3.2: Linux (Raspbian) Commands

Last updated
Save as PDF

Page ID: 204673

Contributed by Robert Belford
Professor (Chemistry) at University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Keyboard Shortcuts

<ctrl><alt><t> - opens the command line terminal

<ctrl>l Clear screen

<ctrl> u wipes out from where you are to the beginning

<ctrl>a jump to beginning of a line

<ctrl> e goes to end of line

<ctrl>C - kills a running command.

Your Rapsberry Pi using Raspbian, which is a type of Linux operating system.

Note: these commands have been adapted from multiple resources on the web, including but not limited to

https://raspberrytips.com/raspberry-pi-commands/#Raspbian_commands

File Management

cat<file>: Displays content of a file (concatenate)
```
cat /home/pi/readme.txt
```

cd<path>: change directory (directs to specific directory in tree)
```
cd /home/pi
cd   #by itself takes you home
```

cp<file or directory><destination>: Copies file or directory to new location, to include subfolders (all content) you need to add -r (recursive)

cp file.txt /home/pi/mydocuments
cp /home/pi/mydocuments/file.txt /home/pi/experiment_folder
cp -r /home/pi/mydocuments/ /home/pi/experiment_folder

find <file name>
Needs to be developed
grep <string><location>: (Global Regular Expression Print) Finds a string in a file or script
Needs to be developed

head <file>: Displays the head (beginning of a file)

head /home/experiments/lab1.txt
head -n20 /home/experiments/lab1.txt       (displays first 20 lines of lab1.txt

ls: list files and directories in the current folder (or a specific folder if specified)

ls
ls /home/pi
ls -1     (one, to make a single column)
ls -l      (long, to list info)
ls -l -a   (long and all, to include hidden files

mkdir <folder>: creates a new subfolder in the current folder, or the specified folder
```
mkdir <new folder name.>
mkdir /home/pi <new folder name
```

more<file>: Displays content of file, use enter or space to scroll through pages, q to quit. Often useful for monitoring logfiles
```
more /file_directory/filename.ext
more /var/log/slyslo
```

mv<source><destination>: moves a file or directory to a new location

mv /home/pi/work/myfile.txt / /hom/pi/experiments/
mv /home/pi/work/ /home/pi/experiments/

nano<file>: Linux text editor (CTRL+O, Enter of CRTL +X saves changes)
```
nano /home/pi/myscript.sh
```

pwd: Print current Working Directory (shows what directory you are in
```
pwd
```

rm <file>: Deletes file, to delete a folder use -rf (recursive force)
```
rm myscipt.sh
rm -rf /home/pi/scripts
```

tail <file>: displays the end of a file (useful for seeing latest entries on logfiles)

tail /var/log/syslog
tail -n20 /var/log/syslog       (display twenty lines)
tail -f /var/sys/syslof            (displays new lines in real time)

tar

tar -c: store tar (compressed) files

tar -cvfz arcjove/tar/gz /home/pi/Documents/mydirectory
    -c creates archive
    -v verbose
    -f filename of archive to follow
    -z compress files with gzip

tar -x: extract files
```
tar -xvfz archive.tar.gz
```

tree: shows tree in directories
```
tree
```

General Commands

clear : clears terminal screen
date : gives current date
history : Gives a history of commands the last time the pi was run
poweroff : Shuts the Pi down (Need to find keyboard shortcut)

Network Commands

The Pi comes with two Network Interfaces, ethernet (eth0) and WiFi (wlan0)

Configuration

ipconfig: Diplays current IP donfiguation (ip a) is shortcut
```
ifconfig
ip a
```
ping<ip>: Sends ping package to another IP on network to see if host is up
```
ping 111.111.1.1
```

File Transfer-Remote Connection

wget<url> allows you to download a file from internet
```
wget https://URL
```
ssh<user>@<ip>: Protocol to allow you to remotely connect to computer over web.
```
ssh root@111.111.1.1
```

Package Management

apt-get install <package> installs a package
```
sudo apt-get install phpmyadmin
```
apt-get remove <package> removes previously installed package
apt-cache search <package name> searches for package name in package list (repository)
```
sudo apt-get search php
```
dpkg -l List installed packages on system. Can be used with grep to find specific package
dpkg -l
dpkg -l | grep myadmin

Raspbian Commands

raspi-config: allows you to manage configuation from terminal or ssh
```
sudo raspi-config
```
raspi-gpio: Allows you to control gpio ports
Need to develop
raspistill: takes an image with camera plugged to pi camera port
```
raspistill -o imag.jpg
```
raspivid: takes a video with camera, the time is in milliseconds
```
raspivid -o video.h264 -t 10000   
```
raspividyuv or raspiyuv: allows video stream
```
raspividyuv -o video.yuv
```

System Management

htop: displays information on running processes (like top, but has more info)
```
htop
```

kill <pid>: kills a process by it's process ID (which you can get with the ps command)

kill 12345      (Kills process ID 12345, but does not step the script and goes onto the next command of the program)
kill 12345 -9  (Kills process 12345 and exits the program)

ps: displays running processes, to display everything
```
 ps aux
```
to display a specific user
```
ps -u pi
```
reboot : reboots the pi
```
sudo reboot
```
service <service name><action>: Allows you to start/stop services
service apache 2 start
service apache 2 stop
service apache2: (shows actions available for a service)
service apache 2
- update-rc.d<service><action>: On Debian, allows you to start/stop service on system boot
  sudo update-rc.d ssh enable
- update-rc.d -f ssh remove: Disables start of service (-f option "forces")
  sudo update-rc.d -f ssh remove

NOTE: These commands are only for services, to start other scripts/commands on boot you need to edit the local etc/rc/local file
sudo nano /etc/rc.local

shutdown -h now : shuts down (halts) the pi
```
sudo shutdown -h now
```
shutdown -h <time> : shuts the Pi at specific time
```
sudo shutdown -h 08:00
```
shutdown -r : shuts down and reboots the pi
sudo shutdown -r
vcgencmd measure_temp: Displays current CPU temperature
```
vcgencmd measure_temp
```

System Updates

apt-get update: Use to synchronize your list of packages with the most, should be run before upgrading packages to ensure you have the most recent versions
```
sudo apt-get update
```
apt-get upgrade: Upgrades installed software packages
```
sudo apt-get upgrade
```
rpi-update: Updates everything (only use if you know what you are doing)