15 Essential Linux Command Line Tips and Tricks

Make full use of the OS that powers the internet

Linux is the operating system that powers the web. It’s essential for a software developer to at least have an idea of how Linux works and how to use it. In this article, you’ll find some insights into the Linux command line.

Before we continue, I’ll be assuming you’re using bash. This is the command interpreter that ships by default with all major distributions. Unless you’ve manually changed it, it should be bash.

1. The !!

How many times has it happened to you? After entering and running a long command you find out you forgot to add sudo at the beginning. Well, you can just enter sudo !! and the command line will replace !! with the last command you tried to run:

2. Going Back

Everyone knows that you can go up a directory using cd .. But almost no one knows that with cd - you can go back to the previous directory: