Kali Linux Basics: Cheat Sheet for Beginners

 

🧭 Navigation & Directory Management

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

🔒 Permissions and Ownership

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