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Common Ubuntu Commands

Master Ubuntu CLI for VPS management with essential commands for file operations, directory navigation, and system administration. Learn powerful command-line tools now.

5 min read

Ubuntu Command-Line Interface for VPS Management

Ubuntu provides a powerful command-line interface (CLI) that serves as the primary management tool for Virtual Private Servers (VPS). The CLI offers comprehensive system control through text-based commands, enabling efficient file management, software installation, system monitoring, and service administration.

Essential File and Directory Commands

Command Description Example
ls Lists files in a directory ls /home/user/Documents/
ls -a Displays all files including hidden ones ls -a ~/
cd Changes to specified directory cd /path/to/directory
pwd Shows current directory path pwd
mkdir Creates new directory mkdir new_folder/
rmdir Removes empty directory rmdir empty_folder/
cp Copies files cp file.txt /backup/
cp -r Copies directories recursively cp -r site/ /var/www/
mv Moves or renames files/directories mv old_file.txt new_location/
rm Deletes files rm unwanted_file.txt
rm -r Removes directories and contents rm -r old_folder/

File Viewing and Editing

Command Description Example
cat Displays complete file contents cat file.txt
less Views file contents page by page less logfile.log
nano Opens file in Nano text editor nano ~/document.txt
vim Opens file in Vim editor vim config.conf
touch Creates empty file touch newfile.txt

Package Management (APT)

Command Description Example
apt update Updates package repository list apt update
apt upgrade Upgrades installed packages apt upgrade
apt install Installs software packages apt install nginx
apt remove Removes packages apt remove apache2
apt autoremove Removes unused dependencies apt autoremove
apt search Searches for packages apt search docker
apt show Displays package information apt show nginx

Process and System Monitoring

Command Description Example
top -c Shows live running processes top -c
htop Enhanced interactive process viewer htop
ps aux Lists all running processes ps aux
ps aux | grep Filters process output ps aux | grep nginx
uptime Shows system uptime and load uptime
free -h Displays memory usage free -h
df -h Shows disk usage by filesystem df -h
du -sh Shows directory size du -sh /var/log

Network Management

Command Description Example
ping Tests network connectivity ping google.com
ip a Displays network interfaces ip a
ss -tuln Lists listening ports ss -tuln
netstat -tuln Shows open ports (legacy command) netstat -tuln
curl Transfers data from URLs curl -I https://vluxon.com
wget Downloads files from web wget https://vluxon.com/file.zip

User and Permission Management

Command Description Example
whoami Shows current username whoami
adduser Creates new user account adduser vluxon
passwd Changes user password passwd vluxon
usermod -aG Adds user to group usermod -aG sudo vluxon
chmod Modifies file permissions chmod 755 script.sh
chown Changes file ownership chown user:user file.txt
su Switches to different user su root
sudo Executes commands as root sudo apt update

Service Management

Command Description Example
systemctl status Checks service status systemctl status nginx
systemctl start Starts service systemctl start nginx
systemctl stop Stops service systemctl stop nginx
systemctl restart Restarts service systemctl restart nginx
systemctl enable Enables service at boot systemctl enable nginx
journalctl -xe Views system logs journalctl -xe

System Control

Command Description Example
reboot Restarts the system reboot
shutdown -h now Shuts down immediately shutdown -h now

Firewall Management

Command Description Example
ufw status Shows firewall status ufw status
ufw enable Activates firewall ufw enable
ufw allow Opens port ufw allow 22
ufw deny Blocks port ufw deny 80

Session and Automation Tools

Command Description Example
screen Creates virtual terminal session screen -S my_workspace
screen -r Reattaches to screen session screen -r my_workspace
tmux Launches terminal multiplexer tmux new -s session1
crontab -e Edits scheduled tasks crontab -e
crontab -l Lists cron jobs crontab -l
history Shows command history history
clear Clears terminal display clear
exit Exits current session exit

These Ubuntu CLI commands provide comprehensive control over VPS environments, enabling efficient server management.

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