Basic commands

Ubuntu Command Line Tutorial for Beginners

Getting Started

1. Open the Terminal

   :

   • You can open the terminal by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or by searching for "Terminal" in the applications menu.

Basic Commands

1. Navigating the File System:

   • pwd

     : Print Working Directory. Shows the current directory you are in.

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     pwd

   • ls

     : List. Lists files and directories in the current directory.

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     ls

   • cd

     : Change Directory. Moves you to a different directory.

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     cd /path/to/directory

     Example:

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     cd Documents

2. File and Directory Operations:

   • mkdir

     : Make Directory. Creates a new directory.

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     mkdir new_directory

   • touch

     : Creates a new, empty file.

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     touch new_file.txt

   • cp

     : Copy. Copies files or directories.

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     cp source_file destination

     Example:

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     cp file.txt /home/user/Documents

   • mv

     : Move. Moves or renames files or directories.

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     mv old_name new_name

     Example:

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     mv file.txt new_directory/

   • rm

     : Remove. Deletes files or directories.

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     rm file.txt

     To remove a directory and its contents, use:

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     rm -r directory_name

3. Viewing and Editing Files:

   • cat

     : Concatenate. Displays the contents of a file.

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     cat file.txt

   • nano

     : A simple text editor. Opens a file for editing.

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     nano file.txt

   • less

     : Views the content of a file one screen at a time.

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     less file.txt

4. System Information and Management:

   • df -h

     : Displays disk space usage.

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     df -h

   • free -h

     : Displays memory usage.

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     free -h

   • top

     : Displays running processes and system resource usage.

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     top

   • uname -a

     : Displays system information.

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     uname -a

5. Installing and Managing Software:

   • sudo apt update

     : Updates the list of available packages and their versions.

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     sudo apt update

   • sudo apt upgrade

     : Installs the latest versions of all installed packages.

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     sudo apt upgrade

   • sudo apt install package_name

     : Installs a new package.

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     sudo apt install package_name

     Example:

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     sudo apt install curl

6. Using man (Manual) Pages:

   • man

     : Displays the manual for a command.

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     man command_name

     Example:

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     man ls

Shortcuts and Tips

• Ctrl + C: Stops the current command.
• Ctrl + Z: Suspends the current command.
• Ctrl + R: Searches command history.
• Tab: Auto-completes file and directory names.

Practice

Try creating a directory, navigating into it, creating a file, and then viewing its contents:

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mkdir my_first_directory
cd my_first_directory
touch hello.txt
echo "Hello, Ubuntu!" > hello.txt
cat hello.txt

This should give you a good start with using the command line in Ubuntu. Practice these commands, and you'll become more comfortable with the terminal. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask!