All Kali Linux Commands (A-Z)

Kali Linux Commands are very useful if you are using the terminal in Linux Kali distribution. Kali
Commands PDF is a very handy way to use Linux Kali Commands.

Kali Linux – two words combined together. This suggests a twofold activity. One is digital forensics
and the other is penetration testing. It encompasses other activities such as Security Auditing and
research, Computer Forensics and Reverse Engineering. The whole process is funded by
Offensive Security Limited and is specifically designed to meet the security needs and audits. To
describe in layman terms, Kali Linux is an operating system that was initially known as
BackTrack. Though it is similar to other Linux based systems, it has a unique feature that is
entirely different. It has free hacking tools that are most needed or used by black hat hackers. The
security tools used are Armitage, Aircrack-ng, and Burp Suite and so on. In addition, the changes
or updates made in Kali Linux are basically to fulfill specific needs such as:

1. Single root user: Because of security concerns, many penetration tests need extra
privileges and so single root user is considered a privilege.
2. Disable network services: Kali Linux has unique system hooks that disable network
services including Bluetooth.
3. Minimal repositories: Since the integrity of the system has to be maintained at all cost, the
upstream software sources set is kept at a minimum.

List of Kali Linux Commands from A to Z:

Here is the list of all top-level Linux Kali commands from letter A to Z in alphabetical order. You
can also download the Kali Commands PDF by clicking the download button given below so it will
be easier for you to access the next time you want it.

Kali Linux commands Function

 apropos  Search Help manual pages (man -k)

 apt-get  Search for and install software packages (Debian)

 aptitude  Search for and install software packages (Debian)

 aspell  Spell Checker

 awk  Find and Replace text, database sort/validate/index

 basename  Strip directory and suffix from filenames

 bash  GNU Bourne-Again Shell

 bc  Arbitrary precision calculator language

 bg  Send to background

 break  Exit from a loop

 bzip2  Compress or decompress named files

 cal  Display a calendar

 case  Conditionally perform a command

 cat  Concatenate and print (display) the content of files

 cd  Change Directory

 cfdisk  Partition table manipulator for Linux

 chgrp  Change group ownership

 chmod  Change access permissions

 chown  Change file owner and group

 chroot  Run a command with a different root directory

 chkconfig  System services (runlevel)

 cksum  Print CRC checksum and byte counts

 clear  Clear terminal screen

 cmp  Compare two files

 comm  Compare two sorted files line by line

 command  Run a command – ignoring shell functions

 continue  Resume the next iteration of a loop

 cp  Copy one or more files to another location

 cron  Daemon to execute scheduled commands

 crontab  Schedule a command to run at a later time

 csplit  Split a file into context-determined pieces

 cut  Divide a file into several parts

 date  Display or change the date and time

 dc  Desk Calculator

 dd  Convert and copy a file, write disk headers, boot records

 ddrescue  Data recovery tool

 declare  Declare variables and give them attributes

 diff  Display the differences between two files

 diff3  Show differences among three files

 dig  DNS lookup

 dir  Briefly list directory contents

 dircolors  Colour setup for `ls’

 dirname  Convert a full pathname to just a path

 dirs  Display list of remembered directories

 dmesg  Print kernel & driver messages

 du  Estimate file space usage

 echo  Display message on screen

 egrep  Search files for lines that match an extended expression

 eject  Eject removable media

 enable  Enable and disable builtin shell commands

 env  Environment variables

 ethtool  Ethernet card settings

 eval  Evaluate several commands/arguments

 exec  Execute a command

 exit  Exit the shell

 expect  Automate arbitrary applications accessed over a terminal

 expand  Convert tabs to spaces

 export  Set an environment variable

 expr  Evaluate expressions

 false  Do nothing, unsuccessfully

 fdformat  Low-level format a floppy disk

 fdisk  Partition table manipulator for Linux

 fg  Send job to foreground

 fgrep  Search files for lines that match a fixed string

 find  Search for files that meet a desired criteria

 fmt  Reformat paragraph text

 fold  Wrap text to fit a specified width

 for  Expand words, and execute commands

 format  Format disks or tapes

 free  Display memory usage

 fsck  File system consistency check and repair

 ftp  File Transfer Protocol

 function  Define Function Macros

 fuser  Identify/kill the process that is accessing a file

 gawk  Find and Replace text within files

 getopts  Parse positional parameters

 grep  Search files for lines that match a given pattern

 groupadd  Add a user security group

 groupdel  Delete a group

 groupmod  Modify a group

 groups  Print group names a user is in

 gzip  Compress or decompress named files

 hash  Remember the full pathname of a name argument

 head  Output the first part of files

 help  Display help for a built-in command

 history  Command History

 hostname  Print or set system name

 iconv  Convert the character set of a file

 id  Print user and group id’s

 if  Conditionally perform a command

 ifdown  Stop a network interface

 ifup  Start a network interface up

 import  Capture an X server screen and save the image to file

 install  Copy files and set attributes

 jobs  List active jobs

 join  Join lines on a common field

 kill  Stop a process from running

 killall  Kill processes by name

 less  Display output one screen at a time

 let  Perform arithmetic on shell variables

 ln  Create a symbolic link to a file

 local  Create variables

locate  Find files (Linux Kali Commands)

 logname  Print current login name

 logout  Exit a login shell

 look  Display lines beginning with a given string

 lpc  Line printer control program

 lpr  Off line print

 lprint  Print a file

 lprintd  Abort a print job

 lprintq  List the print queue

 lprm  Remove jobs from the print queue

 ls  List information about files

 lsof  List open files

 make  Recompile a group of programs

 mkdir  Create new folders

 mkfifo  Make FIFOs (named pipes)

 mkisofs  Create an hybrid ISO9660/JOLIET/HFS filesystem

 mknod  Make block or character special files

 more  Display output one screen at a time

 mount  Mount a file system

 mtools  Manipulate MS-DOS files

 mtr  Network diagnostics (traceroute/ping)

 mv  Move or rename files or directories

 mmv  Mass Move and rename files

 netstat  Networking information

 nice  Set the priority of a command or job

 nl  Number lines and write files

 nohup  Run a command immune to hangups

 notify-send  Send desktop notifications

 nslookup  Query Internet name servers interactively

 open  Open a file in its default application

 op  Operator access

 passwd  Modify a user password

 paste  Merge lines of files

 pathchk  Check file name portability

 ping  Test a network connection

 pkill  Stop processes from running

 popd  Restore the previous value of the current directory

 pr  Prepare files for printing

 printcap  Printer capability database

 printf  Format and print data

 ps  Process status

 pushd  Save and then change the current directory

 pwd  Print Working Directory

 quota  Display disk usage and limits

 quotacheck  Scan a file system for disk usage

 quotactl  Set disk quotas

 ram  ram disk device

 rcp  Copy files between two machines

 read  Read a line from standard input

 readarray  Read from stdin into an array variable

 readonly  Mark variables/functions as readonly

 reboot  Reboot the system

 rename  Rename files

 renice  Alter priority of running processes

 remsync  Synchronize remote files via email

 return  Exit a shell function

 rev  Reverse lines of a file

 rm  Remove files

 rmdir  Remove folders

 rsync  Remote file copy (Synchronize file trees)

 screen  Multiplex terminal, run remote shells via ssh

 scp  Secure copy (remote file copy)

 sdiff  Merge two files interactively

 sed  Stream Editor

 select  Accept keyboard input

 set  Manipulate shell variables and functions

 sftp  Secure File Transfer Program

 shift  Shift positional parameters

 shopt  Shell Options

 shutdown  Shutdown or restart linux

 sleep  Delay for a specified time

 slocate  Find files

 sort  Sort text files

 source  Run commands from a file

 split  Split a file into fixed-size pieces

 ssh  Secure Shell client (remote login program)

 strace  Trace system calls and signals

 su  Substitute user identity

 sudo  Execute a command as another user

 sum  Print a checksum for a file

 suspend  Suspend execution of this shell

 symlink  Make a new name for a file

 sync  Synchronize data on disk with memory

 tail  Output the last part of file

 tar  Tape Archiver

 tee  Redirect output to multiple files

 test  Evaluate a conditional expression

 time  Measure Program running time

 times  User and system times

 touch  Change file timestamps

 top  List processes running on the system

 traceroute  Trace Route to Host

 trap  Run a command when a signal is set(bourne)

 true  Do nothing, successfully

 tsort  Topological sort

 tty  Print filename of terminal on stdin

 type  Describe a command

 ulimit  Limit user resources

 umask  Users file creation mask

 umount  Unmount a device

 unalias  Remove an alias

 uname  Print system information

 unexpand  Convert spaces to tabs

 uniq  Uniquify files (Kali Linux Commands)

 units  Convert units from one scale to another

 unset  Remove variable or function names

 unshar  Unpack shell archive scripts

 until  Execute commands (until error)

 uptime  Show uptime

 useradd  Create new user account

 usermod  Modify user account

 users  List users currently logged in

 uuencode  Encode a binary file

 uudecode  Decode a file created by uuencode

 v  Verbosely list directory contents (`ls -l -b’)

 vdir  Verbosely list directory contents (`ls -l -b’)

 vi  Text Editor

 vmstat  Report virtual memory statistics

 wait  Wait for a process to complete

 wc  Print byte, word, and line counts

 whereis  Search the user’s $path, man pages and source files for a program

 which  Search the user’s $path for a program file

 while  Execute commands

 who  Print all usernames currently logged in

 whoami  Print the current user id and name (`id -un’)

 wget  Retrieve web pages or files via HTTP, HTTPS or FTP

 write  Send a message to another user

 xargs  Execute utility, passing constructed argument lists

 xdg-open  Open a file or URL in the user’s preferred application

 yes   Print a string until interrupted

Linux Kali Commands

The best and easiest way to use Kali Linux is by using commands. There are many commands to
remember so many new users might find it difficult to remember or learn them. One good point
is that since the system is similar to other Linux operating systems, the basic commands are quite
similar as well. The advanced commands are of course top-notch. This article will cover some of
the basic and advanced commands. The commands can be divided into two main categories.
System Commands

This is the name itself denotes are used for system administration and are useful for managing
the Kali Linux operating system. The commands are similar to the ones used in Mint, RHEL, and
Ubuntu.

Some of them which make it on the list of the SYSTEM COMMANDS are :

 history command: This gives details about the running commands used recently. The
Code is $history
 Free command: This shows the total, free and the swap memory information that is the
memory used till and now and how much is still available. The code is $free
 sort command: as the name itself signifies the lines of text files can be sorted in
ascending order or descending order. The code for ascending order is $sort filename.txt
and for descending order it is $sort –r filename.txt

Then there is the System Advanced Commands in Kali Linux Commands:

 Find command: In order to find a file by name, size is very difficult in Linux. So this
command is useful as it helps the user to search for files based on user given expression
and user-specified action.
 The unzip command: Most of the big files downloaded are in zip format. This command
will help in unzipping or extracting the files. The basic syntax is #unzip file name.zip
 The SCP command: This is used for copying files from one device to another device. The
noteworthy feature is that is copies files over ssh protocol. Hackers use this command to
compromise the system and transfer files.
  Other commands which are available are the Cron command which is a daemon for
executing scheduled commands. The fgrep command searches for files that meet specific
criteria. And last of all, of course, is the help command which displays all the built-in
commands.

Tool or basic commands

Basic commands are very simple and can be tried out by new users. To spell out a few
commands, ls stands for list directory, Nmap means network mapper (for scanning open ports,
OS detection), lsblk means list block devices. Noteworthy commands are apt-get. This updates a
Debian machine and is used for installing Debian packages and programs. The Sudo command is
used for executing a command as root user and the Chroot command allows for a command to
run with a different root directory.

There are other simple commands which are enumerated below:

 date command: This is used for checking the current time and date. It involves using the #
hashtag and $ sign. This date can be changed by using the following code: $ date-set=’new
date’
 cal command: This is for displaying the calendar. The code is $cal
 whoami command: This is used to find out the user name by which you have logged into.
The code is $whoami
 pwd command: This is to know on what location you are working on that is the directory
and subdirectory details.
 is command: this is used for knowing the files and folders inside a directory. The code is
$Is
 cd command: this is for changing the directory. The code is $cd
 mkdir command: this is used for creating a directory. The code is $mkdir. However, if a
directory is needed in a particular location, then it has to be specified in the code. For
instance, the code will then have to be $mkdir/desired location/directoryname
 cp command: This command is used to copy files and folders. It is actually a big
command.

So with the use of a few simple commands, websites and wireless networks can be hacked. Not
only that tasks can be automated and software programs can be installed. In addition, the
creation of additional user accounts, optimization of terminal interactions, the configuration of
software, etc. can be done with just a few of these commands.

Final Verdict

With this article, it is hoped that most of the useful commands are covered and so Kali Linux can
be used to the maximum. There is no fixed list of commands. They are based on the user needs
and therefore have not been numbered in this article. Some users might prefer or use only
certain commands whereas others might prefer some other commands. So a right mix of
different commands have been included in this article and so hope that you find them useful.