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A cheat sheet for bash commands.

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RehanSaeed Merge pull request #6 from khairahscorner/airah/minor-fix 832229a · last year

LICENSE Initial commit 5 years ago

README.md fix: minor syntax error in one command last year

README MIT license

Bash Cheat Sheet

A cheat sheet for bash commands.

Command History

!! # Run the last command

touch foo.sh
chmod +x !$ # !$ is the last argument of the last command i.e. foo.sh

Navigating Directories

pwd # Print current directory path

ls # List directories
ls -a|--all # List directories including hidden
ls -l # List directories in long form
ls -l -h|--human-readable # List directories in long form with human readable sizes
ls -t # List directories by modification time, newest first
stat foo.txt # List size, created and modified timestamps for a file
stat foo # List size, created and modified timestamps for a directory
tree # List directory and file tree
tree -a # List directory and file tree including hidden
tree -d # List directory tree
cd foo # Go to foo sub-directory
cd # Go to home directory
cd ~ # Go to home directory
cd - # Go to last directory
pushd foo # Go to foo sub-directory and add previous directory to stack
popd # Go back to directory in stack saved by `pushd`

Creating Directories

mkdir foo # Create a directory

mkdir foo bar # Create multiple directories
mkdir -p|--parents foo/bar # Create nested directory
mkdir -p|--parents {foo,bar}/baz # Create multiple nested directories

mktemp -d|--directory # Create a temporary directory

Moving Directories

cp -R|--recursive foo bar # Copy directory

mv foo bar # Move directory

rsync -z|--compress -v|--verbose /foo /bar # Copy directory, overwrites destination

rsync -a|--archive -z|--compress -v|--verbose /foo /bar # Copy directory, without overwriting destination
rsync -avz /foo username@hostname:/bar # Copy local directory to remote directory
rsync -avz username@hostname:/foo /bar # Copy remote directory to local directory

Deleting Directories

rmdir foo # Delete empty directory

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rm -r|--recursive foo # Delete directory including contents

rm -r|--recursive -f|--force foo # Delete directory including contents, ignore nonexistent files and never prompt

Creating Files

touch foo.txt # Create file or update existing files modified timestamp

touch foo.txt bar.txt # Create multiple files
touch {foo,bar}.txt # Create multiple files
touch test{1..3} # Create test1, test2 and test3 files
touch test{a..c} # Create testa, testb and testc files

mktemp # Create a temporary file

Standard Output, Standard Error and Standard Input

echo "foo" > bar.txt # Overwrite file with content

echo "foo" >> bar.txt # Append to file with content

ls exists 1> stdout.txt # Redirect the standard output to a file

ls noexist 2> stderror.txt # Redirect the standard error output to a file
ls 2>&1 > out.txt # Redirect standard output and error to a file
ls > /dev/null # Discard standard output and error

read foo # Read from standard input and write to the variable foo

Moving Files

cp foo.txt bar.txt # Copy file

mv foo.txt bar.txt # Move file

rsync -z|--compress -v|--verbose /foo.txt /bar # Copy file quickly if not changed
rsync z|--compress -v|--verbose /foo.txt /bar.txt # Copy and rename file quickly if not changed

Deleting Files

rm foo.txt # Delete file

rm -f|--force foo.txt # Delete file, ignore nonexistent files and never prompt

Reading Files

cat foo.txt # Print all contents

less foo.txt # Print some contents at a time (g - go to top of file, SHIFT+g, go to bottom of file, /foo to search for 'foo'
head foo.txt # Print top 10 lines of file
tail foo.txt # Print bottom 10 lines of file
open foo.txt # Open file in the default editor
wc foo.txt # List number of lines words and characters in the file

File Permissions

# Permission rwx Binary

7 read, write and execute rwx 111

6 read and write rw- 110

5 read and execute r-x 101

4 read only r-- 100

3 write and execute -wx 011

2 write only -w- 010

1 execute only --x 001

0 none --- 000

For a directory, execute means you can enter a directory.

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For a directory, execute means you can enter a directory.

User Group Others Description

6 4 4 User can read and write, everyone else can read (Default file permissions)

7 5 5 User can read, write and execute, everyone else can read and execute (Default directory permissions)

• u - User
• g - Group
• o - Others
• a - All of the above

ls -l /foo.sh # List file permissions

chmod +100 foo.sh # Add 1 to the user permission
chmod -100 foo.sh # Subtract 1 from the user permission
chmod u+x foo.sh # Give the user execute permission
chmod g+x foo.sh # Give the group execute permission
chmod u-x,g-x foo.sh # Take away the user and group execute permission
chmod u+x,g+x,o+x foo.sh # Give everybody execute permission
chmod a+x foo.sh # Give everybody execute permission
chmod +x foo.sh # Give everybody execute permission

Finding Files
Find binary files for a command.

type wget # Find the binary

which wget # Find the binary
whereis wget # Find the binary, source, and manual page files

locate uses an index and is fast.

updatedb # Update the index

locate foo.txt # Find a file

locate --ignore-case # Find a file and ignore case
locate f*.txt # Find a text file starting with 'f'

find doesn't use an index and is slow.

find /path -name foo.txt # Find a file

find /path -iname foo.txt # Find a file with case insensitive search
find /path -name "*.txt" # Find all text files
find /path -name foo.txt -delete # Find a file and delete it
find /path -name "*.png" -exec pngquant {} # Find all .png files and execute pngquant on it
find /path -type f -name foo.txt # Find a file
find /path -type d -name foo # Find a directory
find /path -type l -name foo.txt # Find a symbolic link
find /path -type f -mtime +30 # Find files that haven't been modified in 30 days
find /path -type f -mtime +30 -delete # Delete files that haven't been modified in 30 days

Find in Files

grep 'foo' /bar.txt # Search for 'foo' in file 'bar.txt'

grep 'foo' /bar -r|--recursive # Search for 'foo' in directory 'bar'
grep 'foo' /bar -R|--dereference-recursive # Search for 'foo' in directory 'bar' and follow symbolic links
grep 'foo' /bar -l|--files-with-matches # Show only files that match
grep 'foo' /bar -L|--files-without-match # Show only files that don't match
grep 'Foo' /bar -i|--ignore-case # Case insensitive search
grep 'foo' /bar -x|--line-regexp # Match the entire line
grep 'foo' /bar -C|--context 1 # Add N line of context above and below each search result
grep 'foo' /bar -v|--invert-match # Show only lines that don't match
grep 'foo' /bar -c|--count # Count the number lines that match
grep 'foo' /bar -n|--line-number # Add line numbers
grep 'foo' /bar --colour # Add colour to output
grep 'foo\|bar' /baz -R # Search for 'foo' or 'bar' in directory 'baz'
grep --extended-regexp|-E 'foo|bar' /baz -R # Use regular expressions
egrep 'foo|bar' /baz -R # Use regular expressions

Replace in Files

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sed 's/fox/bear/g' foo.txt # Replace fox with bear in foo.txt and output to console
sed 's/fox/bear/gi' foo.txt # Replace fox (case insensitive) with bear in foo.txt and output to console
sed 's/red fox/blue bear/g' foo.txt # Replace red with blue and fox with bear in foo.txt and output to console
sed 's/fox/bear/g' foo.txt > bar.txt # Replace fox with bear in foo.txt and save in bar.txt
sed 's/fox/bear/g' foo.txt -i|--in-place # Replace fox with bear and overwrite foo.txt

Symbolic Links

ln -s|--symbolic foo bar # Create a link 'bar' to the 'foo' folder

ln -s|--symbolic -f|--force foo bar # Overwrite an existing symbolic link 'bar'
ls -l # Show where symbolic links are pointing

Compressing Files

zip
Compresses one or more files into *.zip files.

zip foo.zip /bar.txt # Compress bar.txt into foo.zip

zip foo.zip /bar.txt /baz.txt # Compress bar.txt and baz.txt into foo.zip
zip foo.zip /{bar,baz}.txt # Compress bar.txt and baz.txt into foo.zip
zip -r|--recurse-paths foo.zip /bar # Compress directory bar into foo.zip

gzip
Compresses a single file into *.gz files.

gzip /bar.txt foo.gz # Compress bar.txt into foo.gz and then delete bar.txt
gzip -k|--keep /bar.txt foo.gz # Compress bar.txt into foo.gz

tar -c
Compresses (optionally) and combines one or more files into a single *.tar, *.tar.gz, *.tpz or *.tgz file.

tar -c|--create -z|--gzip -f|--file=foo.tgz /bar.txt /baz.txt # Compress bar.txt and baz.txt into foo.tgz
tar -c|--create -z|--gzip -f|--file=foo.tgz /{bar,baz}.txt # Compress bar.txt and baz.txt into foo.tgz
tar -c|--create -z|--gzip -f|--file=foo.tgz /bar # Compress directory bar into foo.tgz

Decompressing Files

unzip

unzip foo.zip # Unzip foo.zip into current directory

gunzip

gunzip foo.gz # Unzip foo.gz into current directory and delete foo.gz
gunzip -k|--keep foo.gz # Unzip foo.gz into current directory

tar -x

tar -x|--extract -z|--gzip -f|--file=foo.tar.gz # Un-compress foo.tar.gz into current directory

tar -x|--extract -f|--file=foo.tar # Un-combine foo.tar into current directory

Disk Usage

df # List disks, size, used and available space

df -h|--human-readable # List disks, size, used and available space in a human readable format

du # List current directory, subdirectories and file sizes

du /foo/bar # List specified directory, subdirectories and file sizes
du -h|--human-readable # List current directory, subdirectories and file sizes in a human readable format

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du -h|--human-readable # List current directory, subdirectories and file sizes in a human readable format
du -d|--max-depth # List current directory, subdirectories and file sizes within the max depth
du -d 0 # List current directory size

Memory Usage

free # Show memory usage

free -h|--human # Show human readable memory usage
free -h|--human --si # Show human readable memory usage in power of 1000 instead of 1024
free -s|--seconds 5 # Show memory usage and update continuously every five seconds

Packages

apt update # Refreshes repository index

apt search wget # Search for a package
apt show wget # List information about the wget package
apt list --all-versions wget # List all versions of the package
apt install wget # Install the latest version of the wget package
apt install wget=1.2.3 # Install a specific version of the wget package
apt remove wget # Removes the wget package
apt upgrade # Upgrades all upgradable packages

Shutdown and Reboot

shutdown # Shutdown in 1 minute

shutdown now "Cya later" # Immediately shut down
shutdown +5 "Cya later" # Shutdown in 5 minutes

shutdown --reboot # Reboot in 1 minute

shutdown -r now "Cya later" # Immediately reboot
shutdown -r +5 "Cya later" # Reboot in 5 minutes

shutdown -c # Cancel a shutdown or reboot

reboot # Reboot now

reboot -f # Force a reboot

Identifying Processes

top # List all processes interactively

htop # List all processes interactively
ps all # List all processes
pidof foo # Return the PID of all foo processes

CTRL+Z # Suspend a process running in the foreground

bg # Resume a suspended process and run in the background
fg # Bring the last background process to the foreground
fg 1 # Bring the background process with the PID to the foreground

sleep 30 & # Sleep for 30 seconds and move the process into the background
jobs # List all background jobs
jobs -p # List all background jobs with their PID

lsof # List all open files and the process using them
lsof -itcp:4000 # Return the process listening on port 4000

Process Priority
Process priorities go from -20 (highest) to 19 (lowest).

nice -n -20 foo # Change process priority by name

renice 20 PID # Change process priority by PID
ps -o ni PID # Return the process priority of PID

Killing Processes

CTRL+C # Kill a process running in the foreground

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kill PID # Shut down process by PID gracefully. Sends TERM signal.
kill -9 PID # Force shut down of process by PID. Sends SIGKILL signal.
pkill foo # Shut down process by name gracefully. Sends TERM signal.
pkill -9 foo # force shut down process by name. Sends SIGKILL signal.
killall foo # Kill all process with the specified name gracefully.

Date & Time

date # Print the date and time

date --iso-8601 # Print the ISO8601 date
date --iso-8601=ns # Print the ISO8601 date and time

time tree # Time how long the tree command takes to execute

Scheduled Tasks

* * * * *
Minute, Hour, Day of month, Month, Day of the week

crontab -l # List cron tab

crontab -e # Edit cron tab in Vim
crontab /path/crontab # Load cron tab from a file
crontab -l > /path/crontab # Save cron tab to a file

* * * * * foo # Run foo every minute

*/15 * * * * foo # Run foo every 15 minutes
0 * * * * foo # Run foo every hour
15 6 * * * foo # Run foo daily at 6:15 AM
44 4 * * 5 foo # Run foo every Friday at 4:44 AM
0 0 1 * * foo # Run foo at midnight on the first of the month
0 0 1 1 * foo # Run foo at midnight on the first of the year

at -l # List scheduled tasks

at -c 1 # Show task with ID 1
at -r 1 # Remove task with ID 1
at now + 2 minutes # Create a task in Vim to execute in 2 minutes
at 12:34 PM next month # Create a task in Vim to execute at 12:34 PM next month
at tomorrow # Create a task in Vim to execute tomorrow

HTTP Requests

curl https://example.com # Return response body

curl -i|--include https://example.com # Include status code and HTTP headers
curl -L|--location https://example.com # Follow redirects
curl -o|--remote-name foo.txt https://example.com # Output to a text file
curl -H|--header "User-Agent: Foo" https://example.com # Add a HTTP header
curl -X|--request POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d|--data '{"foo":"bar"}' https://example.com # POST JSON
curl -X POST -H --data-urlencode foo="bar" http://example.com # POST URL Form Encoded

wget https://example.com/file.txt . # Download a file to the current directory

wget -O|--output-document foo.txt https://example.com/file.txt # Output to a file with the specified name

Network Troubleshooting

ping example.com # Send multiple ping requests using the ICMP protocol
ping -c 10 -i 5 example.com # Make 10 attempts, 5 seconds apart

ip addr # List IP addresses on the system

ip route show # Show IP addresses to router

netstat -i|--interfaces # List all network interfaces and in/out usage

netstat -l|--listening # List all open ports

traceroute example.com # List all servers the network traffic goes through

mtr -w|--report-wide example.com # Continually list all servers the network traffic goes through
mtr -r|--report -w|--report-wide -c|--report-cycles 100 example.com # Output a report that lists network traffic 100 times

nmap 0.0.0.0 # Scan for the 1000 most common open ports on localhost
nmap 0.0.0.0 -p1-65535 # Scan for open ports on localhost between 1 and 65535
nmap 192.168.4.3 # Scan for the 1000 most common open ports on a remote IP address

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nmap 192.168.4.3 # Scan for the 1000 most common open ports on a remote IP address
nmap -sP 192.168.1.1/24 # Discover all machines on the network by ping'ing them

DNS

host example.com # Show the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses

dig example.com # Show complete DNS information

cat /etc/resolv.conf # resolv.conf lists nameservers

Hardware

lsusb # List USB devices

lspci # List PCI hardware
lshw # List all hardware

Terminal Multiplexers
Start multiple terminal sessions. Active sessions persist reboots. tmux is more modern than screen .

tmux # Start a new session (CTRL-b + d to detach)

tmux ls # List all sessions
tmux attach -t 0 # Reattach to a session

screen # Start a new session (CTRL-a + d to detach)

screen -ls # List all sessions
screen -R 31166 # Reattach to a session

exit # Exit a session

Secure Shell Protocol (SSH)

ssh hostname # Connect to hostname using your current user name over the default SSH port 22
ssh -i foo.pem hostname # Connect to hostname using the identity file
ssh user@hostname # Connect to hostname using the user over the default SSH port 22
ssh user@hostname -p 8765 # Connect to hostname using the user over a custom port
ssh ssh://user@hostname:8765 # Connect to hostname using the user over a custom port

Set default user and port in ~/.ssh/config , so you can just enter the name next time:

$ cat ~/.ssh/config
Host name
User foo
Hostname 127.0.0.1
Port 8765
$ ssh name

Secure Copy

scp foo.txt ubuntu@hostname:/home/ubuntu # Copy foo.txt into the specified remote directory

Bash Profile
• bash - .bashrc
• zsh - .zshrc

# Always run ls after cd

function cd {
builtin cd "$@" && ls
}

# Prompt user before overwriting any files

alias cp='cp --interactive'
alias mv='mv --interactive'

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alias rm='rm --interactive'

# Always show disk usage in a human readable format

alias df='df -h'
alias du='du -h'

Bash Script

Variables

#!/bin/bash

foo=123 # Initialize variable foo with 123

declare -i foo=123 # Initialize an integer foo with 123
declare -r foo=123 # Initialize readonly variable foo with 123
echo $foo # Print variable foo
echo ${foo}_'bar' # Print variable foo followed by _bar
echo ${foo:-'default'} # Print variable foo if it exists otherwise print default

export foo # Make foo available to child processes

unset foo # Make foo unavailable to child processes

Environment Variables

#!/bin/bash

env # List all environment variables

echo $PATH # Print PATH environment variable
export FOO=Bar # Set an environment variable

Functions

#!/bin/bash

greet() {
local world = "World"
echo "$1 $world"
return "$1 $world"
}
greet "Hello"
greeting=$(greet "Hello")

Exit Codes

#!/bin/bash

exit 0 # Exit the script successfully

exit 1 # Exit the script unsuccessfully
echo $? # Print the last exit code

Conditional Statements

Boolean Operators

• $foo - Is true
• !$foo - Is false

Numeric Operators

• -eq - Equals
• -ne - Not equals
• -gt - Greater than
• -ge - Greater than or equal to
• -lt - Less than
• -le - Less than or equal to
• -e foo.txt - Check file exists
• -z foo - Check if variable exists

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String Operators

• = - Equals
• == - Equals
• -z - Is null
• -n - Is not null
• < - Is less than in ASCII alphabetical order
• > - Is greater than in ASCII alphabetical order

If Statements

#!/bin/bash

if [[$foo = 'bar']]; then

echo 'one'
elif [[$foo = 'bar']] || [[$foo = 'baz']]; then
echo 'two'
elif [[$foo = 'ban']] && [[$USER = 'bat']]; then
echo 'three'
else
echo 'four'
fi

Inline If Statements

#!/bin/bash

[[ $USER = 'rehan' ]] && echo 'yes' || echo 'no'

While Loops

#!/bin/bash

declare -i counter
counter=10
while [$counter -gt 2]; do
echo The counter is $counter
counter=counter-1
done

For Loops

#!/bin/bash

for i in {0..10..2}
do
echo "Index: $i"
done

for filename in file1 file2 file3

do
echo "Content: " >> $filename
done

for filename in *;
do
echo "Content: " >> $filename
done

Case Statements

#!/bin/bash

echo "What's the weather like tomorrow?"

read weather

case $weather in
sunny | warm ) echo "Nice weather: " $weather
;;
cloudy | cool ) echo "Not bad weather: " $weather
;;
rainy | cold ) echo "Terrible weather: " $weather

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rainy | cold ) echo Terrible weather: $weather

;;
* ) echo "Don't understand"
;;
esac

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Contributors 2

RehanSaeed Muhammad Rehan Saeed

khairahscorner Airah

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