Learn 100+ Essential Linux Commands to Set Up a Fresh VPS with Python, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MongoDB

For a developer, setting up a VPS for production can be one of the most challenging tasks. Here’s a basic setup guide to get your server ready for deployment. Whether you’re hosting a Django app, Node.js API, or Laravel website, you’ll need a reliable set of Linux commands to prepare your environment.

In this post, I’m sharing 100+ essential Linux commands that I personally use when setting up a fresh VPS. These commands cover everything from server access and file management to firewall configuration, database installation, and much more—making your VPS deployment smooth and production-ready.

1. Server Access & Session Management

ssh user@server-ip – Connect to VPS over SSH.
ssh -p 2222 user@server-ip – Connect using a custom port.
ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 – Generate an SSH key.
ssh-copy-id user@server-ip – Copy your public key to the server.
who – Show who is logged in.
w – Show logged-in users with processes.
exit – Close the SSH session.
history – Show previous commands.
clear – Clear terminal screen.
screen – Create a persistent session.

2. System Info & Monitoring

uname -a – Kernel and OS info.
lsb_release -a – Linux distribution info.
hostname – Show hostname.
uptime – Show uptime.
top – View running processes.
htop – Interactive process viewer (install with apt install htop).
free -h – Show memory usage.
df -h – Show disk space usage.
du -sh /path – Disk usage of a folder.
vmstat – System performance stats.

3. User & Permission Management

adduser deploy – Create a new user.
passwd deploy – Change user password.
usermod -aG sudo deploy – Add user to sudo group.
id deploy – Show user info.
groups deploy – Show user’s groups.
chown user:group file – Change file owner.
chmod 755 file – Set permissions.
chmod -R 755 /path – Recursive permissions change.
sudo visudo – Edit sudo permissions safely.
deluser username – Delete a user.

4. File & Directory Management

pwd – Show current directory.
ls -lah – List files with details.
cd /path/to/dir – Change directory.
mkdir myapp – Create a directory.
mkdir -p dir/subdir – Create nested directories.
touch file.txt – Create an empty file.
nano file.txt – Edit the file in Nano.
vi file.txt – Edit file in Vim.
cp file1 file2 – Copy file.
mv file1 file2 – Move or rename the file.
rm file.txt – Delete file.
rm -rf dir – Delete the directory and its contents.
cat file.txt – Show file contents.
less file.txt – View file with pagination.
head -n 10 file.txt – Show first 10 lines.
tail -n 10 file.txt – Show last 10 lines.
tail -f logs.txt – Follow a log file.
find /path -name file.txt – Search for a file.
locate filename – Find files quickly (needs mlocate).
stat file.txt – Show file info.

5. Networking & Firewall

ping google.com – Check network connectivity.
curl ifconfig.me – Show public IP.
ip a – Show IP addresses.
netstat -tulnp – Show listening ports.
ss -tuln – Show open ports.
ufw status – Check firewall status.
sudo ufw allow 22 – Allow SSH port.
sudo ufw allow 80 – Allow HTTP.
sudo ufw allow 443 – Allow HTTPS.
sudo ufw enable – Enable firewall.

6. Package Management (Debian/Ubuntu)

sudo apt update – Update package list.
sudo apt upgrade – Upgrade packages.
sudo apt install package – Install package.
sudo apt remove package – Remove package.
sudo apt autoremove – Remove unused packages.
apt list --installed – List installed packages.
dpkg -l – List installed packages (dpkg).
dpkg -i file.deb – Install .deb file.
apt-cache search keyword – Search packages.
sudo apt purge package – Remove with config files.

7. Git & Code Deployment

git clone repo-url – Clone repository.
git pull origin main – Pull the latest code.
git checkout branch – Switch branches.
git status – Check repo status.
git fetch --all – Fetch all branches.
scp file user@server:/path – Copy file to server.
scp -r dir user@server:/path – Copy the directory to the server.
rsync -avz local/ user@server:/path – Sync files.
wget url – Download file.
curl -O url – Download file with curl.

8. Web Server Setup

sudo apt install nginx – Install Nginx.
sudo systemctl start nginx – Start Nginx.
sudo systemctl enable nginx – Enable Nginx at boot.
sudo systemctl status nginx – Check status.
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/default – Edit Nginx config.
sudo nginx -t – Test Nginx config.
sudo systemctl reload nginx – Reload config.
sudo apt install apache2 – Install Apache.
sudo systemctl start apache2 – Start Apache.
sudo systemctl enable apache2 – Enable Apache at boot.

9. Process & Service Management

ps aux – Show running processes.
kill PID – Kill process by PID.
kill -9 PID – Force kill process.
systemctl start service – Start a service.
systemctl stop service – Stop a service.
systemctl restart service – Restart a service.
systemctl status service – Check service status.
journalctl -xe – View system logs.
journalctl -u service – View logs for a specific service.
crontab -e – Edit cron jobs.

Bonus command

This is for running the development server only. If you want to run a production server, use Gunicorn or uWSGI. View my previous blog on how to deploy Django on AWS.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to run a Django project on a server in the background using screen:

1. Install `screen` (if not already installed)

sudo apt update
sudo apt install screen -y

On CentOS/RHEL: sudo yum install screen -y

2. Start a new screen session

django_server Just name whatever you want; you can make it.

screen -S django_server

-S django_server I have named the session so you can find it later.

3. Activate your virtual environment

source venv/bin/activate

Create your virtual environment folder

4. Navigate to your Django project

cd /path/to/your/project

5. Run the Django development server

python3 manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000

You can access your project on a public IP address if you run on 0.0.0.0:8000.

6. Detach from the screen session

Press this command:

CTRL + A  then  D

If you close your VPS, your Django server will run in the background.

7. List all screen sessions

screen -ls

8. Reattach to the session

screen -r django_server

9. Kill the screen session (stop the server)

screen -X -S django_server quit

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