Top 25 Kali Linux Commands and Usage Techniques

Kali Linux is a Debian-derived Linux distribution that is specially designed for digital forensics, penetration testing, security auditing, and cybersecurity operations. Kali Linux was developed by Mati Aharoni and Devon Kearns. and It’s controlled and funded by Offensive Security. There is no alternative OS except Kali Linux for cybersecurity operations. In this article, gives you brief documentation about Kali Linux Commands and usage techniques.

Kali Linux Commands and Usage Techniques

uname Command

You will see basic information about your operating system and system hardware through the uname command. You can learn more about Kernel Name, Node Name, Kernel Release, Kernel Version, Machine, Processor, Hardware Platform, and Operating system through uname -a command. For help, type uname –help and enter.

Command: uname -a | Help: uname –help

users Command

Users command is used to find out which user has logged into the system.

Command: users

whoami Command

whoami command is mainly used to check the user ID. Find out the details using the whoami –help command for help.

Command: whoami | Help: whoami –help

arch Command

The arch command is used to know about the architecture of a computer system. This command will print things like i386, i486, i586, alpha, arm, m68k, mips, sparc, x86_64, depending on the type of your computer.

Command: arch

date Command

date command is used to view the date and time. Type date into the Linux terminal and click Enter to display the current system time and date. It will even show week, month, timezone, and year data.

Command: date

You can set a custom date and time if you want using this following command.

Command: date –set=’26 Dec 2021 18:10′

also you can find out more information about the Date command by using the date –help command.

cal Command

The format of the current month can be printed to a terminal with the cal command. If you type cal in the Linux terminal and click enter, a format of the current month will be printed on the Linux terminal.

Command: cal

pwd Command

pwd stands for “Print Working Directory” which means that this command is used to find out which folder or place we are in Linux.

Command: pwd

ls Command

ls command is one of the most commonly used commands in Linux. this command makes it easy to find all the files list and directories in a folder.

Command: ls

To find out all the hidden files in a directory, you have to use the command ls -a. If you type ls –help in the terminal for help, detailed information you’ll get.

Command: ls -a | Help: ls –help

cd Command

cd means “Change Directory” which means we always have to switch from one directory to another. The cd command is used for switching or changing directories. And cd .. (dot dot) is used to go back to the previous directory.

Command: cd

mkdir Command

You can create new directory with the mkdir command. When working on Linux, we often have to create new directories or folders using the mkdir command. A directory named Papel has been created with mkdir then space below.

Command: mkdir Papel

cat Command

The cat command is used to find out what text is inside a file. The cat> (filename) command is used to create a file.

Command: cat papel.txt

cp Command

The cp command is used to copy something in Linux. After the cp command, enter the file or directory name and then the file’s destination path and the file will be copied. For help, type cp –help and press Enter.

Command: cp | Help: cp –help

mv Command

In Linux, the mv command is used to move something from one directory to another.

Command: mv file (destination path)

rm Command

The rm command is used to remove or delete something in Linux. For help, type rm –help and press Enter. First, type rm and then enter the name of the file, the file will be removed. 

Command: rm papel.txt | Help: rm –help

uptime Command

The uptime command is used to determine how long your system has been running. If you want to see the time in human-readable format, you have to use the uptime -p command. For help, type uptime –help and enter.

Command: uptime -p | Help: uptime –help

sort Command

The sort command is used for line-by-line sorting of the contents of a file. Sort -r is used for reverse sorting. For help, type sort –help and enter.

Command: sort (file) | Help: sort –help

free Command

To know the information on how much RAM is free on our Linux machine and how much physical memory has been used can be found using the free command. For help, type free –help and enter.

Command: free | Help: free –help

dig command

The dig command is used to check the DNS lookup of a website through the Kali Linux terminal. dig means Domain Information Groper.

Command: dig (site)

echo command

This echo command is very important for Kali Linux. It is used to show the print or output of a message.

Command: echo (your message)

apt-get command

apt-get is a package manager used to install, remove, refine, and update packages. apt-get is one of the most important commands in Linux.

Command: apt-get (update/upgrade/install)

useradd command

The useradd command is used to add a new user account to Kali Linux. First, you have to enter useradd with space and username. Then for the password option, enter the passwd command and enter the password to create a new account.

Command: useradd Papel | Command: passwd papel

passwd command

This passwd command is used to change any password on your Kali Linux operating system. If you type passwd in the Linux terminal and enter, first the option of New password: will come, where you have to enter your password, then if you enter it, Retype new password: will come again, then if you enter it again with your password, the new password will be set.

Command: passwd
New password: (your password)
Retype New password: (your password)

unzip command

Many files in Kali Linux are zip files and the unzip command is used to unzip all these files. Again, the zip command is used to make a file a zip file.

Command: unzip papel.zip
Command: zip papel.txt new.txt hello.txt

history Command

The history command is used to view all the commands that have been worked out using Linux terminal.

Command: history

clear command

The clear command is used to clear/delete all previous commands and outputs on the Kali Linux terminal screen.

Command: clear

Let’s know details about Footprinting and Information Gathering