Let's Start!

So you’ve cracked open Linux. Congrats — you’re entering a world where you command the computer with words, not clicks. Think of it like talking to your PC in its native tongue.

Let’s make this fun.

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🖥️ The Big Picture: Who’s Who in Linux

When you use a computer:

1. Hardware → the physical stuff (CPU, memory, disk, keyboard).

2. Kernel → the OS brain that talks to hardware.

3. Shell → your translator. You type a command, shell hands it to the kernel, kernel does the job, you see the result.

Imagine: You → Shell (translator) → Kernel (brain) → Hardware (muscles).

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💻 What is a Terminal?

A terminal is your text-based chat window with Linux. Back in the day, it was an actual physical device. Today it’s just an app.

Examples:

• GNOME Terminal

• Konsole

• WSL on Windows (Which I am using)

Open one. It’s where all the magic begins. ✨

If you haven't yet installed WSL yet, install it from here.

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🐚 What is Bash?

Most Linux systems use Bash (Bourne Again SHell). It’s the interpreter that runs your commands and gives you output. In this course → we’re sticking with bash.

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⚡ Running Your First Commands

Try these out:

whoami   # your username
pwd      # where you are in the filesystem
date     # system date & time
df -h    # free space on disks
free -h  # free RAM
exit     # close the terminal

💡 Tips

• Commands are case-sensitive → pwd ≠ PWD.

• Typos? Bash will throw: command not found.

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📖 Getting Help

Linux has built-in manuals:

man pwd

Controls:

• q → quit

• /word → search for something

Example: /directory → find mentions of “directory.”

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💡 The Shell Prompt

When you open a terminal, you’ll see something like:

user@pc:~$

That’s the prompt → shell waiting for your orders.

Change it temporarily:

PS1="> "

Reset → close & reopen the terminal.

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🎮 Pro Navigation Tricks

🔁 Command History

• ↑ (up-arrow) → brings back your last command.

• ↓ (down-arrow) → moves forward again.

• Terminals usually remember your last 1000 commands.

↔️ Cursor Movement

• Use ← → arrows to move inside a command.

• Fix typos without retyping everything.

🖱️ Mouse Copy-Paste

• Highlight text → auto-copied.

• Middle-click → paste it.

• Forget Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V here — they mean other things (like killing a process ⚔️).

🎯 Focus Options

• Most desktops use click-to-focus (click a window to make it active).

• Old-school Linux prefers focus-follows-mouse → just hover to give focus.

• If supported, try it — smoother copy-pasting.

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🏋️ Exercises

1. Run:

   whoami
   pwd
   date
   df -h
   free -h

2. Use man date → try different date formats.

3. Change your prompt:

   PS1="LinuxRocks> "

4. Recall your last command using the ↑ arrow.

5. Practice copy-paste with the mouse.

6. Exit the terminal with:

   exit

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Date Learned: 11 August 2025

Source: The Linux Command Line, Chapter 1