Commonly Used Terminal Commands

[This Post will be getting updated whenever possible and necessary.]

• This is a list of commands (and related things), which I have gathered and found to be most useful for my needs. I see it sort of like a Victorinox Swiss Army Knife, maybe..

Brief Glossary:

sudo: “SuperUserDo” requires a permitted user’s password and grants root (Administrator) privileges for a limited time.
apt: “Advanced Package Tool” a command-line utility for managing packages (installing, updating, removing, etc).
rm: “remove” can be used to delete a file from a specified location.
dpkg: The “Debian package management system tool”; handles the installation, removal, and management of software packages.
aptitude: Lets users install, remove, and search for packages and handles dependencies and conflicts (it provides a resolver that proposes solutions for dependency problems and an interactive interface to accept/modify them).

Shortcuts:

F4: Launches the drop-down window xfce4 terminal (This is the Xfce default shortcut, it might be another key or terminal if you use a different desktop environment. If you can’t find it, launch the terminal from your menu.).
Ctrl+Shift+V: Pastes copied text into the terminal (use right arrow key to unmark the pasted text)
Ctrl+Shift+C: After clicking and dragging to select desired text in a terminal; it can be used to copy it.

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Commands:

$ neofetch (Brief System Info)

$ htop (Launches the “htop” application, which displays system processes.)

$ exit (Terminates the terminal session.)

$ clear (Clears all text output in the terminal left from previously run commands.)

$ glxgears (Runs the GLX Gears application, which displays a simple animation of rotating gears in a window. This tool is primarily used to test and demonstrate the capabilities of your graphics card and OpenGL implementation. While it is not a comprehensive benchmarking tool, it can help identify performance issues, screen tearing and refresh rate. Keep in mind that glxgears is not a substitute for more thorough benchmarking tools, but it can provide a quick visual check of your graphics setup.)

$ sudo apt autoremove (Removes unused packages by any currently installed application.)

$ sudo apt install -f (Will check and try to install any missing packages/dependencies in case a normal installation or system update failed, or any other case.)

$ sudo apt remove xfce4-screensaver (Basic uninstallation of a program; removes just the software, not its configuration files. Do read the output carefully and make sure you do not remove something important. Some programs have other programs marked as dependencies which get pulled together. If in any doubt head over to the MX Linux community forum and ask away.)

$ sudo apt purge xfce4-screensaver (“purge” is a more powerful uninstallation type command; it removes the software plus the software’s configuration files . After “purge” type whatever program you wish to purge. Again, much like “remove“, do be mindful.)

$ apt changelog desktop-defaults-mx-xfce (After “apt changelog” type the name of a program to read its changelog.)

$ sudo update-grub (Refreshes the GRUB configuration file and ensures that the boot menu is up to date with the latest kernel and operating system entries. Usually this gets triggered and happens automatically after you perform a system update; if not, you can use this command.)

$ sudo update-icon-caches /usr/share/icons/* (Updates Icon Caches. In a rare case where an App might use an unexpected icon.)

$ sensors (Shows temperature readings from various hardware sensors on your system)

$ xinput list (Lists input devices recognized by the X server. This includes devices such as keyboards, mice, touchpads, and other pointing devices.)

$ sudo dpkg --configure -a (Configure all unpacked but unconfigured packages. This command is particularly useful for fixing broken installations or completing interrupted package installations.)

$ lsblk (Displays information about all block devices in a tree-like format, showing their names, sizes, types, and mount points, which helps in identifying the connected storage devices (HDDs, SSDs) on the system.)

$ aptitude why-not {package name} (Is used to determine why a specific package cannot be installed or upgraded; provides insights into dependency problems. Note: Make sure to also remove the curly brackets!)