Beginner-Friendly Unix Commands Guide (Step-by-Step with Examples) – Start Your DevOps & Cloud Journey

 

If you are starting your journey into DevOps, Cloud, or Software Development, learning Unix/Linux commands is the first and most important step.

This guide explains commands in a step-by-step way, so even a complete beginner can follow along and practice.

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🧭 Step 1: Open Terminal

• On Linux/Mac → Open Terminal

• On Windows → Use Git Bash / WSL

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📁 Section 1: File & Folder Basics (Start Here)

🔹 1. Check Current Location

pwd

👉 Output:

/home/user

✔️ This shows where you are currently working.

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🔹 2. List Files

ls

👉 Shows all files in current folder

ls -l

👉 Detailed view (size, permissions)

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🔹 3. Create a Folder

mkdir project

👉 Now check:

ls

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🔹 4. Go Inside Folder

cd project

👉 Verify:

pwd

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🔹 5. Create a File

touch app.txt

👉 Check:

ls

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📄 Section 2: Working with Files

🔹 6. Add Content to File

echo "Hello DevOps" > app.txt

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🔹 7. View File Content

cat app.txt

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🔹 8. Edit File

vi app.txt

👉 Press:

• i → insert mode

• Edit text

• ESC → :wq → save & exit

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🔹 9. Copy File

cp app.txt backup.txt

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🔹 10. Rename File

mv backup.txt newbackup.txt

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🔹 11. Delete File

rm newbackup.txt

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🔍 Section 3: Searching & Logs

🔹 12. Search Text in File

grep "Hello" app.txt

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🔹 13. Find Files

find . -name "*.txt"

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🔹 14. View Logs Live (Very Important)

tail -f app.txt

👉 Used in real-time debugging

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⚙️ Section 4: System Monitoring

🔹 15. Check Running Processes

ps aux

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🔹 16. Monitor System

top

👉 Shows:

• CPU usage

• Memory usage

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🔹 17. Kill Process

kill 1234

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🔹 18. Check Memory

free -m

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🔹 19. Check Disk

df -h

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🌐 Section 5: Networking

🔹 20. Test Internet

ping google.com

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🔹 21. Call API

curl https://api.github.com

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🔹 22. Download File

wget https://example.com/file.zip

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📦 Section 6: Compression

🔹 23. Create Archive

tar -cvf files.tar project/

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🔹 24. Extract Archive

tar -xvf files.tar

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🔐 Section 7: Permissions

🔹 25. Change Permissions

chmod 755 app.txt

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🔹 26. Change Owner

chown user app.txt

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🔁 Real Beginner Practice (Do This Step-by-Step)

mkdir demo
cd demo
touch test.txt
echo "Learning Unix" > test.txt
cat test.txt
cp test.txt copy.txt
ls
rm copy.txt

👉 If you can do this, you’ve started your DevOps journey 🚀

 

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🎓 How Beginners Benefit

• Understand how servers work

• Gain confidence in command line

• Prepare for DevOps & Cloud roles

• Improve debugging skills

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🏫 Learn with Eduarn.com

At Eduarn.com, we provide:

✅ Retail Training (individual learners)
✅ Corporate Training (teams & companies)
✅ Hands-on DevOps, Cloud, and AI programs

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🤖 EduArn LMS Features

• AI-based test evaluation

• Practical labs

• Real-time project scenarios

• Beginner-friendly structured learning

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🌟 Final Thoughts

Start small. Practice daily.

👉 Even 30 minutes of command-line practice can transform your career path into DevOps and Cloud.

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💡 Next Step: Practice these commands daily and try them on your system.

 

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