Linux Command Line for Beginners

Learn to read a file, list files in a directory, copy files, find a specific file, and remove files from the command line.

Explore how Linux treats everything as a file within a hierarchical directory tree rooted at the root, and print the current path with pwd to locate /home.

Navigate with the cd command, using absolute paths from the root or relative paths from your current directory, and use shortcuts like .. and -; check with pwd.

Learn to use the ls command to list files in the current directory, view contents of your home and documents, and reveal hidden files with the -a option.

Create new directories with the mkdir command, including directory trees and subdirectories, and use the -p flag to create multiple paths at once; verify results by listing recursively.

Learn how to create empty files from the terminal using patch and touch, verify results with ls -l, and understand that touch updates timestamps without modifying file contents.

Discover how the Linux file command reveals a file’s type and contents, showing whether a file is text or binary regardless of its name or extension.

Use the less pager to view text files in the terminal without changing content. Navigate with arrow keys and page up/down, search with a forward slash, and exit with q.

Learn how the cp command copies files and directories in Linux, including copying multiple sources to a directory and using cp -r for recursive copies, with a quick ls check.

Learn to use the mv command to move files and rename them, and compare its functionality to the cp command with practical renaming examples.

Use the rm command to delete files, including recursively removing all files and subdirectories. Verify with the list command, remove empty directories with rmdir, and explore tree for directory structure.

Learn how to view and reuse your previous shell commands using history, rerun past commands without retyping, and search history with piping to grep.

Learn to use the find command in Linux to locate specific files by name, type, creation or modification date, and permissions across a directory tree.

Learn to shorten long commands with aliases, set default options like ls -l, persist them in .bashrc, and list all aliases with the alias command.

Learn to find help on Linux commands via the manual page and short descriptions, and use video resources as a reference for advancing command-line skills and Linux kernel awareness.

Use the man command to view a command's manual, for example 'man list'; search by description with 'man -k', and use 'man -k echo' to see a short description.

Learn to redirect standard output in Linux by using the > operator to write echo results to files, create new files when needed, and use >> to append.

Use files or output from other processes as standard input for commands via redirection, such as redirecting a file to the cat command.

Chain linux commands by using the pipe operator to pass standard output between commands and redirect output to a file or the screen, as in ls -la | less.

Learn to search for a keyword in a file using the grep command, use the -i flag for case-insensitive matches, and check file existence or list files in a directory.

Learn to use word count to display the total lines, words, and bytes in a file, and apply the number line command to show line numbers.

Remove duplicates from a file and view non-duplicate content using the unique command, then count results with the -c flag.

Explore environment variables on Linux to share configuration data across applications, view all system variables, and print values with the echo command, such as $HOME for the home directory.

Learn to compress a file using a command and create a tar archive from multiple files. Practice extracting the archive with tar x v f myarchive.tar.

Learn how to view a file's beginning with head and its end with tail, and use tail -f to follow log updates in real time.

Learn to use the tr command to translate characters on a file into another set. Type the source and target sets, then press enter; use Control-C to escape.

Get a high level overview of the Linux filesystem hierarchy, covering root and key directories such as boot, dev, etc, home, media, tmp, and usr, plus mounting and basic commands.

Check free space on the file system using commands to view disk usage in kilobytes or human-readable formats. See which directories or files consume space by inspecting disk usage data.

Discover how to mount a USB drive by locating the device path and attaching it to a mount point, then access its contents through the mount directory.

Learn how to use a text editor like nano to view files on Linux, and access resources, while discovering that Linux powers the Raspberry Pi.

Learn how to open, edit, and save a file using the nano editor, navigate with arrow keys, and use simple shortcuts for save, exit, cut, paste, and search.

Learn basic nano navigation for the linux command line using home, page up, and page down to move the cursor, and control keys for line-by-line movement.

Explore user management on the Linux command line by learning to create and delete user accounts and change passwords, enabling effective administration from the terminal.

Learn how to manage users on the Linux command line by adding a new user with sudo, changing passwords with passwd, and removing users with a delete command.

Learn to check internet connectivity using the ping command, verify responses from a remote host such as Google's public DNS 8.8.8.8, and interpret round-trip times and sequence order.

Learn to download files with wget from the internet, including large files and multiple downloads. Resume interrupted downloads by reusing the download link.

Share a local data tree by starting Python's built-in http server, access via localhost:8000 or your ip from a remote host, and verify with python -V.

Boost your efficiency on the command line by using shortcuts, and learn to customize the Linux shell. Chrome OS is a Linux derivative.

Navigate history with the up and down arrow keys, repeat a command with the doubleback shortcut, and clear the terminal with the clear command, plus tab completion and ctrl-c termination.

Learn the Z shell, a Unix interactive login shell and powerful command line interpreter for scripting. Install it as your default, log out and in, verify with echo $SHELL.

Install Faye with sudo apt, view images via left and right arrows, and set a screenshot delay with the c and d flags.

Celebrate completing the Linux command line for beginners course. Share your feedback or ideas on the discussion board to help peers.