The Top 30 Linux Terminal Commands for Advanced Users

While beginners to Linux can get by with a few basic commands, advanced users depend on a more extensive repertoire of commands to manage their systems efficiently. Below are 30 commands that will be invaluable for advanced Linux users.

System Information

1. top – Real-time system statistics.
2. htop – An interactive improvement on top.
3. lscpu – CPU architecture information.
4. iostat – Input/Output statistics.
5. uname -a – All system information.
6. df -h – Human-readable disk space usage.
7. free -m – Memory usage in megabytes.

Networking

8. netstat – Networking statistics.
9. ss – Socket statistics.
10. dig +domain – DNS lookup.
11. nmap – Network exploration tool and security scanner.
12. tcpdump – Capture and analyze network packets.

File Manipulation

13. awk – A powerful pattern scanning and processing language.
14. sed – Stream editor for filtering and transforming text.
15. grep – Search for patterns within text.
16. rsync – Synchronize files across systems.
17. find – Search for files in a directory hierarchy.
18. dd – Convert and copy a file with low-level data control.

System Performance and Process Management

19. vmstat – Virtual memory statistics.
20. mpstat – Processor related statistics.
21. pidstat – Statistics for Linux tasks (processes).
22. iotop – Monitor I/O usage by processes.
23. nice – Modify process scheduling priority.
24. kill – Send a signal to a process.
25. pkill – Send a signal to a process, based on name or other attributes.

User Management and Permissions

26. usermod – Modify a user account.
27. chown – Change file owner and group.
28. chmod – Change file access permissions.
29. adduser – Add a user or group to the system.
30. visudo – Edit the sudoers file safely.

Bonus: Scripting and Automation

• crontab -e – Edit cron jobs for scheduled tasks.
• bash – GNU Bourne-Again SHell, for scripting.

Conclusion

Mastering these commands can elevate your proficiency in system administration, troubleshooting, and performance monitoring. As you become more comfortable with these commands, you’ll find that they serve as the foundation for effectively managing and analyzing your Linux environments. Remember, the most powerful tool is knowledge—practice these commands and investigate their additional options and parameters to fully harness their potential.