Kali Linux Cheat Sheet

Kali Linux Cheat Sheet · from Anas-Magane/Pentesting (COMMANDS LINUX).

Updated November 13, 20252 min readSource on GitHub (opens in a new tab)

About#

This file is a simple, clear cheat sheet for Kali Linux. It explains:

Installation options
Common problems and quick fixes
Important commands (navigation, files, editing, viewing)
Process and system commands
Network commands
Permissions and chmod
Sudo vs no-sudo examples
Common Kali tools and what their GUI icons do

1. Installation (Simple)#

Two ways to install Kali:

Real install (main system):
- Install directly on your computer.
- Fast and full performance.
- Risk: can erase data if you are not careful.
Virtual machine (recommended for beginners):
- Use VMware Workstation, VirtualBox, or other VM software.
- Safer and easier to test.
- Slightly slower than real install.

VM Network modes (simple):

NAT: VM uses host's IP for internet. Good for simple internet access.
Bridged: VM gets its own IP from the local network. Good when you want VM to be a separate machine on the LAN. (Recommended when you want each device to have its own IP.)
Host-Only: VM can talk only with the host machine. Good for isolated testing.

Keyboard layout (AZERTY → QWERTY example):

bash

sudo dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration

bash

cd <dir>        # change directory
pwd             # print working directory (show current path)
ls              # list files
ls -la          # list all files with details (hidden files too)
mkdir <dir>     # make a new directory
touch file.txt  # create an empty file or update timestamp
rm file.txt     # remove (delete) a file
rm -r folder/   # remove folder and everything inside (be careful)
mv src dest     # move or rename file/folder
cp src dest     # copy file or folder (use -r for directories)

3. File Editing (Top editors)#

Simple editors:

nano · easy terminal editor
gedit · GUI editor (GNOME)
mousepad · lightweight GUI editor
vim / vi · powerful terminal editor
emacs · powerful & programmable editor
code · Visual Studio Code (GUI)
subl · Sublime Text (GUI)
kate · KDE GUI editor
atom · Atom editor (GUI)
leafpad · small GUI editor

Open and edit a file:

bash

nano file.txt
vim file.txt
gedit file.txt &

4. Viewing / Displaying Files (Top commands)#

bash

cat file.txt            # display whole file
less file.txt           # view file page by page (scroll up/down)
more file.txt           # view file page by page (basic)
head -n 10 file.txt     # show first 10 lines
tail -n 20 file.txt     # show last 20 lines
tail -f file.log        # follow file as new lines are added
nl file.txt             # show file with line numbers
awk '{print $1}' file   # print first column of each line (text processing)
awk '{print}' file      
sed -n '1,10p' file     # print lines 1 to 10 (stream editor)
cut -d',' -f1 file.csv  # cut column 1 using comma as delimiter
sort file.txt           # sort lines
uniq file.txt           # remove duplicated adjacent lines

5. Searching and Grep (options)#

bash

grep "text" file.txt
grep -i "text" file.txt
grep -r "text" .
grep -v "text" file.txt
grep -n "text" file.txt
grep -o "pattern" file.txt
grep -E "a|b" file.txt
command | grep "text"

6. Output control and pipelines#

bash

head -n 5 file.txt
tail -n 10 file.txt
command1 | command2
ps aux | grep firefox
ls -la | head -n 20

7. Process and Services#

bash

ps
ps aux
ps -ef
top
htop
kill PID
kill -9 PID
pkill processname
systemctl status name
sudo systemctl start name
sudo systemctl stop name

8. System Information#

bash

whoami
id
uname -a
hostname
date
uptime
free -h
df -h
du -sh folder/

9. Sudo vs No Sudo (examples)#

Without sudo:

bash

ls /home
cat /etc/passwd

With sudo:

bash

sudo apt update
sudo apt install package
sudo useradd -m newuser
sudo passwd username
sudo reboot

10. User and Password Management#

bash

passwd
sudo passwd user
sudo useradd -m user
sudo usermod -aG group user
sudo userdel -r user

11. Network Commands#

bash

ping google.com
ip addr
ifconfig
ip link
ip route
netstat -tuln
ss -tuln
nmcli device status
iwconfig
iwlist scan
arp -a
ssh user@host
scp file user@host:/path
wget URL
curl URL

12. File Permissions and ls -la explained#

Example:

text

-rwxr-xr-- 1 alice staff 2048 Jan 01 10:00 file.txt

Breakdown:

First char: - = file, d = directory, l = link
Owner rwx = 7, Group r-x = 5, Others r-- = 4 → 754

13. chmod examples#

bash

chmod 755 file.txt
chmod 644 file.txt
chmod 700 file.txt
chmod +x script.sh
chmod u+x script.sh
chmod g-w file.txt

14. Links (hard links vs symbolic links)#

bash

ln file linkname          # Hard link
ln -s /path/to/file link  # Symbolic link

15. Useful small commands#

bash

echo "hello world"
clear
history
man command
whatis command
which command
time command

16. Common grep + awk + sed examples#

bash

grep -n "error" logfile.log
ps aux | grep -i ssh
awk '{print $1, $3}' file.txt
sed -n '2,4p' file.txt
sed -i 's/old/new/g' file.txt

17. Top system commands#

bash

whoami
uname -a
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
reboot
shutdown now
last -a
dmesg
journalctl -xe

18. Common Kali tools and GUI icons (simple)#

nmap · Network scanner
netdiscover · Find local devices
dnsenum/dnsrecon · DNS info
OpenVAS/Greenbone · Vulnerability scanner
nikto · Web server scanner
Metasploit (msfconsole) · Exploitation framework
aircrack-ng / wifite · Wireless testing
john / hydra · Password attacks
Burp Suite / dirb / gobuster · Web testing
Wireshark / tcpdump · Packet analysis
Autopsy / sleuthkit · Forensics
KeepNote / CherryTree / Zenmap · Reporting & GUI scans

Kali Linux Cheat Sheet

Kali Linux Cheat Sheet · from Anas-Magane/Pentesting (COMMANDS LINUX).

Updated November 13, 20252 min readSource on GitHub (opens in a new tab)

About#

This file is a simple, clear cheat sheet for Kali Linux. It explains:

Installation options
Common problems and quick fixes
Important commands (navigation, files, editing, viewing)
Process and system commands
Network commands
Permissions and chmod
Sudo vs no-sudo examples
Common Kali tools and what their GUI icons do

1. Installation (Simple)#

Two ways to install Kali:

Real install (main system):
- Install directly on your computer.
- Fast and full performance.
- Risk: can erase data if you are not careful.
Virtual machine (recommended for beginners):
- Use VMware Workstation, VirtualBox, or other VM software.
- Safer and easier to test.
- Slightly slower than real install.

VM Network modes (simple):

NAT: VM uses host's IP for internet. Good for simple internet access.
Bridged: VM gets its own IP from the local network. Good when you want VM to be a separate machine on the LAN. (Recommended when you want each device to have its own IP.)
Host-Only: VM can talk only with the host machine. Good for isolated testing.

Keyboard layout (AZERTY → QWERTY example):

bash

sudo dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration

bash

cd <dir>        # change directory
pwd             # print working directory (show current path)
ls              # list files
ls -la          # list all files with details (hidden files too)
mkdir <dir>     # make a new directory
touch file.txt  # create an empty file or update timestamp
rm file.txt     # remove (delete) a file
rm -r folder/   # remove folder and everything inside (be careful)
mv src dest     # move or rename file/folder
cp src dest     # copy file or folder (use -r for directories)

3. File Editing (Top editors)#

Simple editors:

nano · easy terminal editor
gedit · GUI editor (GNOME)
mousepad · lightweight GUI editor
vim / vi · powerful terminal editor
emacs · powerful & programmable editor
code · Visual Studio Code (GUI)
subl · Sublime Text (GUI)
kate · KDE GUI editor
atom · Atom editor (GUI)
leafpad · small GUI editor

Open and edit a file:

bash

nano file.txt
vim file.txt
gedit file.txt &

4. Viewing / Displaying Files (Top commands)#

bash

cat file.txt            # display whole file
less file.txt           # view file page by page (scroll up/down)
more file.txt           # view file page by page (basic)
head -n 10 file.txt     # show first 10 lines
tail -n 20 file.txt     # show last 20 lines
tail -f file.log        # follow file as new lines are added
nl file.txt             # show file with line numbers
awk '{print $1}' file   # print first column of each line (text processing)
awk '{print}' file      
sed -n '1,10p' file     # print lines 1 to 10 (stream editor)
cut -d',' -f1 file.csv  # cut column 1 using comma as delimiter
sort file.txt           # sort lines
uniq file.txt           # remove duplicated adjacent lines

5. Searching and Grep (options)#

bash

grep "text" file.txt
grep -i "text" file.txt
grep -r "text" .
grep -v "text" file.txt
grep -n "text" file.txt
grep -o "pattern" file.txt
grep -E "a|b" file.txt
command | grep "text"

6. Output control and pipelines#

bash

head -n 5 file.txt
tail -n 10 file.txt
command1 | command2
ps aux | grep firefox
ls -la | head -n 20

7. Process and Services#

bash

ps
ps aux
ps -ef
top
htop
kill PID
kill -9 PID
pkill processname
systemctl status name
sudo systemctl start name
sudo systemctl stop name

8. System Information#

bash

whoami
id
uname -a
hostname
date
uptime
free -h
df -h
du -sh folder/

9. Sudo vs No Sudo (examples)#

Without sudo:

bash

ls /home
cat /etc/passwd

With sudo:

bash

sudo apt update
sudo apt install package
sudo useradd -m newuser
sudo passwd username
sudo reboot

10. User and Password Management#

bash

passwd
sudo passwd user
sudo useradd -m user
sudo usermod -aG group user
sudo userdel -r user

11. Network Commands#

bash

ping google.com
ip addr
ifconfig
ip link
ip route
netstat -tuln
ss -tuln
nmcli device status
iwconfig
iwlist scan
arp -a
ssh user@host
scp file user@host:/path
wget URL
curl URL

12. File Permissions and ls -la explained#

Example:

text

-rwxr-xr-- 1 alice staff 2048 Jan 01 10:00 file.txt

Breakdown:

First char: - = file, d = directory, l = link
Owner rwx = 7, Group r-x = 5, Others r-- = 4 → 754

13. chmod examples#

bash

chmod 755 file.txt
chmod 644 file.txt
chmod 700 file.txt
chmod +x script.sh
chmod u+x script.sh
chmod g-w file.txt

14. Links (hard links vs symbolic links)#

bash

ln file linkname          # Hard link
ln -s /path/to/file link  # Symbolic link

15. Useful small commands#

bash

echo "hello world"
clear
history
man command
whatis command
which command
time command

16. Common grep + awk + sed examples#

bash

grep -n "error" logfile.log
ps aux | grep -i ssh
awk '{print $1, $3}' file.txt
sed -n '2,4p' file.txt
sed -i 's/old/new/g' file.txt

17. Top system commands#

bash

whoami
uname -a
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
reboot
shutdown now
last -a
dmesg
journalctl -xe

18. Common Kali tools and GUI icons (simple)#

nmap · Network scanner
netdiscover · Find local devices
dnsenum/dnsrecon · DNS info
OpenVAS/Greenbone · Vulnerability scanner
nikto · Web server scanner
Metasploit (msfconsole) · Exploitation framework
aircrack-ng / wifite · Wireless testing
john / hydra · Password attacks
Burp Suite / dirb / gobuster · Web testing
Wireshark / tcpdump · Packet analysis
Autopsy / sleuthkit · Forensics
KeepNote / CherryTree / Zenmap · Reporting & GUI scans

Kali Linux Cheat Sheet

About#

1. Installation (Simple)#

2. Basic Navigation and File Commands#

3. File Editing (Top editors)#

4. Viewing / Displaying Files (Top commands)#

5. Searching and Grep (options)#

6. Output control and pipelines#

7. Process and Services#

8. System Information#

9. Sudo vs No Sudo (examples)#

10. User and Password Management#

11. Network Commands#

12. File Permissions and ls -la explained#

13. chmod examples#

14. Links (hard links vs symbolic links)#

15. Useful small commands#

16. Common grep + awk + sed examples#

17. Top system commands#

18. Common Kali tools and GUI icons (simple)#

Kali Linux Cheat Sheet

About#

1. Installation (Simple)#

2. Basic Navigation and File Commands#

3. File Editing (Top editors)#

4. Viewing / Displaying Files (Top commands)#

5. Searching and Grep (options)#

6. Output control and pipelines#

7. Process and Services#

8. System Information#

9. Sudo vs No Sudo (examples)#

10. User and Password Management#

11. Network Commands#

12. File Permissions and ls -la explained#

13. chmod examples#

14. Links (hard links vs symbolic links)#

15. Useful small commands#

16. Common grep + awk + sed examples#

17. Top system commands#

18. Common Kali tools and GUI icons (simple)#