Essential Kali Linux Commands for Beginners

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By Hari | Updated: 2025 | Reading time: 10–12 minutes

Kali Linux is one of the most popular operating systems for cybersecurity professionals, penetration testers, and ethical hackers. It’s based on Debian and ships with hundreds of pre-installed security tools. But before you touch Metasploit, Nmap, or wireless tools, you must be comfortable with the Linux terminal itself.

This advanced beginner guide focuses on safe, legal, and practical use of Kali Linux. All examples are intended for learning in your own lab environment or on systems where you have explicit permission to test. Responsible usage also keeps this article fully compliant with Google AdSense policies.

1. Getting Oriented: Navigation & Your Current Context

1.1 pwd – Show Where You Are

The pwd command shows the absolute path of your current directory.

pwd

1.2 ls – List Files and Directories

List contents in your current folder:

ls
ls -l      # long listing
ls -a      # show hidden files
ls -la     # both hidden + long

1.3 cd – Move Around the Filesystem

cd /usr/share
cd ~
cd ..
cd -

1.4 whoami – Check Your Identity

whoami

2. Managing Files and Directories

2.1 mkdir – Create Directories

mkdir reports
mkdir -p projects/webapp1/scans

2.2 touch – Create Empty Files

touch notes.txt
touch todo.md

2.3 cp – Copy Files/Folders

cp report.txt report_backup.txt
cp -r wordlists/ ~/projects/wordlists/

2.4 mv – Move/Rename

mv oldname.txt newname.txt
mv scan.txt ~/projects/webapp1/

2.5 rm – Delete Files

Warning: rm permanently deletes files.
rm temp.txt
rm -r old_scans/
rm -f unwanted.log

3. Viewing & Editing File Content

3.1 cat / less

cat result.txt
less /var/log/auth.log

3.2 grep – Search Inside Files

grep "failed" /var/log/auth.log
grep -r "password" /etc/

3.3 Editors: nano / vim

nano notes.txt
vim config.ini

4. System Information & Monitoring

top / htop

top
htop

Disk & Memory

df -h
free -h

5. Networking Basics

Interfaces

ip addr show
ip route
ifconfig

Ping Hosts

ping google.com
ping 192.168.1.1

Network Stats

ss -tulpn
netstat -tulpn

Download Files

wget https://example.com/file.zip
curl -O https://example.com/file.zip

6. APT Package Management

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt full-upgrade
sudo apt install nmap
sudo apt remove package_name
sudo apt autoremove

7. Permissions & Services

Using sudo

sudo command_here

Password

passwd
sudo passwd root

Permissions

chmod 755 script.sh
chmod +x script.sh

Ownership

sudo chown user:group filename

Services

sudo systemctl start ssh
sudo systemctl enable ssh
sudo systemctl status ssh

8. Kali Security Tools (Safe Lab Use Only)

Nmap

nmap 192.168.1.1
nmap -sV 192.168.1.0/24

Metasploit

msfconsole

Lab Tools

aircrack-ng capture.cap
john hashes.txt
hydra -l user -P list.txt ssh://192.168.1.10
sqlmap -u "http://test.local/page.php?id=1"

9. Useful Kali Directories

  • /usr/share/
  • /usr/share/wordlists/
  • /etc/
  • /var/log/
  • /tmp/
  • ~

Conclusion

With these commands, you now have a strong foundation in Kali Linux. Consistency, safe testing, and hands-on practice will turn these commands into muscle memory. Stay ethical, stay legal, and keep learning.

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