Here are some basic Linux keyboard shortcuts and other quick tips that I use to help me while on Linux systems.
Cursor Movement
[CTRL] + A – Move the cursor to the beginning of the current line.
[CTRL] + E – Move the cursor to the end of the current line.
[CTRL] + [←] / [→] – Jump at the beginning of the current/previous word.
[ALT] + B / F – Jump backward/forward one word.
Erase The Current Line
[CTRL] + U – Erase everything from the current position of the cursor to the beginning of the line.
[Ctrl] + K – Erase everything from the current position of the cursor to the end of the line.
[Ctrl] + W – Erase the word preceding the cursor position.
Paste Erased Contents
[Ctrl] + Y – Pastes the erased text or word.
Ends Task
[CTRL] + C – Ends the current task/process by sending the SIGINT signal. For example, this can be a scan that is run by a tool. If we are watching the scan, we can stop it / kill this process by using this shortcut. While not configured and developed by the tool we are using. The process will be killed without asking us for confirmation.
End-of-File (EOF)
[CTRL] + D – Close STDIN pipe that is also known as End-of-File (EOF) or End-of-Transmission.
Clear Terminal
[CTRL] + L – Clears the terminal. An alternative to this shortcut is the clear command you can type to clear our terminal.
Background a Process
[CTRL] + Z – Suspend the current process by sending the SIGTSTP signal.
Search Through Command History
[CTRL] + R – Search through command history for commands we typed previously that match our search patterns.
[↑] / [↓] – Go to the previous/next command in the command history.
Switch Between Applications
[ALT] + [TAB] – Switch between opened applications.
Zoom
[CTRL] + [+] – Zoom in.
[CTRL] + [-] – Zoom out.
