20 Useful Terminal Commands and Tools that you May

Need in Ubuntu/Linux Mint

Terminal is a text-based interface that grants users direct access to the UNIX
system. You can use Terminal to run some specific commands, create files/folders,
change system settings, and any other features that aren't available via programs
with GUI.
In this article, I have collected 20 tools and commands that can be useful for
Ubuntu/Linux Mint users. If you have more interesting commands or tools, you can
mention them below.

1. Make An ISO From A Folder

If you want to make an iso file from a directory containing other files and subdirectories via the terminal, you can use the following command:

mkisofs -o image.iso -R /path/to/folder/

If you wish to backup the home folder, use this command:

mkisofs -o image.iso -R $HOME

2. Remove Non-Empty Folder

To remove a non-empty folder from the command line, you can use this command:

rm -rf /path/to/folder/

3. Checking Current CPU Architecture (32-bit or

64-bit)
To list your processor architecture in Ubuntu/Linux Mint, use one of these
commands:

uname -m
or

arch
or

file /bin/bash | cut -d' ' -f3

4. Generate Random Passwords

To generate random passwords via the terminal, you can use the following
commands:
a - makepasswd
makepasswd is a command line tool for generating passwords in Ubuntu/Linux
Mint. Install it with this command:

sudo apt-get install makepasswd

To generate a password with 20 characters, enter this command:

makepasswd --chars=20
b- OpenSSL

You can also use OpenSSL to generate random passwords using this simple
command:

openssl rand -base64 20

5. Check Uptime
To check for how long your computer or laptop has been running since you powered
it on, issue this command:

uptime
To monitor system uptime in real-time, use this command:

watch -n 1 uptime

6. Check Information About Your Video Card

To list information about your graphics card (Nvidia, AMD, Intel, etc.), enter this
command:

lspci -v -s `lspci | awk '/VGA/{print $1}'`

7. Download And Extract Tar Files In One

Command
If you want to extract an archive file after being downloaded in a single command,
you can use the following command for tar files:

wget URL-To-TAR-File -O - | tar xfz Here is an example:

wget
http://garr.dl.sourceforge.net/project/multibootusb/MultiBootUSB_4.7
.tar.gz -O - | tar xfz -

8. Block/Unblock Wifi/Bluetooth
To disable wifi or Bluetooth in Ubuntu/Linux Mint, we can simply use the rfkill
command line tool. To deactivate wifi, enter this command:

rfkill block wlan

For Bluetooth:

rfkill block bluetooth

To unblock WiFi, enter this command:

rfkill unblock wlan

For Bluetooth:

rfkill unblock bluetooth

9. Check CPU Temperature

To get the current temperature of your processor, issue this command:

acpi -t
To check CPU temp in real-time, run this command:

watch -n 1 acpi -t

10. Change Read Speed Of A CD/DVD

Let's first get the maximum read speed of your optical drive with this command:

eject -X
To increase/decrease read speed of a CD/DVD inserted into your optical drive, enter
this command followed by the desired speed:

eject -x 4
For more than one optical disc drive, use this command:

eject /dev/cdrom -x 4

11. Check RAM Speed

To check memory speed from the command line, run this command:

sudo dmidecode -t 17 | awk -F":" '/Speed/ { print $2 }'

12. Read/Write Speed Of A Hard Disk

To check read/write speed of your hard drive on the terminal, use this command:

sudo hdparm -tT /dev/sda

13. Monitor Network Usage

IPTraf is a command line utility that allows to monitor network activities in realtime. Install it in Ubuntu/Linux Mint with this command:

sudo apt-get install iptraf

Start monitoring using this command:

sudo iptraf

14- Downloading Websites

If you want to download an entire website via the terminal, enter this command:

wget --recursive --page-requisites --convert-linkswww.domain.com

15. Check Gmail Unread Messages

To check for unread messages in your Gmail account, use this command:

curl -u GMAILUSER --silent "https://mail.google.com/mail/feed/atom"

| perl -ne 'print "\t" if //; print "$2\n" if /<(title|
name)>(.*)<\/\1>/;'

16. Monitor HDD Temperature

Use hddtemp to monitor hard disk temperature on the terminal. Run these
commands:

sudo apt-get install hddtemp

sudo hddtemp /dev/sda

17. Force Kill Apps

To force close an unresponsive software, run xkill from the terminal then click the
software's window to close it.

18. Screen Recording

To capture your screen and record it in a video, use ffmpeg:

sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

ffmpeg -f x11grab -s wxga -r 25 -i :0.0 -sameq output.mpg

19. Check Current Kernel Version

You can simply use this command:

uname -r

20. Dtrx
The dtrx tool allows to extract most archive files without the hassle of memorizing
the various extraction commands. To install it, run this command:
sudo apt-get install dtrx
Here are some examples:

dtrx file.zip
dtrx file.tar.gz
dtrx file.7z