Abstract
This section contains an alphabetical overview of commands discussed in this document.
Format files for printing on a PostScript printer, see Section 1.2, “Formatting”.
PDF viewer, see Section 1.2.2, “Previewing formatted files”.
Create a new user or update default new user information.
Create a shell alias for a command.
Configure sound card using the ALSA driver, see Section 1.2, “Drivers and Architecture”.
Tune ALSA sound device output, see Section 2.2.3, “Volume control”.
Execute commands periodically, does not assume continuously running machine.
Search the whatis database for strings, see Section 3.3.2, “The whatis and apropos commands”.
APT package handling utility, see Section 5.3.2, “APT”.
Record a sound sample, see Section 2.3, “Recording”.
Spell checker.
Queue, examine or delete jobs for later execution, see Section 1.2.2, “Automatic processes” and Section 4.3, “The at command”.
Adjust audio mixer, see Section 2.2.3, “Volume control”.
Pattern scanning and processing language.
Bourne Again SHell, see Section 2.3.2, “The shell” and Section 2.5, “Shell scripts”.
Queue, examine or delete jobs for later execution, see Section 1.2.2, “Automatic processes”.
Run a job in the background, see Section 1.2.1, “Interactive processes”.
Bitmap editor and converter utilities for the X window System.
A block-sorting file compressor, see Section 1.1.3, “Compressing and unpacking with gzip or bzip2”.
Manage PCMCIA cards, see Section 2.3.3, “PCMCIA commands”.
Concatenate files and print to standard output, see Section 2, “Absolute basics” and Section 2.4, “The most important configuration files”.
Change directory, see Section 2, “Absolute basics”.
An interactive text-mode program for controlling and playing audio CD Roms under Linux, see Section 2.1, “CD playing and copying”.
An audio CD reading utility which includes extra data verification features, see Section 2.1, “CD playing and copying”.
Record a CD-R, see Section 2.2, “Making a copy with a CD-writer”.
Change file attributes.
Change group ownership, see Section 4.2.3, “The file mask”.
Update or query run level information for system services, see Section 2.5.1, “Tools”.
Change file access permissions, see Section 4.1, “Access rights: Linux's first line of defense”, Section 4.2.1, “The chmod command” and Section 4.2.4, “Changing user and group ownership”.
Change file owner and group, see Section 4.2.3, “The file mask”.
Compress files.
Copy files and directories, see Section 3.2, “Creating and deleting files and directories”.
Maintain crontab files, see Section 4.4, “Cron and crontab”.
Open a C shell, see Section 2.3.2, “The shell”.
Remove sections from each line of file(s), see Section 2.5.2, “Some simple examples”.
Print or set system date and time.
Convert and copy a file (disk dump), see Section 2.1.2, “Using the dd command to dump data”.
Report file system disk usage, see Section 1.2.3, “Mount points”.
DHCP client daemon, see Section 3.8, “DHCP”.
Find differences between two files.
Send domain name query packets to name servers, see Section 2.6.1, “The host command”.
Print or control the kernel ring buffer.
Estimate file space usage.
Backup file system, see Section 2.5, “Tools from your distribution”.
Display a line of text, see Section 2.1, “The path”.
Diff to English translator.
Extended grep.
Unmount and eject removable media, see Section 5.5.2, “Using the CD”.
Start the Emacs editor, see Section 1.2.1, “GNU Emacs”.
Invoke subprocess(es), see Section 1.5.1, “Process creation”.
Exit current shell, see Section 2, “Absolute basics”.
Add function(s) to the shell environment, see Section 2.1, “The path”, Section 2.1.2, “Exporting variables” and Section 2.4.2, “Some examples”.
Convert a TIFF facsimile to PostScript, see Section 1.2, “Formatting”.
Format floppy disk, see Section 2.1.1, “Formatting the floppy”.
Partition table manipulator for Linux, see Section 1.2.2, “Partition layout and types”.
Fetch mail from a POP, IMAP, ETRN or ODMR-capable server, see Section 3.2.3, “Mail user-agents”.
Bring a job in the foreground, see Section 1.2.1, “Interactive processes”.
Determine file type, see Section 3.1.2, “More tools”.
Find files, see Section 3.3.3, “Find and locate”.
Web browser, see Section 3.3.2, “Web browsers”.
Create a new process, see Section 1.5.1, “Process creation”.
Mail (re)formatter, see Section 3.2.3, “Mail user-agents”.
Print a random, hopefully interesting adage.
Transfer files (unsafe unless anonymous account is used!)services, see Section 3.4.2, “FTP clients”.
Graphical web browser.
Gnome Display Manager, see Section 2.4, “Init”.
GUI editor, see Section 3.3.3, “But I want a graphical text editor!”.
Control console devices.
Image manipulation program.
Encrypt, check and decrypt files, see Section 4.1.2, “GNU Privacy Guard”.
Print lines matching a pattern, see Section 3.3.4, “The grep command” and Section 3.1, “More about grep”.
Emulate nroff command with groff, see Section 1.2, “Formatting”.
The grub shell, see Section 2.3, “GRUB features” and Section 5.4, “Upgrading your kernel”.
A PostScript and PDF viewer, see Section 1.2.2, “Previewing formatted files”.
Graphical version of the vIm editor, see Section 3.3.3, “But I want a graphical text editor!”.
Compress or expand files, see Section 1.1.3, “Compressing and unpacking with gzip or bzip2”.
Stop the system, see Section 2.6, “Shutdown”.
Output the first part of files, see Section 3.4.3, “The head and tail commands”.
Display help on a shell built-in command.
DNS lookup utility, see Section 2.6.1, “The host command”.
Apache hypertext transfer protocol server, see Section 2.3.1, “The ip command”.
Print real and effective UIDs and GIDs, see Section 4.1, “Access rights: Linux's first line of defense”.
Configure network interface or show configuration, see Section 1.2.3, “PPP, SLIP, PLIP, PPPOE”.
Read Info documents, see Section 3.3.1, “The Info pages”.
Process control initialization, see Section 1.5.1, “Process creation”, Section 2.4, “Init” and Section 2.5, “Init run levels”.
Manage init scripts, see Section 2.5.1, “Tools”.
Display I/O statistics, see Section 3.5.4, “I/O resources”.
Display/change network interface status, see Section 1.2.3, “PPP, SLIP, PLIP, PPPOE”.
IP firewall administration, see Section 4.4.2, “X11 and TCP forwarding”.
IP packet filter administration, see Section 4.4.2, “X11 and TCP forwarding”.
Java archive tool, see Section 1.1.4, “Java archives”.
List backgrounded tasks.
Desktop manager for KDE, see Section 2.4, “Init”.
KDE graphical editor, see Section 3.3.3, “But I want a graphical text editor!”.
Terminate process(es), see Section 1.2.1, “Interactive processes”.
File manager, (help) browser, see Section 3.2.1, “Making a mess...”.
Open a Korn shell, see Section 2.3.2, “The shell”.
KDE graphical editor, see Section 3.3.3, “But I want a graphical text editor!”.
more with features, see Section 3.4.2, ““less is more””.
Linux boot loader, see Section 2, “Boot process, Init and shutdown”.
Text mode WWW browser, see Section 2.3.2, “The ifconfig command”.
Make links between files, see Section 3.5, “Linking files”.
Load keyboard translation tables, see Section 4.1, “Keyboard setup”.
Find files, see Section 3.3.3, “Find and locate” and Section 4.4, “Cron and crontab”.
Close current shell, see Section 1.3, “Text mode”.
Send requests to the LP print service, see Section 1, “Printing files”.
Line printer control program, see Section 1, “Printing files”.
Print spool queue examination program, see Section 1, “Printing files”.
Offline print, see Section 1, “Printing files”.
Remove print requests, see Section 1, “Printing files”.
List directory content, see Section 2, “Absolute basics”, Section 1.1.2, “Sorts of files” and Section 3.1.1, “More about ls”.
Text mode WWW browser, see Section 2.3.2, “The ifconfig command”.
Send and receive mail, see Section 3.2.3, “Mail user-agents”.
Read man pages, see Section 3.2, “The man pages”.
Midnight COmmander, file manager, see Section 3.2.1, “Making a mess...”.
Copy MSDOS files to/from Unix.
Display an MSDOS directory.
Display memory usage, see Section 3.5.3, “Memory resources”.
Display memory usage statistics, see Section 3.5.3, “Memory resources”.
Control write access to your terminal, see Section 1.6, “SUID and SGID”.
Add an MSDOS file system to a low-level formatted floppy disk, see Section 2.1.1, “Formatting the floppy”.
Creates a stand-alone boot floppy for the running system.
Create directory, see Section 3.2, “Creating and deleting files and directories”.
Create a hybrid ISO9660 filesystem, see Section 2.2, “Making a copy with a CD-writer”.
Movie player/encoder for Linux, see Section 2.2, “Playing music files” and Section 3, “Video playing, streams and television watching”.
Filter for displaying text one screen at the time, see Section 3.4.2, ““less is more””.
Mount a file system or display information about mounted file systems, see Section 5.5.1, “Mounting a CD”.
Web browser, see Section 2.3.2, “The ifconfig command”.
Control magnetic tape drive operation.
Network diagnostic tool.
Rename files, Section 3.2, “Creating and deleting files and directories”.
Internet domain name server, see Section 3.7, “The Domain Name System”.
File manager, see Section 3.2.1, “Making a mess...”.
Browser program for ftp services (insecure!), see Section 3.4.2, “FTP clients”.
Print network connections, routing tables, interface statistics, masquerade connections, and multi-cast memberships, see Section 1.2.5, “AppleTalk” and Section 4.2, “Rsh, rlogin and telnet”.
Log in to another group, see Section 4.2.2, “Logging on to another group”.
Print statistics about networked file systems.
Run a program with modified scheduling priority, see Section 3.5.1, “Priority”.
Network exploration tool and security scanner.
Network Time Protocol Daemon, see Section 4.3, “Date and time zone”.
Set the date and time via an NTP server, see Section 4.3, “Date and time zone”.
Simple interface for configuring run levels, see Section 2.5.1, “Tools”.
DVD player with support for DVD menus, see Section 3, “Video playing, streams and television watching”.
Change password, see Section 2, “Absolute basics” and Section 1.6, “SUID and SGID”.
Manage PCMCIA cards, see Section 2.3.3, “PCMCIA commands”.
Ghostscript PDF to PostScript translator, see Section 1.2, “Formatting”.
Practical Extraction and Report Language.
Page through text output, see Section 3.4.2, ““less is more””.
Look up processes based on name and other attributes, see Section 1.4, “Displaying process information”.
Send echo request to a host, see Section 2.6.2, “The ping command”.
Play a sound sample, see Section 2.3, “Recording”.
Convert text files for printing.
Print all or part of environment, see Section 2.1, “Environment variables”.
Autonomous mail processor, see Section 3.2.3, “Mail user-agents”.
Report process status, see Section 1.4, “Displaying process information” and Section 3.5.4, “I/O resources”.
Display a tree of processes, see Section 1.4, “Displaying process information”.
Print present working directory, see Section 2, “Absolute basics”.
Display disk usage and limits, see Section 2.3.3, “Your home directory”.
Remote copy (unsafe!)
Remote Desktop Protocol client, see Section 4.6, “The rdesktop protocol”.
Stop the system, see Section 2.6, “Shutdown”.
Convert files to another character set, see Section 4.4, “Language”.
Alter priority of a running process, see Section 3.5.1, “Priority”.
Restore backups made with dump, see Section 2.5, “Tools from your distribution”.
Remote login (telnet, insecure!), see Section 4.2, “Rsh, rlogin and telnet” and Section 5.2, “Services”.
Remove a file, see Section 3.2, “Creating and deleting files and directories”.
Remove a directory, see Section 3.2.2, “The tools”.
A survey of the roff typesetting system, see Section 1.2, “Formatting”.
RPM Package Manager, see Section 5.2.1, “RPM packages”.
Remote shell (insecure!), see Section 4.2, “Rsh, rlogin and telnet”.
Synchronize two directories, see Section 3, “Using rsync”.
Secure remote copy, see Section 4.4.1, “Introduction”.
Screen manager with VT100 emulation, see Section 1.2.1, “Interactive processes”.
Display, set or change variable.
Set terminal attributes.
Secure (encrypted) ftp, see and Section 4.4.1, “Introduction”.
Open a standard shell, see Section 2.3.2, “The shell”.
Bring the system down, see Section 2.6, “Shutdown”.
Wait for a given period, see Section 4.1, “Use that idle time!”.
Security Enhanced version of the GNU Locate, see Section 3.3.3, “Find and locate”.
text mode Usenet client, see Section 2.6, “Other hosts”.
Network intrusion detection tool.
Sort lines of text files, see Section 3.2, “Filtering output”.
Spell checker, see Section 1.2.3, “Combining redirections”.
Secure shell, see Section 4.4.1, “Introduction”.
Authentication key generation, management and conversion, see Section 4.4.5, “Authentication keys”.
Change and print terminal line settings.
Switch user, see Section 2.1, “The path”, Section 5.3.2, “APT” and Section 4.6, “The rdesktop protocol”.
Concatenate and print files in reverse, see cat.
Output the last part of files, see Section 3.4.3, “The head and tail commands”.
Talk to a user.
Archiving utility, see Section 1.1.1, “Archiving with tar”.
Open a Turbo C shell, see Section 2.3.2, “The shell”.
Process control initialization, see Section 2.5, “Init run levels”.
User interface to the TELNET protocol (insecure!), see Section 4.2, “Rsh, rlogin and telnet”.
Text formatting and typesetting, see Section 1.2, “Formatting”.
Time a simple command or give resource usage, see Section 3.2, “How long does it take?”.
News reading program, see Section 2.6, “Other hosts”.
Display top CPU processes, see Section 1.4, “Displaying process information”, Section 3.5.3, “Memory resources” and Section 3.5.4, “I/O resources”.
Change file timestamps, see Section 1.2, “Make space”.
Print the route packets take to network host, see Section 2.6.3, “The traceroute command”.
A file integrity checker for UNIX systems, see Section 4.5, “VNC”.
Format documents, see Section 1.2, “Formatting”.
A high quality television application.
Tab Window Manager for the X Window System.
Controll resources, see Section 1.2.5, “Limit file sizes”.
Set user file creation mask, see Section 4.2.2, “Logging on to another group”.
Unmount a file system.
Decompress compressed files.
Remove duplicate lines from a sorted file, see Section 3.2, “Filtering output”.
Update RPM packages, see Section 5.3.3, “Systems using RPM packages”.
Kernel daemon to flush dirty buffers back to disk.
Configure init scripts, see Section 2.5.1, “Tools”.
Display system uptime and average load, see Section 1.4, “Displaying process information” and Section 3.5.2, “CPU resources”.
Update RPM packages, see Section 5.3.3, “Systems using RPM packages”.
Delete a user account and related files.
Start the vi (improved) editor, see Section 1.2.2, “Vi(m)”.
The Vim tutor.
Report virtual memory statistics, see Section 3.5.4, “I/O resources”.
Show who is logged on and what they are doing.
Send a message to everybody's terminal, see Section 1.6, “SUID and SGID”.
Print the number of bytes, words and lines in files, see Section 2.1, “The path”.
Shows the full path of (shell) commands, see Section 2.1, “The path” and Section 3.3.2, “Which”.
Show who is logged on, see Section 1.6, “SUID and SGID”.
Print effective user ID.
Query a whois or nicname database, see Section 2.6.4, “The whois command”.
Send a message to another user, see Section 1.6, “SUID and SGID”.
Build and execute command lines from standard input, see Section 3.3.3, “Find and locate”.
X authority file utility.
An X11 program for watching TV.
Graphical front end to cdrecord, see Section 2.2, “Making a copy with a CD-writer”.
Analog/digital clock for X.
Monitor system console messages with X.
X Display Manager with support for XDMCP, host chooser, see Section 2.4, “Init” and Section 3.2, “The X Window System”.
DVI viewer, see Section 1.2.2, “Previewing formatted files”.
X Window graphical editor, see Section 3.3.3, “But I want a graphical text editor!”.
X font server.
Server access control program for X, see Section 4.3.2, “Telnet and X”.
A free video player, see Section 3, “Video playing, streams and television watching”.
The extended Internet services daemon, see Section 3.1.2, “(x)inetd”.
System load average display for X, see Section 3.5.6, “Graphical tools”.
Server font list displayer for X.
Audio player for X, see Section 2.2.1, “mp3 files”.
PDF viewer, see Section 1.2.2, “Previewing formatted files”.
Terminal emulator for X.
System administration tool on Novell SuSE Linux.
Update RPM packages, see Section 5.3.3, “Systems using RPM packages”.