When working with text on the command line, it is sometimes useful to join multiple lines together. Rather than going through text files and manually shifting lines around to be on the same line, our Linux system provides us with multiple tools to simplify this task for us. Log files are a good example of text that is usually split up onto multiple lines, and sometimes it is easier to visualize the data when some lines are joined together. In this tutorial, we will show you several ways to join lines of a file together on a Linux system.
Commands
How to open file explorer from terminal on Linux
Have you ever been in the middle of using your command line terminal, and suddenly needed to open the file explorer? In some cases, it can be easier or more convenient to visualize the contents of a directory from a graphical file explorer, rather than using the ls command or others to sift through the files. Fortunately, Linux gives us an easy way to open a file explorer and have it navigate directly to the directory we are currently viewing in the terminal.
How to quit telnet
The telnet utility, a once common protocol that graced the terminal of every system administrator and power user, was a precursor for the SSH protocol. Since telnet sends all data, including usernames and passwords, over the network in clear text, it is not often used anymore. Despite the other protocols that have come to replace it, telnet remains an ideal utility to test the connection to a certain port of a device, and can be handy in other niche scenarios, or even send an email.
How to pipe output to a file on Linux
When using the Bash shell on a Linux system, we can send the output of a command to somewhere else, by passing it to another command or a file, for example. This is called Bash shell redirection. It is useful in many different scenarios, and is one of the most basic and essential components of learning to use the Bash shell and Bash scripting.
How to switch user on Linux
Linux is a multi user operating system, meaning that it supports having multiple simultaneous user accounts. Some Linux systems may have a few different accounts, and others could have hundreds, depending on the purpose of the system. Switching between user accounts is a common task for Linux administrators who are in charge of user account management, as it allows them to test permissions or troubleshoot problems.
How to switch to root on Linux
Linux users will inevitably need to log into the root account, or use administrator privileges, quite frequently. Tasks like installing or removing software, configuring system settings, adjusting file permissions, and many others usually require access to the root user account in order to perform. The root account can be accessed either by logging directly into the account, or by using the sudo
Linux command to temporarily access root and execute a command with administrator privileges. In this tutorial, we will show you how to change to the root account on a Linux system, and how to use sudo
to execute commands with root privileges.
Who Linux command: Explained
who is a very basic Linux command that is easy to learn and frequently comes in handy for Linux system administrators. It is a good way to see what users are logged into the system and information about each session. In this tutorial, we will explain how to use the who
command on a Linux system, and go over all of its command line options. Follow along with our examples and you will quickly master this command and understand which situations it is most useful in.
Solving the ‘Command Not Found’ Error on Linux
While using the terminal of your Linux system, you will receive the Command Not Found
error whenever a command you are entering is not accessible. In most cases, this could be due to a simple typo, or it could mean that you do not have the command installed yet. It could also indicate that the command is just missing from your system’s PATH environment variable, which is another easy thing to fix.
How to install Signal on Linux
Signal is a free and open source messaging application developed by the Signal Foundation: it is available on all the major operating systems such as Linux, Windows, Android and iOS, and supports all the major features one can expect, such as encryption, the ability to send files and make group calls. All the infrastructure behind Signal is open source, including the messaging protocol and the server software: the source code is available on github.
How to retrieve hardware information with dmidecode on Linux
Dmidecode is a free and open source utility we can use to retrieve hardware information on Linux. The tool is available in the repositories of all the major Linux distributions, and is able to inspect and dump the content of the SMBIOS table.
Basic Linux Commands
Linux beginners may get overwhelmed by the sheer number of commands that are available in the terminal, but most users will find themselves executing the same few commands over and over. If you are looking to get started with the Linux command line, we have listed 20 of the most important and basic commands that you should know. These basic commands are the most essential to learn, and also the ones you will likley find yourself using the most.
How to go to root directory in Linux
The root directory on a Linux system, which is represented by the /
character, is the parent path to all files on the installation’s partition. All operating systems have a root directory. If you are familiar with Windows systems, they use the C:\
path as their root directory.