Kali Linux Basics: Cheat Sheet for Beginners

Kali Linux Basics: Cheat Sheet for Beginners

💻Kali Linux Basics: Cheat Sheet for Beginners

November 05, 2024

Table of Contents

Command Description Example
pwd Print current directory pwd
ls List directory contents ls
ls -l List contents with details ls -l
ls -a Include hidden files in listing ls -a
cd [directory] Change directory cd Documents
cd .. Move up one directory cd ..
cd ~ Go to the home directory cd ~
mkdir [folder_name] Create a new directory mkdir new_folder
rm [file] Delete a file rm file.txt
rm -r [directory] Remove a directory and contents rm -r old_folder
cp [source] [dest] Copy files or directories cp file1.txt file2.txt
mv [source] [dest] Move or rename files or directories mv file.txt newname.txt

📝 File Operations

Command Description Example
cat [file] Display file contents cat notes.txt
less [file] View contents with scroll option less notes.txt
head -n [num] [file] Show the first n lines of a file head -n 5 notes.txt
tail -n [num] [file] Show the last n lines of a file tail -n 5 notes.txt
nano [file] Open file in nano editor nano notes.txt
vim [file] Open file in vim editor vim notes.txt

🔍 Search for Files and Text

Command Description Example
find [path] -name [filename] Find files by name in a path find / -name file.txt
locate [filename] Quickly locate files (uses index) locate file.txt
grep '[text]' [file] Search text within a file grep 'error' log.txt
grep -r '[text]' [dir] Recursively search text in a directory grep -r 'error' /var/logs

📦 Package Management with APT

Command Description Example
sudo apt update Refresh list of available packages sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade Install updates for all installed packages sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt install [package] Install a specific package sudo apt install vim
sudo apt remove [package] Uninstall a specific package sudo apt remove vim
dpkg -i [file.deb] Manually install a .deb package dpkg -i mypackage.deb
Command Description Example
chmod [mode] [file] Change permissions (rwx) for a file chmod 755 script.sh
chown [user]:[group] [file] Change ownership of a file or directory chown root:staff file.txt
chown -R [user]:[group] [dir] Change ownership for directory and contents chown -R user:user /project

Example of Permissions with chmod

Each number in chmod represents permissions for Owner, Group, and Others:

Number Permissions Meaning
7 rwx Read, Write, Execute
5 r-x Read, Execute
6 rw- Read, Write
4 r-- Read only

Examples

  • chmod 755 file.sh → Owner has full access (7 = rwx); group and others can read and execute (5 = r-x).
  • chmod 644 file.sh → Owner can read and write (6 = rw-); group and others can only read (4 = r--).

📊 System Monitoring

Command Description Example
top Monitor running processes in real-time top
htop Colorized view of running processes htop
df -h Show disk usage in human-readable format df -h
du -sh [directory] Show size of a directory du -sh /home
free -h Show memory usage free -h
uname -a Display system information uname -a
ps aux Show all running processes ps aux

🌐 Network Essentials

Command Description Example
ifconfig Show network interface configuration ifconfig
ip a List IP addresses of interfaces ip a
ping [host] Check connectivity to a host ping google.com
netstat -tuln List open ports netstat -tuln
curl [URL] Fetch data from a URL curl http://example.com
wget [URL] Download files from a URL wget http://example.com/file.zip

💾 File Compression and Archiving

Command Description Example
tar -cvf archive.tar [dir] Create a .tar archive of a directory tar -cvf backup.tar /data
tar -xvf archive.tar Extract contents of a .tar archive tar -xvf backup.tar
gzip [file] Compress a file gzip file.txt
gunzip [file.gz] Decompress a .gz file gunzip file.txt.gz
zip [archive.zip] [file] Compress files into a .zip archive zip archive.zip file.txt
unzip [archive.zip] Extract contents of a .zip file unzip archive.zip

🔧 Process Management

Command Description Example
kill [PID] Terminate a process by its ID kill 1234
pkill [name] Terminate a process by name pkill firefox
bg Move a job to the background bg
fg Bring a background job to the foreground fg
jobs List background jobs jobs

⏰ Scheduling with Cron

Command Description Example
crontab -e Edit the current user’s cron jobs crontab -e
Cron syntax * * * * * command (min, hour, day, month, weekday) */5 * * * * /script.sh

🔑 SSH & Remote Access

Command Description Example
ssh user@host Connect to a remote system ssh user@192.168.1.10
scp [source] user@host:[dest] Copy files to a remote system scp file.txt user@192.168.1.10:/path
rsync -av [source] [dest] Sync files between local and remote systems rsync -av /local user@host:/remote

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