Terminal commands every Dev should know

Published: June 15, 2025

Master the command line and you master your workflow.

🧠 Why the Terminal Matters

Whether you're building websites, shipping APIs, or deploying apps — the terminal is your best friend. It’s not just for “hackers.” The command line is where:

1. Real automation happens
2. Debugging gets powerful
3. Speed and control live

Here are my go-to terminal commands every developer should know — beginner or pro.

⚡ cd, ls, pwd

Navigate like a ninja

1. cd project-folder/ – change into a directory
2. ls -la – list all files (even hidden) with details
3. pwd – show current working directory

🧹 rm, mv, cp, mkdir, touch

Manage files quickly

1. rm -rf folder/ – delete folder and contents ⚠️
2. mv old.js new.js – rename or move files
3. cp index.html backup.html – copy files
4. mkdir assets – creates directory
5. touch README.md – create an empty file

🔍 grep, find, cat, less

Search like Sherlock

1. grep "function" main.js – find text in files
2. find . -name "*.js" – find all JS files
3. cat filename – print file contents
4. less filename – scrollable version of cat

💡 top, htop, ps, kill

Monitor and manage processes

1. top – show running processes
2. htop - a friendlier version (install it!)
3. ps aux – list all processes
4. kill -9 1234 - kill process by PID

🌍 curl, ping, whois, dig

Interact with the network

1. curl https://api.github.com – make HTTP requests
2. ping google.com - test internet connectivity
3. whois domain.com – find domain information
4. dig github.com - DNS lookup

⚙️ chmod, chown

Permissions and ownership

1. chmod +x script.sh – make a file executable
2. chown user:group file.txt - change file ownership

📦 git

Version control life saver

1. git init git status git commit -m "msg"
2. git log --oneline - clean log view
3. git diff - see what’s changed

🧪 Bonus Tools I Love

1. alias – create custom command
2. history | grep clone - find old commands
3. clear - clear the terminal
4. ctrl + r - reverse search your command history 🔥

🏁 Final Thoughts

Knowing terminal commands:

1. Saves time
2. Makes you more resourceful
3. It’s like having superpowers… but for your keyboard.