Linux commands cheat sheet for sysadmins
Every sysadmin ends up with a folder of half-remembered one-liners. This Linux commands cheat sheet puts 300+ of them in one place, covering files, permissions, users, services, storage, networking, security checks, and change detection. Use the quick reference below, or download the full PDF to keep at your desk.
What’s inside the Linux command line cheat sheet
The PDF covers 25 command groups, from navigation and file handling to LVM, firewalls, SSH, and auditd. It’s built for Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL, Fedora, and SUSE systems, so you’ll find both apt and dnf or rpm equivalents where they differ.
Everyday work
- Navigation, files and directories, view and search
- Pipes and redirection, text processing
- Environment and variables, shell shortcuts
- Terminal multiplexing and editors
Users, access, and security
- Permissions and ownership
- Users and groups
- Security checks
- Firewall, SSH, and transfer
Systems and operations
- Processes and services (systemd)
- Logs (journalctl and files), scheduling
- Disk and storage, LVM and RAID
- Memory and performance, networking
- Packages for Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL, Fedora, and SUSE
- Archives and compression, system info and boot
Change detection
- Spot unexpected changes: hashing, package verification, and auditd rules
Preview: basic Linux commands
Here’s a taste of the basic Linux commands cheat sheet. The full PDF has the rest.
Linux command | What it does |
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List all files with human-readable sizes |
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Search recursively, case-insensitive |
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Find files by name |
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Set permissions (numeric) |
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Check service status |
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Follow service logs |
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Show listening ports and processes |
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Hash a file to baseline it |
Who this Linux terminal commands cheat sheet is for
- Sysadmins who manage Linux servers and want one reference for daily tasks.
- Security and IT operations teams who need quick checks for permissions, logins, and unexpected file changes.
- Engineers new to Linux who want common Linux commands in one place.
Beyond the command line
Commands work one server at a time. Netwrix Change Tracker does the same job across your whole estate, with agents for Windows, Linux, and Unix, and agentless monitoring for network devices.
- File integrity monitoring that flags unauthorized changes to critical files and configurations
- Configuration baselines and drift detection
- Planned vs. unplanned change tracking, with ServiceNow and other ITSM integrations
- Historical change records for fast forensics and root cause analysis
- 250+ prebuilt reports aligned to CIS, DISA STIG, NIST, and more
Linux commands cheat sheet FAQs
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