Linux - Smart Linux Tricks

A collection of tips & tricks for using Linux...

Restart a service[edit | edit source]

sudo service FOOBAR restart

or

sudo systemctl restart FOOBAR.service

Where "FOOBAR" is the name of the service you want to restart...

Taking a screenshot in Mint Cinnamon[edit | edit source]

Here are the default shortcuts. You can customize them in Keyboard Settings, as shown in the image that started this post.

Action	Shortcut
Take a screenshot	Print
Take a screenshot of a window	Alt + Print
Take a screenshot of an area	Shift + Print
Copy screen to clipboard	Control + Print
Copy window to clipboard	Control + Alt + Print
Copy area to clipboard	Shift + Control + Print
Toggle recording desktop	Shift + Control + Alt + R

Print may have its own special label on your keyboard. On mine the Print key is labeled PrtSc.

Testing Network Connectivity

A handy little script:

#!/bin/bash

if nc -zw1 pfSense 443
then
  echo "We have DNS..."
else
  echo "NOPE!  No DNS..."
  sudo systemctl restart systemd-resolved
  exit
fi

Uses netcat (nc) to simply check if the router (pfsense) is currently findable by name & responding to HTTPS (port 443).

Then either tells you if it's OK or asks for your password to restart the DNS resolver.

Some other tips...

• Copy and clone USB stick including partitions
• Save and Recover Data From Crashed Disks With ddrescue Command Like a Pro
• Process Supervision using Monit
• How to Make Linux Hate You
• Linux alternative to alt+numpad codes
• How to install a deb file, by dpkg -i or by apt?
• Get details about the linux distro installed:
  • cat /etc/*release*

• Install Updates on Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and elementary OS from Terminal
• Panel Menu Not Responding
  • Right click on an empty-is spot...Verify it's not in Panel edit mode
• [SOLVED] gnome-keyring-daemon prevents shutdown