Introduction to the Terminal

The terminal is your gateway to unleashing the full power of Linux. In this course, we’ll explore the fundamental commands and concepts that every Linux user should know.

Basic Navigation

pwd   # Print Working Directory
ls    # List contents
cd    # Change Directory

mkdir  # Create directory
rmdir  # Remove empty directory
rm -r  # Remove directory and contents

File Operations

touch  # Create empty file
cp     # Copy files
mv     # Move/rename files
rm     # Remove files

cat    # Display entire file
less   # Page through file
head   # View beginning of file
tail   # View end of file

File Permissions

chmod  # Change mode
chown  # Change owner
chgrp  # Change group

Process Management

ps     # Process status
top    # Dynamic process viewer
htop   # Interactive process viewer

kill   # Terminate process
pkill  # Kill process by name

Text Processing

grep   # Search text
sed    # Stream editor
awk    # Text processing language

Practice Exercises

Try these exercises to reinforce your learning:

1. Navigate through your file system using only the command line
2. Create a directory structure for a project
3. Manage file permissions for different users
4. Monitor and manage system processes

Summary

In this introduction to Linux command line, we’ve covered:

1. Basic navigation commands
2. File operations
3. Permission management
4. Process control
5. Text processing basics

Next Steps

In the upcoming lessons, we’ll explore:

• Shell scripting
• System monitoring
• Network commands
• Package management
• User administration