Most Used Linux Commands for Development#

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man command        # View full command manual
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help command       # Get help for shell built-in commands
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which command      # Locate executable binary path
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uname -a           # Show OS, kernel, architecture
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lsb_release -a     # Check Linux distribution version
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hostname           # Show current machine hostname
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date               # Show system time (critical for log debugging)

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ls -la             # List all files (including hidden) with details
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cd dir             # Navigate to directory
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cd ..              # Go back to parent directory
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pwd                # Print current working path
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mkdir -p dir       # Create nested directories
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touch filename     # Create empty file / update timestamp
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cp -r src dest     # Copy files/directories recursively
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mv src dest        # Move/rename files
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rm -rf dir         # Force delete files/dirs (use carefully)
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cat filename       # View short file content
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less filename      # View large files (scrollable, searchable)
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tail -f filename   # Real-time log monitoring (essential for debugging)
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wc -l filename     # Count lines in code/log files
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du -sh .           # Check current directory size

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vim filename       # Edit file (Vim editor)
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nano filename      # Simple editor for beginners
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grep -rn "keyword" .  # Recursively search keyword in current directory
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grep -i "key" file  # Case-insensitive search
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find . -name "*.js"  # Find all JS files in project
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sed -i 's/old/new/g' file  # Replace text in file (batch edit)
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diff file1 file2    # Compare two code/config files

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chmod +x script.sh # Make script executable
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chmod 755 file      # Set read/write/execute permissions
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chown user:group file  # Change file owner/group
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sudo command        # Run command as root (privileged operations)

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ps aux             # List all running processes
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ps aux | grep node # Find Node.js/any app process
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top                # Real-time process resource monitor
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htop               # Enhanced process viewer (better than top)
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kill pid            # Terminate process gracefully
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kill -9 pid         # Force kill unresponsive process
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pkill process_name  # Kill process by name
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jobs               # Show background tasks
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bg                 # Move paused process to background
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fg                 # Bring background process to foreground

1
ping host          # Test network connectivity
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curl url           # Send HTTP request (test APIs)
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curl -I url        # Show response headers only
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netstat -tulpn     # Check open ports and processes
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ss -tulpn          # Modern alternative to netstat
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lsof -i :port      # Check which process uses a specific port
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wget url           # Download files/resources
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scp file user@host:path  # Secure file transfer to server

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env                # List all environment variables
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echo $PATH         # View PATH variable
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export VAR=value   # Set temporary env var
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source ~/.bashrc   # Reload shell config (apply permanent env vars)

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df -h              # Check disk usage
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free -h            # Check memory usage
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iostat             # Monitor disk I/O performance
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uptime             # Check system load and uptime

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git init           # Initialize Git repo
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git clone url       # Clone remote repository
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git status         # Check file changes
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git add .          # Stage all changes
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git commit -m "msg" # Commit changes
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git push           # Push to remote branch
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git pull           # Pull latest code
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git branch         # List local branches
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git checkout branch # Switch branch
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git merge branch    # Merge branch
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git log            # View commit history
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git diff           # Check uncommitted code changes

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docker ps          # List running containers
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docker ps -a       # List all containers
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docker images      # List local images
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docker run image   # Start container
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docker stop container # Stop container
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docker rm container # Delete container
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docker exec -it container bash # Enter container shell
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docker-compose up -d # Start services in background
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docker-compose logs -f # View container logs

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bash script.sh     # Run shell script
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./script.sh        # Run executable script
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crontab -l         # List scheduled tasks
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crontab -e         # Edit cron jobs (automate tasks)

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apt update && apt install pkg # Debian/Ubuntu package install
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yum install pkg      # CentOS/RHEL package install
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brew install pkg     # macOS package install
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npm install pkg      # Node.js package install
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pip install pkg      # Python package install