Basic FAQ for Linux Users
1. How do I log in to a remote server using SSH?
Command:
ssh username@hostname Explanation:
ssh: Secure Shell, a protocol for securely accessing a remote machine.username: Your username on the remote machine.hostname: The address of the remote machine (e.g., IP address or domain name).
2. How do I run graphical applications over SSH?
Command:
ssh -X username@hostname
Explanation:
ssh -X: Enables X11 forwarding, allowing you to run graphical applications on the remote machine and display them on your local machine.
3. How do I copy files from my local machine to a remote server using SCP?
Command:
scp /path/to/local/file username@hostname:/path/to/remote/directory Explanation:
scp: Secure Copy, a command for transferring files securely between hosts./path/to/local/file: Path to the file on your local machine.username@hostname: Your username and the address of the remote machine./path/to/remote/directory: Path to the destination directory on the remote machine.
4. How do I copy files from a remote server to my local machine using SCP?
Command:
scp username@hostname:/path/to/remote/file /path/to/local/directory Explanation:
/path/to/remote/file: Path to the file on the remote machine./path/to/local/directory: Path to the destination directory on your local machine.
5. How do I synchronize directories between my local machine and a remote server using Rsync?
Command to sync local to remote:
rsync -avz /path/to/local/directory username@hostname:/path/to/remote/directory Command to sync remote to local:
rsync -avz username@hostname:/path/to/remote/directory /path/to/local/directory Explanation:
rsync: Remote Sync, a utility for efficiently transferring and synchronizing files across computer systems.-a: Archive mode, which preserves permissions, timestamps, symbolic links, etc.-v: Verbose mode, which provides detailed output of the transfer process.-z: Compression, which compresses file data during the transfer.
6. How do I check the disk space usage of a directory?
Command:
du -sh /path/to/directory
Explanation:
du: Disk Usage, a command to estimate file space usage.-s: Summarize, showing only the total for each argument.-h: Human-readable, showing sizes in KB, MB, or GB.
7. How do I check the available disk space on the file system?
Command:
df -h
Explanation:
df: Disk Free, a command to report file system disk space usage.-h: Human-readable, showing sizes in KB, MB, or GB.
8. How do I find a specific file in my file system?
Command:
find /path/to/search -name "filename"
Explanation:
find: A command to search for files in a directory hierarchy./path/to/search: The directory to start the search.-name "filename": The name of the file to search for.
9. How do I display the contents of a text file?
Command:
cat /path/to/file
Explanation:
cat: Concatenate and display the content of files.
10. How do I monitor real-time system processes?
Command:
top Explanation:
top: A task manager program displaying real-time system summary information and a list of processes or threads currently being managed by the Linux kernel.