The Linux command line basics - A hands on course

Name: The Linux command line basics - A hands on course
Rating: 4.5 (21 reviews)

A complete step by step walkthrough to master your journey for Linux command line

Created byMohit Kumar, Mohit Kumar

Last updated 1/2025

English

What you'll learn

linux command line
Tips and tricks of linux
Popular command line utilities

Course content

8 sections • 52 lectures • 3h 36m total length

Introduction0:29
Why learn Linux?1:37
About this course0:58
Why master the linux CLI?1:00
What is Linux?1:53
What are the advantages of Linux?1:32
Explore the advantages of Linux: it is nearly free, open source, and highly stable, with quick bug fixes, strong online help, multiuser multitasking, and broad hardware support.
What are the different types of Linux flavours available?3:16
Learning methodology0:40
Explore a structured, option-by-option learning methodology with short, topic-focused lectures. Follow along with step-by-step demonstrations, review each command after trying it, and learn practical ways to use Linux options effectively.
What type of Linux environment is required0:45

Important information for practising1:20
Installing Linux on a Virtual Machine using VirtualBox5:33
You can download virtual box from the following URL.You can also use VMware as your VMM
https://www.virtualbox.org/

Linux ISO Can be obtained from here

Ubuntu - https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop
Debian - https://www.debian.org/
Linux Mint - https://linuxmint.com/
(optional) Walkthrough of your Virtual Machine1:56
In this video, you will get a walk through of the Linux virtual machine.
Installing Ubuntu on WSL1:44
You can follow this link to install WSL

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-manual
Using Replit for your practice1:07
Using Docker for your Lab1:41
Steps to install Docker - https://docs.docker.com/desktop/setup/install/windows-install/

Install interactively
Download the installer using the download button at the top of the page, or from the release notes.
Double-click Docker Desktop Installer.exe to run the installer. By default, Docker Desktop is installed at C:\Program Files\Docker\Docker.
When prompted, ensure the Use WSL 2 instead of Hyper-V option on the Configuration page is selected or not depending on your choice of backend.
If your system only supports one of the two options, you won't be able to select which backend to use.
Follow the instructions on the installation wizard to authorize the installer and proceed with the install.
When the installation is successful, select Close to complete the installation process.
Start Docker Desktop.
If your administrator account is different to your user account, you must add the user to the docker-users group:
Run Computer Management as an administrator.
Navigate to Local Users and Groups > Groups > docker-users.
Right-click to add the user to the group.
Sign out and sign back in for the changes to take effect.

(Optional) Hardware components of a computer2:31
What happens when a linux system boots?5:04
Power on triggers bios or uefi, post checks memory, disks, and keyboard, loads the master boot record and Grub, then kernel and systemd start services for user login.
What is the shell?0:53
Understanding the command structure3:28
Cli Basics - Understanding the basics of command line6:43
●TAB - autocomplete
●CTRL + C - stop the execution i.e. Kill the process
●CTRL + Z - Pause the process (use fg to resume the process)
●Semicolon - use two commands in the same line
●CTRL + L - clear the screen, also CLEAR
●CTRL + A - beginning of the line
●CTRL + E - end of the line
●CTRL + U - clear the line
●CTRL + Y - Undo the delete of line
●CTRL + P - Previous command, check next with CTRL + N
●CTRL + S - stop the output on the screen
●Use && for multiple commands
●history to check the historical commands
Basic commands8:42
Learn basic Linux commands by exploring the terminal, managing processes with ps and kill, navigating the filesystem, creating and editing files, and launching programs and browsers.
Linux basics quiz
Wildcards6:22
●? (question mark) : this can represent any single character.
●* (asterisk) : this can represent any number of characters
●[ ] (square brackets) : specifies a range.
●{ } (curly brackets) :terms are separated by commas and each term must be the name of something or a wildcard.
●[!] : This is a logical NOT.
●\ (backslash) : is used as an "escape" character, i.e. to protect a subsequent special character. Thus, "\\” searches for a backslash.
Redirection4:06
●Input and output may be redirected using a special notation interpreted by the shell
< : Redirect Input
> : Redirect output
>> : Append output

●Pipes
○Using the pipe operator | (vertical bar), the standard output of one command can be piped into the standard input of another.
Section 1 - Practice test

The Linux Filesystem explained (updated)8:12
# Root directory listing with descriptions
/
├── bin -> usr/bin # Essential command binaries
├── boot # Boot loader files, kernel, initrd
├── dev # Device files
├── etc # System configuration files
├── home # User home directories
├── lib -> usr/lib # Essential shared libraries
├── media # Mount points for removable media
├── mnt # Temporary mount points
├── opt # Optional application software packages
├── proc # Virtual filesystem for kernel info
├── root # Home directory for root user
├── run # Run-time variable data
├── sbin -> usr/sbin # System binaries
├── srv # Data for services provided by system
├── sys # Virtual filesystem for system info
├── tmp # Temporary files
├── usr # User utilities and applications
└── var # Variable files (logs, mail, etc.)
Linux file system - Browsing the root directory9:43
(Optional) Types of Files2:15
In Linux, everything is a file.
Types of file
Regular - “-”
Directory - “d”
symbolic link - “l”

Special files
FIFO special - “p”
block special - “b” - Block devices are randomly accessible
character special - “c” - Character devices provide only a serial stream of input or accept a serial stream of output
Socket - “s”
Understanding paths1:27
Learn the difference between absolute and relative paths, using the root slash for absolute paths and dot and double-dot notation for navigating the current and parent directories, including chapters.
Working with directories6:07
Copy9:24
Move6:01
Learn to move and rename files with the linux mv command, control overwriting with interactive and update options, and use wildcards for batch file operations.
rm : Remove (delete) files and directories5:44
ln - create shortcuts3:31

echo4:01
Touch & Stat4:59
Cat4:13
Head & Tail3:42
More & Less6:40
Learn how to use the Linux more and less commands to read files page by page, navigate, search patterns, and manage multiple files with wildcards.
Sort12:38
Master the linux sort command by ordering file lines, adjusting spaces and case with -b and -f, and using -k and -t for column-based, delimiter-aware, and unique sorting.
wc2:10
tee3:14
Tar : Tape archive3:47
Learn tar, the tape archive utility, to bundle multiple files into a single archive and extract it with common options. Explore creating archives with specified files and comparing compression algorithms.
Zip and Unzip8:03
learn how to create and extract zip archives using various options, including adding files with wildcards, checking contents, updating, deleting, and encrypting archives, with recursive and exclude options.

Requirements

Linux installed
Computing background

Description

Linux!
If you are working in the field of IT, you would encounter Linux in some or other job role. To master Linux, you should master the Linux command line, which is a powerful tool for accessing the various commands and options in Linux.

In this tutorial I have focusses specifically on the Linux command-line, with the most used commands and options, which will transform your skills to an advanced Linux power user.

The course is a bulls-eye course for advancing your skills in command line usage. The course is a follow-along course, with easy explanation

With each level you will advance to the next stage of skills for the Linux command line.

In this series you will learn the usage following commands

The course structure

Introduction
1. Why Learn Linux?
2. Why master the Linux Command Line?
3. What is Linux?
4. Learning Methodology
Preparation
1. Installing Linux on a Virtual Machine using VirtualBox
2. Walkthrough of your Virtual Machine
Getting started with the command line
1. What is Shell?
2. Understanding the command structure
3. CLI basics
4. Commands overview
5. Linux Basics Quiz
Users and Groups
1. How Linux Multi users are implemented
2. User and Group management , Sudo and Change Password
3. File Permissions
4. File Permissions : Changing mode using chmod
5. File Permissions - Changing group using chgrp & Ownership using chown
Directories and Navigation
1. Understanding the Linux Filesystem
2. Understanding the paths
3. Working with directories
4. copy
5. move
6. remove
7. creating shortcuts
Mastering the command line
1. echo
2. touch & stat
3. cat
4. head & tail
5. more & less
6. sort
7. tee
8. tar
9. zip & unzip
Understanding Processes
1. understanding processes
2. proc

Who this course is for:

Begineer linux users

The Linux command line basics - A hands on course

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction9 lectures • 12min

Preparation6 lectures • 13min

Getting started8 lectures • 38min

Directories - Navigation and Operation9 lectures • 52min

Getting Help2 lectures • 9min

Users and Groups5 lectures • 27min

Mastering the command line10 lectures • 53min

Understanding Processes3 lectures • 11min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: