Ubuntu Wiki

Here I have a few Terminal commands I've come across in my time using Linux that are very helpful.

Users

• List all users: cat /etc/passwd | grep /home | cut -f1 -d':' | sort

• Change username: sudo usermod -l <new_name> <old_name>

• Change home dir: sudo usermod -d <new_home_dir> <username>

Application Management

• Add LaunchPad PPA: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:<ppa_name>

• List all recently-upgraded packages: cat /var/log/dpkg.log | grep 'upgrade'

• Clean temp dir: sudo aptitude clean

• Distribution/Version upgrade: sudo aptitude full-update

Miscellaneous

• Command help: man <command>

• Make a backup*: sudo cp <filename> <filename>.bak

• Adjust the volume: alsamixer

* SUPER IMPORTANT! Always make backups when editing anything in /etc !!!