O https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.11.10/Python-3.11.10.tgz downloads a python installer to the current directory.

8. tar - File Archiving and Compression

• Usage: tar -czvf archive.tar.gz /etc/*.conf
• Explanation: tar is used for creating archives, combining multiple files into one. It’s often used with gzip for compression.
• Example: tar -xzvf archive.tar.gz extracts a .tar.gz archive.

9. rsync - Syncing Files Across Directories and Systems

• Usage: rsync -avz /source /destination
• Explanation: rsync copies and synchronizes files, offering options for compression and partial transfers, making it ideal for backups.
• Example: rsync -avz /home/user /backup/ backs up a user’s home directory to /backup.

10. netstat and ss - Network Monitoring

• Usage: netstat -tuln, ss -tuln
• Explanation: netstat and ss display network connections and listening ports. Use ss for more recent and faster network inspection.
• Example: ss -tuln shows active TCP/UDP listening sockets.

netstat output

11. df and du - Disk Usage Analysis

• Usage: df -h, du -sh /path
• Explanation: df provides an overview of disk space usage, while du gives a breakdown by directory.
• Example: du -sh /home shows the size of the /home directory.

12. ps and top - Monitoring Running Processes

• Usage: ps aux, top
• Explanation: ps lists processes, while top provides real-time monitoring of CPU and memory usage.
• Example: top helps identify resource-intensive processes.

top command output

ps aux output

13. kill and pkill - Terminating Processes

• Usage: kill PID, pkill name
• Explanation: kill sends signals to processes. Use kill -9 for forceful termination, and pkill to terminate by name.
• Example: pkill firefox stops all Firefox processes.

14. tail and head - Viewing File Sections

• Usage: tail -n 20 file.txt, head -n 20 file.txt
• Explanation: tail displays the last lines, and head shows the first lines of a file. Useful for log analysis.
• Example: tail -f /var/log/syslog continuously shows new log entries.

15. man - Displaying Command Manuals

• Usage: man command
• Explanation: man displays manuals for commands, helping you understand usage and options.
• Example: man rsync provides details on using rsync.

16. diff - File Comparison

• Usage: diff file1 file2
• Explanation: diff shows line-by-line differences between files, useful for version control.
• Example: diff config.old config.new compares two versions of a configuration file.

17. history - Command Recall and Re-execution

• Usage: history
• Explanation: Lists past commands, allowing for easy re-execution.
• Example: !100 re-executes command number 100.

18. alias - Creating Command Shortcuts

• Usage: alias ll='ls -al'
• Explanation: alias allows you to create shortcuts for commonly used commands.
• Example: alias rmf='rm -f' creates a shortcut for force deletion.

19. crontab - Scheduling Jobs

• Usage: crontab -e
• Explanation: Schedules recurring tasks using cron. Useful for automation.
• Example: 0 2 * * * /path/to/script.sh runs a script daily at 2 AM.

20. zip and unzip - File Compression and Extraction

• Usage: zip -r archive.zip folder, unzip archive.zip
• Explanation: Creates and extracts ZIP archives, offering a quick way to manage compressed files.
• Example: zip -r project.zip /project compresses /project into project.zip.

21. ln - Creating Links

• Usage: ln -s /source /destination
• Explanation: ln creates hard and symbolic links, linking files or directories.
• Example: ln -s /opt/project /home/user/project_link creates a symbolic link.

22. mount and umount - Mounting File Systems

• Usage: mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt, umount /mnt
• Explanation: Mounts and unmounts storage devices, allowing access to external storage.
• Example: mount -o loop disk.iso /mnt mounts an ISO file.

23. echo and printf - Displaying Text

• Usage: echo "Hello", printf "User: %s\n" "$USER"
• Explanation: Outputs text, useful in scripts for showing variable values or message formatting.
• Example: printf "Current date: %(%Y-%m-%d)T\n" -1 shows the current date.

24. uptime - System Uptime and Load

• Usage: uptime
• Explanation: Shows system uptime and average load, helpful for monitoring performance.
• Example: uptime displays the system’s active time since the last reboot.

25. iptables - Configuring Firewall Rules

• Usage: iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 22 -j ACCEPT
• Explanation: iptables manages firewall settings, controlling access to ports and services.
• Example: iptables -L lists current firewall rules.

These 25 commands are indispensable tools for any Linux user, helping manage, monitor, and automate tasks efficiently. Familiarizing yourself with them will deepen your command-line expertise and significantly enhance your productivity on Linux systems.

Want to master the Bash CLI, check out the below 3 hours video which takes you to the complete Bash CLI Commands list.

Master Bash Command Line: Learn Bash CLI in 3 Hours [2024] — YouTube

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