150+ Linux Commands | An Alphabetical List With Syntax (Examples)

Linux has become an extremely popular operating system in recent years. It is a free, reliable, and secure system that is utilized for a variety of applications, including web servers and clusters for scientific computing. Linux's command-line interface enables users to interact with the system more effectively and powerfully than through a graphical user interface. It is open-source and similar to the Command Prompt application in Windows.

In this article, we will discuss the fundamentals of Linux commands, as well as some of the most popular Linux commands with their syntax and their usage.

Prerequisites

Before we move on to exploring the Linux commands there are a few prerequisites that should be taken care of:

1. Understanding of the command-line interface: As Linux commands are entered into a command-line interface, it is important to have a basic understanding of how to use it. This includes knowledge of how to navigate the file system, how to enter commands, and how to view the output.

2. Basic knowledge of Linux: Although these commands can be used on any Linux distribution, it is helpful to have a basic understanding of the Linux operating system. This includes knowledge of the file system structure, file contents, basic commands, package manager, and system administration. Linux has various package managers available in its system.

3. Access to a Linux system: In order to use these commands, you need access to a Linux system. This can be a physical machine or a virtual machine that is running Linux. There are also online platforms and virtual environments available that provide access to a Linux system.

4. User permissions: Depending on the command you want to run, you may need administrative privileges or root access. This can be granted by using the "sudo" command or logging in as the root user. You may also need file permissions before modifying them.

5. Familiarity with text editors: Some commands require the use of a text editor to edit configuration files or create scripts. It is helpful and important to have a basic understanding of text editors such as vi or nano.

6. Internet connectivity: These commands often require the installation of packages or updates. It is helpful to have internet connectivity to access the repositories and download the required files.

Commands in Linux

Linux commands are text-based instructions that can be used to interact with the Linux operating system. They are typed in the terminal or command-line interface and are used to perform a variety of tasks.

Most Linux commands follow a similar syntax, which consists of the command name followed by options and arguments. Options modify the behavior of the command, while arguments specify the input to the command. Many Linux commands have a help option that can be accessed by appending --help or -h to the command, which will display a list of available options and their usage.

Below we have discussed some of the most important and popular Linux commands arranged in alphabetical order.

A

addgroup command

The "addgroup" command is used to create a new group on the system.

Basic syntax: addgroup [groupname]

adduser command

The "adduser" command is used to create a new user account on the system. It is a symbolic link to the useradd command.

Basic syntax: adduser [username]

apt command

The "apt" command in Linux is a package management tool that is used to install, remove, and update software packages on Debian-based Linux distributions.

Basic syntax: sudo apt install git

alias Command

The "alias" command in Linux is used to create custom shortcuts for commonly used commands or to redefine existing commands in the current working directory.

Basic syntax: alias [alias-name]='[command]'

awk Command

The "awk" command in Linux is a powerful tool for text processing and manipulation. The "awk" command is commonly used in shell scripts and for command-line text-processing tasks.

Basic syntax: awk -F',' '{print $2}' [file-name]

apropos command

The "apropos" command in Linux is used to search the system's manual pages for a specific keyword.

Basic syntax: apropos [keyword]

atrm command

atrm command is used to remove/deletes jobs (identified by their job number) from at command queue:

Basic syntax: atrm [job number]

B

bash command

The "bash" command is the default shell for most Linux systems. It is used to launch a new instance of the Bash shell.

Basic syntax: bash [options] [file]

basename command

The "basename" command is used to extract the filename or directory name from a given path or URL. It is often used in shell scripts to manipulate filenames.

Basic syntax: basename [path] [suffix]

bzip2 command

The "bzip2" command is used to compress or decompress files using the bzip2 compression algorithm.

Basic syntax: bzip2 [options] [filename]

break command

The "break" command is used to exit a loop in a shell script. It is used in conjunction with the "for" or "while" commands to control program flow in the current directory.

Basic syntax: break [n]

C

cd command

It stands for "change directory" and is used to change the current working directory in the shell.

Basic syntax: cd [directory_path]

cat command

It is used to display the file contents in the terminal.

Basic syntax: cat [filename]

comm command

It is used to compare two sorted file contents line by line and display the lines that are common, unique, or different between the two files. The name "comm" is short for "compare".

Basic syntax: comm [option(s)] file1 file2

chmod command

It is used to change the file permissions of a file or parent directory. The mode specifies the new permissions that you want to set for the file/ parent directory. It specifies the name of the file or parent directory for which you want to change the permissions.

Basic syntax: chmod [options] mode file/parent directory

clear command

The "clear" command is used to clear the screen in the shell.

Basic syntax: clear

cp command

cp command is used for copying file contents and current directories from one location to another.

Basic syntax: cp [options] source_file destination

cut command

The "cut" command is used to extract columns or fields from a file or standard input in the current working directory.

Basic syntax: cut [options] file

D

date command

It displays the current date and time.

Basic syntax: date [OPTION]... [+FORMAT]

diff command

It compares two file contents and displays the differences between them.

Basic syntax: diff [OPTION]... FILE1 FILE2

dirname command

It displays the directory name of a given path.

Basic syntax: dirname [OPTION]... NAME

diff command

diff command is used to compare two files line by line. It can also be used to find the difference between two current working directories in Linux

Basic syntax: diff file1 file2

duff command

It quickly finds duplicate files present in the current working directory.

Basic syntax: duff [OPTION]... FILE...

E

echo command

Echo command prints a string of text to the terminal.

Basic syntax: echo [OPTION]... [STRING]...

eject command

It is used to eject removable media such as DVD/CD ROM or floppy disk from the system.

Basic syntax: eject /dev/cdrom

enable command

It is used to enable/disable shell builtin commands in the current directory.

Basic syntax: enable [OPTION]... [NAME]...

eval command

It evaluates a command or expression and executes it as if it were a part of the script.

Basic syntax: eval [ARGUMENTS]

exit command

It is used to exit or terminate the current terminal session. To exit the current terminal session run the following command:

Basic syntax: exit [N]

expand command

It converts tabs to spaces in an original file.

Basic syntax: expand [OPTION]... [FILE]...

F

false command

It returns a non-zero (false) exit status.

Basic syntax: false

factor command

It displays prime factors of specified integer numbers.

Basic syntax: factor [NUMBER]...

fold command

It wraps lines of text to a specified width in the current directory.

Basic syntax: fold [OPTION]... [FILE]...

free command

It displays the amount of free and used memory and disk space in the system.

Basic syntax: free [OPTION]...

ftp command

Transfers files to and from a remote server using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

Basic syntax: ftp [HOST]

fmt command

Used to convert text to a specified width by filling lines and removing new lines, displaying the output in the current directory.

Basic syntax: fmt [OPTION]... [FILE]...

fsck command

It checks and repairs a Linux file system.

Basic syntax: fsck [OPTION]... [DEVICE]

G

gzip command

The gzip command compresses and decompresses the file size.

Basic syntax: gzip [OPTION]... [FILE]...

gunzip command

It is used to compress or expand a file or a list of files in Linux. It accepts all the files having extension as .gz, .z, _z, -gz, -z , .Z, .taz or.tgz and replace the compressed file with the original file by default.

gunzip [Option] [archive name/file name]

grep command

It searches for a specified pattern and directory path in a file or input stream in the current directory.

Basic syntax: grep [OPTIONS] PATTERN [FILE]...

git command

git is a version control system and is used for tracking changes in source code.

Basic syntax: git [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGUMENTS]

gawk command

It is a powerful text-processing tool that is used for pattern scanning and processing.

Basic syntax: gawk [OPTIONS] [FILE]

grpck command

This command checks the integrity of the group files in the current directory and verifies that all entries are valid.

Basic syntax: grpck [OPTION] [FILE]

gpg command

It enables encryption and signing services as per the OpenPGP standard.

Basic syntax: gpg [OPTIONS] [FILES]

grpdel command

It is used to delete a existing group.

Basic syntax: groupdel [options] GROUP

groupmod command

It is used to modify or change the existing group on the Linux system.

Basic syntax: groupmod [option] GROUP

grpconv command

The grpconv command is a Linux command used to convert the /etc/gshadow file to the /etc/group file format. The /etc/group file contains the list of groups on the system, while the /etc/gshadow file contains the encrypted passwords for these groups.

Basic syntax: sudo grpconv

H

head command

The head command displays the first few lines of a file.

Basic syntax: head [OPTION]... [FILE]...

history command

It displays a list of previously executed commands.

Basic syntax: history [OPTION]... [ARGUMENTS]

halt command

It shuts down the system i.e. it halts the machine.

Basic syntax: halt [OPTIONS]

help command

It displays help information for a built-in shell command.

Basic syntax: help [COMMAND]

hexdump command

It displays the contents of a file in hexadecimal format.

Basic syntax: hexdump [OPTIONS] [FILE]

host command

The host command is a Linux command used to perform DNS (Domain Name System) lookups. The command queries the DNS servers and returns the IP address or the domain name associated with the provided hostname.

Basic syntax: host [options] [hostname]

hostid command

It is used to retrieve the numeric identifier (host ID) of the current host. The host ID is a unique identifier that is used by some software programs to generate license keys or to control access to specific features. It returns the host ID in hexadecimal format, with a length of 8 digits.

Basic syntax: hostid

hostname command

It displays or sets the hostname of the system.

Basic syntax: hostname [OPTION]... [NAME]

hostnamectl command

It is used to control and manage the hostname and related settings on a system.

Basic syntax: hostnamectl

hwclock command

It displays or sets the system hardware clock.

Basic syntax: hwclock [OPTIONS]

I

id command

It displays user and group information for the current user or specified user.

Basic syntax: id [OPTION]... [USERNAME]

if command

It is used to execute commands based on conditions. The ‘if COMMANDS‘ list is executed.In shell scripting, the if keyword is typically used with the fi keyword, which marks the end of the if block.

Basic syntax: if: if COMMANDS; then COMMANDS; [ elif COMMANDS; then COMMANDS; ]... [ else COMMANDS; ] fi

ifconfig command

It is used to display or configure network interface parameters.

Basic syntax: ifconfig [INTERFACE] [OPTIONS]

iwconfig command

It is used to configure and display information about wireless network interfaces on a system. It is part of the wireless tools package and is commonly used for managing wireless network connections on Linux systems.

Basic syntax: iwconfig wlan0

info command

It displays documentation for a given topic in the Info format.

Basic syntax: info [OPTION]... [TOPIC]

init command

This command is the parent process of all processes on a Linux system. It is responsible for starting system services, setting the system run level, and managing the system's shutdown process.

Basic syntax: init [OPTION]... [RUNLEVEL]

ip command

This command displays or configures network interface parameters.

Basic syntax: ip [OPTIONS] OBJECT { COMMAND | help }

install command

It copies files and sets their permissions to the specified values.

Basic syntax: install [OPTION]... SOURCE... DESTINATION

ifup command

It enables a network interface.

Basic syntax: ifup [INTERFACE]

ifdown command

It disables a network interface.

Basic syntax: ifdown [INTERFACE]

iftop command

This command is used to monitor network bandwidth usage in real time. It displays the network usage for individual connections, as well as the total bandwidth usage for each network interface.

Basic syntax: iftop [options]

iptables command

It is a firewall utility used to configure the Linux kernel firewall.

Basic syntax: iptables [OPTIONS] [CHAIN] [RULE-SPECIFICATION]

J

jobs command

It shows the lists of the jobs running in the background or suspended.

Basic syntax: jobs [OPTIONS]

join command

This command in Linux is used to join lines of two files on a common field. It takes two input files, each containing sorted data on a specific field, and merges them into a single output file based on the matching field.

Basic syntax: join [OPTIONS] FILE1 FILE2

jexec command

It executes a command inside a jail. Note that this command may not be available on all Linux distributions, as it is primarily used in FreeBSD jails.

Basic syntax: jexec JID COMMAND [ARGUMENTS]

journalctl command

This command is used to view systemd, kernel and journal logs.It displays the paginated output. Therefore it is a bit easy to navigate through a lot of logs. It prints the log in chronological order with the oldest first.

Basic syntax: -- Logs begin at [date_time_stamp], end at [dat_time_stamp] [date_time_stamp] [host_name] kernel:

K

kill command

It sends a signal to a process to terminate it.

Basic syntax: kill [OPTIONS] PID

killall command

It sends a signal to all processes with a specified file name to terminate them.

Basic syntax: killall [OPTIONS] NAME

killall(5) command

It is a variant of the killall command that uses the System V init system. It sends a signal to all processes except those that are excluded, allowing the administrator to terminate all processes at once or to perform a clean shutdown of the system.

Basic syntax: killall5

kpartx command

It maps partitions on the system device.

Basic syntax: kpartx [OPTIONS] DEVICE

kmod command

It allows the users to manage kernel modules.

Basic syntax: kmod [OPTIONS] MODULE

klogd command

It is used to manage kernel log messages.

Basic syntax: klogd [OPTIONS]

kvm_stat command

It displays statistics about KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine).

Basic syntax: kvm_stat [OPTIONS]

L

last command

It is used to display information about recent system logins and user sessions. It shows a list of the most recent logins and logouts for each user, as well as the system reboot history.

Basic syntax: last [options] [username]

less command

It displays the contents of a source file one page at a time.

Basic syntax: less [OPTIONS] FILE

look command

It is used to search for words in a sorted file. It is a simple text search utility that displays lines beginning with a specified search string that occurs in a specified file.

look [options] [search-string] [file]

ls command

It shows the list of files and file names in the current directory.

Basic syntax: ls [OPTIONS] [DIRECTORY]

lsof command

It lists open the source files and the processes that opened them.

Basic syntax: lsof [OPTIONS] [FILE]

ln command

It creates links between files.

Basic syntax: ln [OPTIONS] SOURCE DEST

locate command

It searches for files in a database of file names and file paths.

Basic syntax: locate [OPTIONS] PATTERN

lpr command

It is used to submit files for printing.

Basic syntax: lpr -P myprinter -# 2 -o sides=two-sided-long-edge mydocument.pdf

logrotate command

This command rotates and compresses log files.

Basic syntax: logrotate [OPTIONS] CONFIGFILE

lsmod command

It is used to display the status of kernel modules in the system.

Basic syntax: lsmod [OPTIONS]

lshw command

It is a hardware probing utility that displays detailed information about the hardware configuration of a system. It is short for "list hardware" and is used to diagnose hardware problems or to obtain detailed information about the hardware components installed on a system.

Basic syntax: sudo lshw [options]

M

mkdir command

The mkdir command creates a new directory in the terminal screen after taking file permission. The name of the directory to be created using mkdir command is specified as an argument to the command.

Basic syntax: mkdir [OPTIONS] DIRECTORY

mount command

It mounts a filesystem.

Basic syntax: mount [OPTIONS] DEVICE MOUNTPOINT

more command

It displays the content of a file page by page.

Basic syntax: more [OPTIONS] FILE

man command

It is used to display the manual pages for commands, programs, and other Unix/Linux utilities. It provides a comprehensive reference guide for the various commands and utilities available on a Linux system.

Basic syntax: man [options] [command/program/utility]

mv command

This command moves or renames file names and directories.

Basic syntax: mv [OPTIONS] SOURCE DEST

mknod command

It creates a special file (e.g., a device file).

Basic syntax: mknod [OPTIONS] FILE TYPE [MAJOR MINOR]

modinfo command

It is is used to display information about a kernel module. A kernel module is a piece of code that can be loaded into or unloaded from the Linux kernel at runtime, and provides additional functionality or support for hardware devices.

Basic syntax: modinfo [options] [module-name]

N

nano command

This is a simple command-line text editor that is easy to use.

Basic syntax: nano [OPTIONS] FILE_NAME

nmap command

This command is a network exploration tool and security scanner that can be used to discover hosts and services on a computer network.

Basic syntax: nmap [OPTIONS] TARGET

nl command

It is used to add line numbers to text files, making it easier to reference specific lines of text.

Basic syntax: nl [OPTIONS] FILE

nohup command

This command is used to run a command or script in the background even after you log out.

Basic syntax: nohup COMMAND [OPTIONS] [ARGUMENTS] &

nice command

This command is used to launch a command with a specified priority level.

Basic syntax: nice [OPTIONS] COMMAND

netstat command

This command displays network status information about your system.

Basic syntax: netstat [OPTIONS]

netcat(nc) command

The netcat command in Linux is a versatile networking utility that can be used for a variety of purposes, including transferring files, port scanning, and debugging network protocols.

Basic syntax: nc [options] [host] [port]

O

openssl command

This command is used to provide a secure SSL/TLS communication between servers.

Basic syntax: openssl [OPTIONS] command [ARGS]

openvt command

It is used to open a new virtual terminal (VT) and run a command on it. This command is usually used to launch a text-based application or script that requires its own terminal window.

Basic syntax: openvt [options] [command]

objcopy command

It is used to copy and transform object files. An object file is a file that contains executable or object code that has been compiled from source code.

Basic syntax: objcopy [options] sourcefile destfile

P

passed command

The passwd command in Linux allows you to change the user password, lock accounts, expire passwords, and more.

Basic syntax: passwd [options] [username]

ping command

The ping command is used to test the connectivity between two hosts on a network.

Basic syntax: ping [options] <destination>

paste command

The paste command is a Linux command that is used to merge lines from multiple files.

Basic syntax: paste [options] [file1] [file2]...

pwd command

The pwd command is used to print the current working directory. pwd command is the short form for "print working directory".

Basic syntax: pwd [options]

ps command

The ps command is used to get information about the currently running processes on a Linux system.

Basic syntax: ps [options]

printenv command

It is used to display the values of environment variables in Linux.

Basic syntax: printenv [variable_name]

pushd command

The pushd command is used to add a directory to the top of the directory stack and change the current working directory to the new top directory.

Basic syntax: pushd [directory]

popd command

The popd command is used to remove the top directory from the directory stack and change the current working directory to the new top directory.

Basic syntax: popd [directory]

printf command

The printf command in Linux is used to format and print output to the terminal.

Basic syntax: printf format [argument]...

pkill command

The pkill command is used to send a signal (by default SIGTERM) to processes based on their name or other attributes.It is used to kill the process.

Basic syntax: pkill [options] pattern

Q

quota command

It is used to manage disk quotas on Linux systems.

Basic syntax: quota [options] [username]

quotacheck command

It is used to scan a file system for disk usage information and generate disk quota files.

Basic syntax: quotacheck [options] filesystem

R

read command

It is used to read a line from the standard input , and store it in a variable or a list of variables.

Basic syntax: read [options] [variable...]

route command

It is used to view and manipulate the IP routing table.

Basic syntax: route [options] [add/del] [destination] [netmask] [gateway]

rsync command

It is used to synchronize files and directories between two locations.

Basic syntax: rsync [options] source destination

rmdir command

It is used to remove empty directories.

Basic syntax: rmdir [options] directory

rm command

The rm command is used to remove files or directories. We can implement the rm command as follows:

Basic syntax: rm [options] file(s) or directory

reboot command

The reboot command is a Linux system command that is used to reboot or restart the system. It is typically used to initiate a system reboot after installing updates or making other changes to the system.

Basic syntax: reboot

rename command

It is used to rename multiple files or entire directories at once. It is particularly useful when you need to change the names of a large number of files with similar names.

Basic syntax: rename [options] 's/old_pattern/new_pattern/' files

S

screen command

The screen command is a powerful tool for managing multiple terminal sessions within a single shell window. It allows you to create, manage, and switch between multiple terminal sessions on a single machine or even multiple machines.

Basic syntax: screen [options] [command [arguments]]

scp command

This command secure copy files between hosts on a network.

Basic syntax: scp [options] source_file destination_file

sed command

It is basically stream editor for modifying files.

Basic syntax: sed [options] command [file]

shred command

This command overwrites and deletes the files from the absolute path to prevent recovery.

Basic syntax: shred [options] file

single command

The single command is not a standard Linux command. However, it is a command that can be used in some Linux distributions, such as Debian and Ubuntu, to boot the system into single-user mode.

ssh command

Secure shell for logging into remote machines.

Basic syntax: ssh [user@]hostname [command]

sudo command

It runs command lists with administrative privileges. It is used when you need to run something like a super user.

Basic syntax: sudo [options] command

sort command

It sort lines of text files.

Basic syntax: sort [options] [file]

shutdown command

It is used to shut down or restart a system.

Basic syntax: shutdown [options] [time] [message]

split command

This command split a file into pieces.

Basic syntax: split [options] input_file [prefix]

T

tail command

It displays and prints the last ten lines of a file.The tail command is also used for reading log files in real time.

Basic syntax: tail [options] [filename]

touch command

It creates an empty file or updates a file's modification time.

Basic syntax: touch [options] [filename]

tar command

It creates and extracts archive files.

Basic syntax: tar [options] [filename]

top command

It displays system resource usage and processes.

Basic syntax: top [options]

tee command

It reads from standard input and writes to standard output and files.

Basic syntax: tee [options] [filename]

tr command

It translates or deletes characters in the entire directory.

Basic syntax: tr [options] [string1] [string2]

tree command

It lists the contents of an entire directory in a tree-like format.

Basic syntax: tree [options] [directory]

time command

It is used to measure the execution time of a command. It displays the amount of system time, user time, and real time used by the command.

Basic syntax: time [options] command

timeout command

The timeout command is used to run a command with a time limit. If the command runs longer than the specified time limit, it is terminated.

Basic syntax: timeout [options] duration command

traceroute command

It is used to trace the route that an IP packet takes to reach a specified destination host. The Traceroute command provides information about the intermediate routers that the packet passes through before reaching its destination.

Basic syntax: traceroute [options] host

U

uptime command

The uptime command is used to show how long the system has been running, the current time, the number of users logged in, and the system load averages.

Basic syntax: uptime

unzip command

The unzip command is used to extract files from a ZIP archive.

Basic syntax: unzip [options] filename.zip

uname command

It is used to print certain system information, such as the name and version of the operating system. It can also be used to print information about the processor and machine hardware.

Basic syntax: uname [options]

uniq command

It is used to remove duplicate lines from a file or input stream. It compares adjacent lines and removes the duplicates.

Basic syntax: uniq [options] [file]

useradd command

It is used to create a new user account on a Linux system.

Basic syntax: useradd [options] username

uname command

It is used to print information about the system. The command can be used to display various information such as the operating system name, kernel release, processor type, and system architecture.

Basic syntax: uname [option]

userdel command

It is used to delete a user account and related files from the system. The command removes the user's home directory, user mail spool, and any other files associated with the user.

Basic syntax: userdel [options] username

V

vim command

The vim command is a text editor and stands for "Vi Improved" .It is an improved version of the vi editor. vim is highly configurable and can be used to edit all kinds of text files, including system configuration files, scripts, and source code.

Basic syntax: vim [options] [file]

vdir command

This command in Linux is a variation of the "ls" command, used to list the contents of a directory in a long format, but it displays the information in a vertical format instead of a horizontal format.

Basic syntax: vdir [OPTION]... [FILE]...

vi command

It is widely used text editor that is available on almost all Unix-based systems. It allows users to create and edit files in the terminal or console window.

Basic syntax: vi [options] [file]

W

watch command

This command repeatedly executes a command and displays the output in real time.

Basic syntax: watch [options] command

wc command

This command is used to count the number of lines, words, and characters in a file.

Basic syntax: wc [options] file

wget command

It used to download files from the Internet. It supports downloading over HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP protocols, and it can be used to recursively download entire websites.

Basic syntax: wget [options] [URL]

which command

This command shows the current location of a command.

Basic syntax: which command

who command

This command shows the users who are currently logged in.

Basic syntax: who [options]

whoami command

The whoami command in Linux prints the name of the current user.

Basic syntax: whoami [OPTION]...

whereis command

This command shows the location of a binary, source, and manual page files for a command.

Basic syntax: whereis command

X

xargs command

This command is used to build and execute command lines from standard input. It is commonly used to pass the output of one command as input to another command.

Basic syntax: xargs [options] command [arguments]

xxd command

The xxd command is used to create a hex dump of a given file or standard input, or convert a hex dump back into its original binary form. The command can be useful for viewing the contents of binary files and analyzing them.

Basic syntax: xxd [options] [infile [outfile]]

xz command

The xz command is a command-line tool used in Linux systems to compress and decompress files using the XZ format. The XZ format is a high-performance data compression algorithm that compresses files to a smaller size than other popular compression algorithms like gzip and bzip2.

Basic syntax: xz [OPTION]... [FILE]...

xdg-open command

The xdg-open command is a desktop-independent tool for opening files or URLs in the user's preferred application. It uses the freedesktop.org standards for opening files and URLs with the user's preferred applications, which makes it possible to use it in any desktop environment.

Basic syntax: xdg-open <file or URL>

Y

yes command

The "yes" command outputs a continuous stream of "y" (or another specified string) to the standard output.If the string is not specified, "y" is printed to the standard output. The output can be redirected to a file or piped to another command. The "yes" command is often used in shell scripts to automate user input or to simulate user interaction with a program.

Basic syntax: yes [string]

Z

zcat command

This command is used to display the contents of a compressed file without actually decompressing it.

Basic syntax: zcat [compressed file]

zip command

This command is used to compress one or more files into a zip archive.

Basic syntax: zip [options] [archive name] [files to compress]

zmore command

This command is similar to zcat, but it allows you to scroll through the contents of a compressed file one screen at a time.

Basic syntax: zmore [compressed file]

zless command

This command is similar to zmore, but it allows you to scroll through the contents of a compressed file one line at a time.

Basic syntax: zless [compressed file]

zgrep command

This command is used to search for a pattern in a compressed file.

Basic syntax: zgrep [options] [pattern] [compressed file]

If you find this article informative, we encourage you to share it with your peers. Here are other recommended readings to polish your knowledge of Linux:

• How To Copy A File in Linux | Linux cp Command | Syntax & Options
• How To Unzip A File In Linux | Unzip Syntax | 8 Unzip Commands
• How To Open A File In Linux Using 3 Different Approaches
• How To Delete A File In Linux | How To Remove A Directory
• How To Create A File In Linux: Touch, Cat, Echo, Printf Command