An Introduction To Linux Command Shell :

Start Up:

This manual was written with the intention of being a helpful guide to Linux users who are trying

to become familiar with the Bash shell and basic Linux commands. To make this manual useful to

the widest range of people, I decided to release it under a free documentation license, with the

hopes that people benefit from it by updating it and re-distributing modified copies. You have

permission to modify and distribute this document, as specified under the terms of the GNU Free

Documentation License. Comments and suggestions for improvement may be directed to:

vic@gedris.org

.

This document was created using an Open Source office application called

Open Office

. The file

format is non-proprietary, and the document is also published in various other formats online.

Updated copies will be available on Vic Gedris' web site [

http://vic.dyndns.org/

]. For

more information on Open Office, please visit

http://www.openoffice.org/

.

Copyright © 2003 Victor Gedris.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU

Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software

Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover

Texts. A copy of the license is available from the Free Software Foundation's website:

http://www.fsf.org/copyleft/fdl.html

Document Version:  1.2, 2003-06-25

1.0 Introduction

The purpose of this document is to provide the reader with a fast and simple introduction to using

the Linux command shell and some of its basic utilities. It is assumed that the reader has zero or

very limited exposure to the Linux command prompt. This document is designed to accompany an

instructor-led tutorial on this subject, and therefore some details have been left out. Explanations,

practical examples, and references to DOS commands are made, where appropriate.

1.1 What is a command shell?

A program that interprets commands

Allows a user to execute commands by typing them manually at a terminal, or automatically

in programs called

shell scripts

.

A shell is

not

an operating system. It is a way to interface with the operating system and run

commands.

1.2 What is BASH?

BASH =

B

ourne

A

gain

SH

ell

Bash is a shell written as a free replacement to the standard Bourne Shell (/bin/sh)

originally written by Steve Bourne for UNIX systems.

It has all of the features of the original Bourne Shell, plus additions that make it easier to

program with and use from the command line.

Since it is Free Software, it has been adopted as the default shell on most Linux systems.

1.3 How is BASH different from the DOS command prompt?

Case Sensitivity:

In Linux/UNIX, commands and filenames are case sensitive, meaning

that typing “EXIT” instead of the proper “exit” is a mistake.

“\” vs. “/”:

In DOS, the forward-slash “/” is the command argument delimiter,

while the backslash “\” is a directory separator. In Linux/UNIX, the

“/” is the directory separator, and the “\” is an escape character. More

about these special characters in a minute!

Filenames:

The DOS world uses the “eight dot three” filename convention, meaning

that all files followed a format that allowed up to 8 characters in the

filename, followed by a period (“dot”), followed by an option extension,

up to 3 characters long (e.g. FILENAME.TXT).  In UNIX/Linux, there is

no such thing as a file extension. Periods can be placed at any part of the

filename, and “extensions” may be interpreted differently by all

programs, or not at all.

1.4 Special Characters

Before we continue to learn about Linux shell commands, it is important to know that there are

many symbols and characters that the shell interprets in special ways. This means that certain

typed characters: a) cannot be used in certain situations, b) may be used to perform special

operations, or, c) must be “escaped” if you want to use them in a normal way.

Character Description

\

Escape character.  If you want to reference a special character, you must “escape” it

with a backslash first.

Example: touch /tmp/filename\*

/

Directory separator, used to separate a string of directory names.

Example: /usr/src/linux

.

Current directory.  Can also “hide” files when it is the first character in a filename.

..

Parent directory

~

User's home directory

*

Represents 0 or more characters in a filename, or by itself, all files in a directory.

Example: pic*2002 can represent the files pic2002, picJanuary2002,

picFeb292002, etc.

?

Represents a single character in a filename.

Example: hello?.txt can represent hello1.txt, helloz.txt, but not

hello22.txt

[ ]

Can be used to represent a range of values, e.g. [0-9], [A-Z], etc.

Example: hello[0-2].txt represents the names hello0.txt,

hello1.txt, and hello2.txt

|

“Pipe”.  Redirect the output of one command into another command.

Example: ls | more

>

Redirect output of a command into a new file.  If the file already exists, over-write it.

Example: ls > myfiles.txt

>>

Redirect the output of a command onto the end of an existing file.

Example: echo “Mary 555-1234” >> phonenumbers.txt

<

Redirect a file as input to a program.

Example: more < phonenumbers.txt

;

Command separator.  Allows you to execute multiple commands on a single line.

Example: cd /var/log ; less messages

&&

Command separator as above, but only runs the second command if the first one

finished without errors.

Example: cd /var/logs && less messages

&

Execute a command in the background, and immediately get your shell back.

Example: find / -name core > /tmp/corefiles.txt &

1.5 Executing Commands

The Command PATH:

Most common commands are located in your shell's “PATH”, meaning that you can just

type the name of the program to execute it.

Example: Typing “ ls” will execute the “ ls” command.

Your shell's “PATH” variable includes the most common program locations, such as

/bin, /usr/bin, /usr/X11R6/bin, and others.

To execute commands that are not in your current PATH, you have to give the complete

location of the command.

Examples: /home/bob/myprogram

./program  (Execute a program in the current directory)

~/bin/program  (Execute program from a personal bin directory)

Command Syntax

Commands can be run by themselves, or you can pass in additional arguments to make them do

different things.  Typical command syntax can look something like this:

command [-argument] [-argument] [--argument] [file]

Examples: ls List files in current directory

ls -l Lists files in “long” format

ls -l --color As above, with colourized output

cat filename Show contents of a file

cat -n filename Show contents of a file, with line numbers

2.0 Getting Help

When you're stuck and need help with a Linux command, help is usually only a few keystrokes

away! Help on most Linux commands is typically built right into the commands themselves,

available through online help programs (“man pages” and “info pages”), and of course online.

2.1 Using a Command's Built-In Help

Many commands have simple “help” screens that can be invoked with special command flags.

These flags usually look like “-h” or “--help”.

Example: grep --help

2.2 Online Manuals: “Man Pages”

The best source of information for most commands can be found in the online manual pages,

known as “man pages” for short.  To read a command's man page, type “man command”.

Examples: man ls Get help on the “ls” command.

man man A manual about how to use the manual!

To search for a particular word within a man page, type “/word”. To quit from a man page, just

type the “Q” key.

Sometimes, you might not remember the name of Linux command and you need to search for it.

For example, if you want to know how to change a file's permissions, you can search the man page

descriptions for the word “permission” like this:

man -k permission

If you look at the output of this command, you will find a line that looks something like:

chmod              (1)  - change file access permissions

Now you know that “chmod” is the command you were looking for. Typing “man chmod” will

show you the chmod command's manual page!

2.3 Info Pages

Some programs, particularly those released by the Free Software Foundation, use info pages as

their main source of online documentation. Info pages are similar to man page, but instead of

being displayed on one long scrolling screen, they are presented in shorter segments with links to

other pieces of information. Info pages are accessed with the “info” command, or on some

Linux distributions, “pinfo” (a nicer info browser).

For example: info df Loads the “df” info page.

3.0 Navigating the Linux Filesystem

The Linux filesystem is a tree-like hierarchy hierarchy of directories and files. At the base of the

filesystem is the “/” directory, otherwise known as the “root” (not to be confused with the root

user). Unlike DOS or Windows filesystems that have multiple “roots”, one for each disk drive, the

Linux filesystem mounts all disks somewhere underneath the / filesystem. The following table

describes many of the most common Linux directories.

3.1 The Linux Directory Layout

Directory Description

The nameless base of the filesystem. All other directories, files, drives, and

devices are attached to this root. Commonly (but incorrectly) referred to as

the “slash” or “/” directory. The “/” is just a directory separator, not a

directory itself.

/bin

Essential command binaries (programs) are stored here (bash, ls, mount,

tar, etc.)

/boot

Static files of the boot loader.

/dev

Device files. In Linux, hardware devices are acceessd just like other files, and

they are kept under this directory.

/etc

Host-specific system configuration files.

/home

Location of users' personal home directories (e.g. /home/susan).

/lib

Essential shared libraries and kernel modules.

/proc

Process information pseudo-filesystem.  An interface to kernel data structures.

/root

The root (superuser) home directory.

/sbin

Essential system binaries (fdisk, fsck, init, etc).

/tmp

Temporary files.  All users have permission to place temporary files here.

/usr

The base directory for most shareable, read-only data (programs, libraries,

documentation, and much more).

/usr/bin

Most user programs are kept here (cc, find, du, etc.).

/usr/include

Header files for compiling C programs.

/usr/lib

Libraries for most binary programs.

/usr/local

“Locally” installed files. This directory only really matters in environments

where files are stored on the network. Locally-installed files go in

/usr/local/bin, /usr/local/lib, etc.). Also often used for

software packages installed from source, or software not officially shipped

with the distribution.

/usr/sbin

Non-vital system binaries (lpd, useradd, etc.)

/usr/share

Architecture-independent data (icons, backgrounds, documentation, terminfo,

man pages, etc.).

/usr/src

Program source code.  E.g. The Linux Kernel, source RPMs, etc.

/usr/X11R6

The X Window System.

/var

Variable data: mail and printer spools, log files, lock files, etc.

3.2 Commands for Navigating the Linux Filesystems

The first thing you usually want to do when learning about the Linux filesystem is take some time

to look around and see what's there! These next few commands will: a) Tell you where you are,

b) take you somewhere else, and c) show you what's there. The following table describes the basic

operation of the pwd, cd, and ls commands, and compares them to certain DOS commands that

you might already be familiar with.

Linux Command DOS Command Description

pwd

cd “Print Working Directory”. Shows the current

location in the directory tree.

cd, chdir “Change Directory”. When typed all by itself, it

cd

returns you to your home directory.

cd directory

cd directory Change into the specified directory name.

Example:  cd /usr/src/linux

cd ~

“~” is an alias for your home directory. It can be

used as a shortcut to your “home”, or other

directories relative to your home.

cd ..

cd.. Move up one directory. For example, if you are in

/home/vic and you type “cd ..”, you will end

up in /home.

cd -

Return to previous directory. An easy way to get

back to your previous location!

dir /w List all files in the current directory, in column

ls

format.

ls directory

dir directory List the files in the specified directory.

Example: ls /var/log

dir List files in “long” format, one file per line. This

ls -l

also shows you additional info about the file, such

as ownership, permissions, date, and size.

ls -a

dir /a List all files, including “hidden” files. Hidden files

are those files that begin with a “.”, e.g. The

.bash_history file in your home directory.

ls -ld

A “long” list of “directory”, but instead of showing

the directory contents, show the directory's detailed

directory

information. For example, compare the output of

the following two commands:

ls -l /usr/bin

ls -ld /usr/bin

ls /usr/bin/d*

dir d*.* List all files whose names begin with the letter “d”

in the /usr/bin directory.

4.0 Piping and Re-Direction

Before we move on to learning even more commands, let's side-track to the topics of piping and

re-direction. The basic UNIX philosophy, therefore by extension the Linux philosophy, is to have

many small programs and utilities that do a particular job very well. It is the responsibility of the

programmer or user to combine these utilities to make more useful command sequences.

4.1 Piping Commands Together

The pipe character, “|”, is used to chain two or more commands together. The output of the first

command is “piped” into the next program, and if there is a second pipe, the output is sent to the

third program, etc.  For example:

ls -la /usr/bin | less

In this example, we run the command “ls -la /usr/bin”, which gives us a long listing of all

of the files in /usr/bin. Because the output of this command is typically very long, we pipe the

output to a program called “less”, which displays the output for us one screen at a time.

4.2 Redirecting Program Output to Files

There are times when it is useful to save the output of a command to a file, instead of displaying it

to the screen. For example, if we want to create a file that lists all of the MP3 files in a directory,

we can do something like this, using the “>” redirection character:

ls -l /home/vic/MP3/*.mp3 > mp3files.txt

A similar command can be written so that instead of creating a new file called mp3files.txt,

we can append to the end of the original file:

ls -l /home/vic/extraMP3s/*.mp3 >> mp3files.txt

5.0 Other Linux Commands

The following sections describe many other commands that you will find on most Linux systems.

I can't possibly cover the details of all of these commands in this document, so don't forget that you

can check the “man pages” for additional information. Not all of the listed commands will be

available on all Linux or UNIX distributions.

5.1 Working With Files and Directories

These commands can be used to:  find out information about files, display files, and manipulate

them in other ways (copy, move, delete).

Linux

DOS

Description

Command

Command

file

Find out what kind of file it is.

For example, “file /bin/ls” tells us that it is a Linux

executable file.

type Display the contents of a text file on the screen. For

cat

example: cat mp3files.txt would display the file we

created in the previous section.

head

Display the first few lines of a text file.

Example: head /etc/services

tail

Display the last few lines of a text file.

Example:  tail /etc/services

tail -f

Display the last few lines of a text file, and then output

appended data as the file grows (very useful for following

log files!).

Example:  tail -f /var/log/messages

copy Copies a file from one location to another.

cp

Example:  cp mp3files.txt /tmp

(copies the mp3files.txt file to the /tmp directory)

rename,

mv

Moves a file to a new location, or renames it.

ren, move

For example:  mv mp3files.txt /tmp

(copy the file to /tmp, and delete it from the original

location)

rm

del Delete a file.  Example:  rm /tmp/mp3files.txt

mkdir

md Make Directory.  Example: mkdir /tmp/myfiles/

rmdir

rd, rmdir Remove Directory.  Example: rmdir /tmp/myfiles/

5.2 Finding Things

The following commands are used to find files. “ls” is good for finding files if you already know

approximately where they are, but sometimes you need more powerful tools such as these:

Linux

Description

Command

which

Shows the full path of shell commands found in your path. For example, if

you want to know exactly where the “grep” command is located on the

filesystem, you can type “which grep”. The output should be something

like: /bin/grep

whereis

Locates the program, source code, and manual page for a command (if all

information is available). For example, to find out where “ls” and its man

page are, type: “whereis ls”  The output will look something like:

ls: /bin/ls /usr/share/man/man1/ls.1.gz

locate

A quick way to search for files anywhere on the filesystem. For example, you

can find all files and directories that contain the name “mozilla” by typing:

locate mozilla

find

A

very

powerful command, but sometimes tricky to use. It can be used to

search for files matching certain patterns, as well as many other types of

searches.  A simple example is:

find . -name \*mp3

This example starts searching in the current directory “.” and all sub-

directories, looking for files with “mp3” at the end of their names.

5.3 Informational Commands

The following commands are used to find out some information about the user or the system.

Linux Command Explanation

ps

Lists currently running process (programs).

w

Show who is logged on and what they are doing.

id

Print your user-id and group id's

df

Report filesystem disk space usage (“Disk Free” is how I remember it)

du

Disk Usage in a particular directory. “du -s” provides a summary

for the current directory.

top

Displays CPU processes in a full-screen GUI. A great way to see the

activity on your computer in real-time.  Type “Q” to quit.

free

Displays amount of free and used memory in the system.

cat /proc/cpuinfo

Displays information about your CPU.

cat /proc/meminfo

Display lots of information about current memory usage.

uname -a

Prints system information to the screen (kernel version, machine type,

etc.)

5.4 Other Utilities

Here are some other commands that are useful to know.

Linux Command Description

clear

Clear the screen

echo

Display text on the screen. Mostly useful when writing shell scripts. For

example:  echo “Hello World”

more

Display a file, or program output one page at a time.  Examples:

more mp3files.txt

ls -la | more

less

An improved replacement for the “more” command. Allows you to scroll

backwards as well as forwards.

grep

Search for a pattern in a file or program output. For example, to find out

which TCP network port is used by the “nfs” service, you can do this:

grep “nfs” /etc/services

This looks for any line that contains the string “nfs” in the file “/etc/services”

and displays only those lines.

lpr

Print a file or program output.  Examples:

lpr mp3files.txt - Print the mp3files.txt file

ls -la | lpr - Print the output of the “ls -la” command.

sort

Sort a file or program output.  Example: sort mp3files.txt

su

“Switch User”. Allows you to switch to another user's account temporarily.

The default account to switch to is the root/superuser account.  Examples:

su - Switch the root account

su -  - Switch to root, and log in with root's environment

su larry - Switch to Larry's account

5.5 Shortcuts to Make it all Easier!

When you start using the Bash shell more often, you will appreciate these shortcuts that can save

you very much typing time.

Shortcut Description

Up/Down Arrow Keys Scroll through your most recent commands. You can

scroll back to an old command, hit E

, and execute the

NTER

command without having to re-type it.

“history” command Show your complete command history.

T

Completion If you type a partial command or filename that the shell

AB

recognizes, you can have it automatically completed for

you if you press the T

key. Try typing the first few

AB

characters of your favourite Linux command, then hit T

AB

a couple of times to see what happens.

Complete recent commands with “!” Try this: Type “!” followed by the first couple of letters

of a recent command and press E

!  For example, type:

NTER

find /usr/bin -type f -name m\*

...and now type:

!fi

Search your command history with

Press CTRL-R and then type any portion of a recent

CTRL-R

command. It will search the commands for you, and once

you find the command you want, just press E

.

NTER

Scrolling the screen with Shift-

Scroll back and forward through your terminal.

PageUp and Page Down

6.0 Further Reading

Link Address Description

http://www.oclug.on.ca

Ottawa Canada Linux Users Group. A

group with an active mailing list, monthly

meetings, and much more.

http://www.exitcertified.com

Ottawa's source for Sun training, and the

host of OCLUG's technology seminars.

http://www.fsf.org

The Free Software Foundation.

Documentation, source code, and much

more for many programs commonly

found on Linux systems.

http://linux.org.mt/article/terminal

“A Beginner's Bash”. Another very good

introduction to Bash.

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/bash2

An excellent book if you want to learn

how to customize Bash and use it for shell

script programming.