Nmap Cheat Sheet: 15 Commands Every Beginner Must Know

Starting with Nmap? Here are the essential commands you’ll use 90% of the time.

Basic Scans

Scan target with default settings:

nmap target.com

Scan all 65,535 ports:

nmap -p- target.com

Stealth Scans

SYN scan (requires sudo):

sudo nmap -sS target.com

Service Detection

Find what’s running on ports:

nmap -sV target.com

Aggressive Scan

Full vulnerability assessment:

nmap -A target.com

Essential Flags

• -sS – SYN scan (stealth)
• -sV – Service version detection
• -p- – Scan all ports
• -A – Aggressive scan
• -T4 – Faster timing
• -Pn – Skip host discovery

Bottom Line

Master these commands and you’ll handle 90% of scanning scenarios.