Kali Linux commands Function

A
apropos Search Help manual pages (man -
apt-get Search for and install software packages
aptitude Search for and install software packages
aspell Spell Checker
Find and Replace text, database
awk
sort/validate/index
B
basename Strip directory and suffix from filenam
bash GNU Bourne-Again Shell
bc Arbitrary precision calculator langu
bg Send to background
break Exit from a loop
builtin Run a shell builtin
bzip2 Compress or decompress named fi
C
cal Display a calendar
case Conditionally perform a comman
Concatenate and print (display) the con
cat
files
cd Change Directory
cfdisk Partition table manipulator for Lin
chgrp Change group ownership
chmod Change access permissions
chown Change file owner and group
chroot Run a command with a different root di
chkconfig System services (runlevel)
cksum Print CRC checksum and byte coun
 clear Clear terminal screen
cmp Compare two files
comm Compare two sorted files line by li
command Run a command – ignoring shell func
continue Resume the next iteration of a loo
cp Copy one or more files to another loc
cron Daemon to execute scheduled comm
crontab Schedule a command to run at a late
csplit Split a file into context-determined p
cut Divide a file into several parts
D
date Display or change the date and tim
dc Desk Calculator
Convert and copy a file, write disk heade
dd
records
ddrescue Data recovery tool
declare Declare variables and give them attri
df Display free disk space
diff Display the differences between two
diff3 Show differences among three file
dig DNS lookup
dir Briefly list directory contents
dircolors Colour setup for ls'

dirname Convert a full pathname to just a p

dirs Display list of remembered director
dmesg Print kernel & driver messag
du Estimate file space usage
E
echo Display message on screen
 Search files for lines that match an ext
egrep
expression
eject Eject removable media
enable Enable and disable builtin shell comm
env Environment variables
ethtool Ethernet card settings
eval Evaluate several commands/argum
exec Execute a command
exit Exit the shell
Automate arbitrary applications accesse
expect
terminal
expand Convert tabs to spaces
export Set an environment variable
expr Evaluate expressions
F
false Do nothing, unsuccessfully
fdformat Low-level format a floppy disk
fdisk Partition table manipulator for Lin
fg Send job to foreground
fgrep Search files for lines that match a fixed
file Determine file type
find Search for files that meet a desired c
fmt Reformat paragraph text
fold Wrap text to fit a specified width
for Expand words, and execute comma
format Format disks or tapes
free Display memory usage
fsck File system consistency check and re
ftp File Transfer Protocol
function Define Function Macros
fuser Identify/kill the process that is accessin
G
gawk Find and Replace text within files
getopts Parse positional parameters
grep Search files for lines that match a given
groupadd Add a user security group
groupdel Delete a group
groupmod Modify a group
groups Print group names a user is in
gzip Compress or decompress named fi
H
Remember the full pathname of a n
hash
argument
head Output the first part of files
help Display help for a built-in comman
history Command History
hostname Print or set system name
I
iconv Convert the character set of a fil
id Print user and group id's
if Conditionally perform a comman
ifconfig Configure a network interface
ifdown Stop a network interface
ifup Start a network interface up
Capture an X server screen and save th
import
to file
install Copy files and set attributes
J
jobs List active jobs
 join Join lines on a common field
K
kill Stop a process from running
killall Kill processes by name
L
less Display output one screen at a tim
let Perform arithmetic on shell variab
ln Create a symbolic link to a file
local Create variables
locate Find files
logname Print current login name
logout Exit a login shell
look Display lines beginning with a given s
lpc Line printer control program
lpr Off line print
lprint Print a file
lprintd Abort a print job
lprintq List the print queue
lprm Remove jobs from the print queu
ls List information about files
lsof List open files
M
make Recompile a group of programs
man Help manual
mkdir Create new folders
mkfifo Make FIFOs (named pipes)
mkisofs Create an hybrid ISO9660/JOLIET/HFS fil
mknod Make block or character special fil
more Display output one screen at a tim
 mount Mount a file system
mtools Manipulate MS-DOS files
mtr Network diagnostics (traceroute/pi
mv Move or rename files or directorie
mmv Mass Move and rename files
N
netstat Networking information
nice Set the priority of a command or j
nl Number lines and write files
nohup Run a command immune to hangu
notify-send Send desktop notifications
nslookup Query Internet name servers interact
O
open Open a file in its default applicatio
op Operator access
P
passwd Modify a user password
paste Merge lines of files
pathchk Check file name portability
ping Test a network connection
pkill Stop processes from running
Restore the previous value of the cu
popd
directory
pr Prepare files for printing
printcap Printer capability database
printenv Print environment variables
printf Format and print data
ps Process status
pushd Save and then change the current dir
 pwd Print Working Directory
Q
quota Display disk usage and limits
quotacheck Scan a file system for disk usage
quotactl Set disk quotas
R
ram ram disk device
rcp Copy files between two machine
read Read a line from standard input
readarray Read from stdin into an array varia
readonly Mark variables/functions as readon
reboot Reboot the system
rename Rename files
renice Alter priority of running processe
remsync Synchronize remote files via ema
return Exit a shell function
rev Reverse lines of a file
rm Remove files
rmdir Remove folders
rsync Remote file copy (Synchronize file tr
S
screen Multiplex terminal, run remote shells v
scp Secure copy (remote file copy)
sdiff Merge two files interactively
sed Stream Editor
select Accept keyboard input
seq Print numeric sequences
set Manipulate shell variables and funct
sftp Secure File Transfer Program
 shift Shift positional parameters
shopt Shell Options
shutdown Shutdown or restart linux
sleep Delay for a specified time
slocate Find files
sort Sort text files
source Run commands from a file
split Split a file into fixed-size pieces
ssh Secure Shell client (remote login prog
strace Trace system calls and signals
su Substitute user identity
sudo Execute a command as another us
sum Print a checksum for a file
suspend Suspend execution of this shell
symlink Make a new name for a file
sync Synchronize data on disk with mem
T
tail Output the last part of file
tar Tape Archiver
tee Redirect output to multiple files
test Evaluate a conditional expressio
time Measure Program running time
times User and system times
touch Change file timestamps
top List processes running on the syste
traceroute Trace Route to Host
trap Run a command when a signal is set(b
tr Translate, squeeze, and/or delete char
true Do nothing, successfully
 tsort Topological sort
tty Print filename of terminal on stdi
type Describe a command
U
ulimit Limit user resources
umask Users file creation mask
umount Unmount a device
unalias Remove an alias
uname Print system information
unexpand Convert spaces to tabs
uniq Uniquify files
units Convert units from one scale to ano
unset Remove variable or function nam
unshar Unpack shell archive scripts
until Execute commands (until error)
uptime Show uptime
useradd Create new user account
usermod Modify user account
users List users currently logged in
uuencode Encode a binary file
uudecode Decode a file created by uuencod
V
v Verbosely list directory contents (ls -
vdir Verbosely list directory contents (ls -

vi Text Editor
vmstat Report virtual memory statistics
W
wait Wait for a process to complete
watch Execute/display a program periodic
 wc Print byte, word, and line counts
Search the user's $path, man pages and
whereis
files for a program
which Search the user's $path for a program
while Execute commands
who Print all usernames currently logge
whoami Print the current user id and name (id
Retrieve web pages or files via HTTP, H
wget
FTP
write Send a message to another user
X
Execute utility, passing constructed arg
xargs
lists
Open a file or URL in the user’s prefe
xdg-open
application
Y
yes Print a string until interrupted