010-160 Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield 010-160 facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What is the purpose of the `/etc/hostname` file on a Linux system? → It stores the system's hostname
2. Which command would display detailed information about a package using APT? → apt-cache show
3. What is the purpose of running 'apt-get update'? → Refreshes the local package index from repositories
4. What is the primary purpose of a user's primary group in Linux? → To set the default group ownership for files and directories the user creates.
5. What is a dependency in the context of Linux package management? → A package required by another package to function correctly
6. What signal number is used with `kill` to forcefully terminate a process that cannot be ignored? → 9
7. Which directory stores downloaded .deb package files on a Debian-based system? → /var/cache/apt/archives/
8. What class of IPv4 address range is reserved for private networks and not routable on the public internet (e.g., 192.168.x.x)? → Private (RFC 1918)
9. After navigating from `/usr/share` to `/etc/systemd`, which command will take you back to `/usr/share`? → cd -
10. On a system using RPM, which command lists all files installed by a specific package? → rpm -ql packagename
11. Which command lists all background and suspended jobs in the current shell session? → jobs
12. What does the load average represent in the output of the `uptime` command? → Average number of processes waiting for CPU over 1, 5, and 15 minutes
13. What is the purpose of the 'chmod' command in Linux? → Change file permissions
14. What does the command `ss -tuln` display on a Linux system? → Listening TCP and UDP ports without resolving names
15. What command is used to test basic network connectivity by sending ICMP echo requests to a host? → ping
16. What does the 'dpkg -l' command do? → Lists all installed packages
17. To count the number of lines containing the word "warning" in the file `application.log`, which command should be used? → grep -c "warning" application.log
18. A user creates a script named `greet.sh` with the content `echo "Hello, $1"`. How should the user execute this script to produce the output `Hello, David`? → ./greet.sh David
19. Which command displays the process ID (PID) of a running program by its name? → pidof
20. Which command on Linux is used to securely copy files between a local machine and a remote host over SSH? → scp
21. After a command fails in a shell script, what is the most reliable way to check for this failure condition? → Check if the output of the `$?` variable is a non-zero value.
22. What does the `wget` command do in Linux? → Downloads files from the internet using HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP
23. Which file on a Linux system maps hostnames to IP addresses locally without using DNS? → /etc/hosts
24. What keyboard shortcut suspends a foreground process in the terminal? → Ctrl+Z
25. What does the `nice` command control when starting a process? → Scheduling priority
26. What is the function of the 'mkdir' command in Linux? → Create a directory
27. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) defines four essential freedoms for free software. Which of the following is NOT one of those freedoms? → The freedom from any cost associated with the software.
28. What command can be used to run a process that continues running even after the user logs out? → nohup
29. Which command is used to display the current system's IP address in Linux? → ifconfig
30. Which tool is the next-generation replacement for yum on Fedora and RHEL 8+? → dnf