Table of contents
Getting used to the CLI
You are likely accustomed to using a graphical user interface (GUI) for interacting with your system. Nevertheless, utilizing the command-line interface (CLI) can significantly enhance efficiency and, in certain instances – as is the case with WSL – even prove essential. In this guide, we will provide a brief tutorial to help you familiarize yourself with the fundamental aspects of navigating the file system through the command line.
Directories and files
Moving around Directories and finding files
To view your current location in the directory, you can use the pwd command. This stands for ‘print working directory’.
To list all files and folders in your current directory, use the ls command. There are some helpful options you could give the ls command so it provides more information, such as -la (list all). To find out what options there are and how to use them, use man ls. man stands for manual. Usually you can also give --help as an argument to get a shorter description. Another great command to get a short recap of how to use a tool is to use tldr, but you will probably have to install it yourself.
You can use the cd command to change your directory, for example:
$ cd .. # .. refers to the parent directory, so it takes you back a level
$ cd . # . refers to the current directory, so it doesn't do anything
$ cd ~ # ~ refers to your users home directory
$ cd - # - also refers to your users home directory
$ cd / # / refers to the root directory
When referring to a path in a command, you can choose to do so with a full path or a relative path.
Another useful command to get a quick overview of where you are in the directory is the tree command.
Interacting with Files and Directories
Now that you know how to get around directories, it is probably important to know how to interact with files and directories.
cp <file_to_copy> <destination> # Copy a file
mv <file_to_move> <destination> # Move a file
rm <filepath> # Remove a file
touch <filepath> # Create a file
mkdir <directory> # Create a directory
rmdir <directory> # Remove a directory
rm -rf <directory> # Remove a directory and its contents recursively
apropos <command> # If you don't know the exact spelling of a command
clear # Clear your terminal, you can also press ctrl+L for a similar effect usually
Please never do rm -rf / since this will remove everything recursively starting from root. In Linux everything is a file, so you’ll just end up bricking your entire system.
Terminology
The terminal is the surrounding program you use to interact with the shell. Examples include the Gnome Terminal, Alacritty, Foot…
The shell runs inside the terminal and is the way you interact with your system. Examples include bash, zsh, sh, fish… \
Extra resources
Custom Prompts
It is possible to customize your prompt to display more useful information, an example can be found below. This prompt gives the user information about the current directory they’re in and also the git status:
Some links: ohmyzsh zapzsh powerlvl10k
Meaning of directories
If you want to know the meanings of all the different Linux directories: Linux Directories Explained in 100 Seconds