dcd9fedd-5509-4f32-8754-e48177608f7d/02_navigation_file_ops.md at cabc136120d4e9717789f87b1f905f758675b415

5.9 KiB

Raw Blame History

Type along exactly as shown. This step is written for absolute beginners and assumes no prior Linux experience.
Estimated time: ~10–15 minutes

What you’ll learn

What a path is (absolute vs. relative)
How to move around with cd
How to create, inspect, copy, move/rename, and delete files and folders
How to work safely (confirmation prompts), and handle names with spaces
How to verify your actions with ls -l

This expands the original brief step (pwd → mkdir → cd → create file → ls -l) into a guided mini-lesson with checks, expected outputs, and troubleshooting.

0) Setup (recommended)

Create a clean practice area so you don’t accidentally change other files:

mkdir -p ~/playground && cd ~/playground

~ is your home directory (e.g., /home/yourname).
mkdir -p creates all missing parent folders safely.
cd changes your current working directory.

If something goes wrong, you can reset this folder later:

cd ~ && rm -rf ~/playground && mkdir -p ~/playground && cd ~/playground

1) Where am I? (Print Working Directory)

pwd

Expected output: the full path of your current directory (e.g., /home/yourname/playground).
This is called an absolute path (it starts with /).

2) Create folders (directories)

Create a single folder:

mkdir projects

Create a nested folder tree in one go:

mkdir -p projects/alpha

Verify:

ls -la

-l = long list (permissions, owner, size, date)
-a = include hidden items (names starting with a dot)

Hidden files often store settings and are called dotfiles (e.g., .bashrc).

3) Move around with `cd`

Change into the new folder:

cd projects
pwd

Go down another level:

cd alpha
pwd

Go up one level:

cd ..
pwd

Jump home quickly:

cd ~
pwd

Return to your last directory:

cd -

Think of cd as “change directory” — just like opening folders in a file explorer.

4) Create files (3 common ways)

Make sure you’re inside ~/playground (use pwd to check), then:

A) Create with content (overwrite if exists):

echo "Hello Linux" > hello.txt

B) Append more content (keeps existing lines):

echo "Second line" >> hello.txt

C) Create an empty file:

touch empty.txt

D) Create and edit with a text editor (nano):

nano notes.txt
# Type: My first notes line.
# Save: Ctrl+O, Enter.  Exit: Ctrl+X

Check what you made:

ls -l
cat hello.txt

> writes/overwrites; >> appends. touch creates an empty file or updates the timestamp if it already exists.

5) Inspect details with `ls`

List files with extra info:

ls -l

You’ll see lines like:

-rw-r--r-- 1 yourname yourname   12 Sep  8 10:00 hello.txt

-rw-r--r-- → permissions
first yourname → owner
second yourname → group
12 → file size in bytes
hello.txt → file name

Try human-readable sizes:

ls -lh

Show hidden files too:

ls -la

6) Copy, move/rename, and delete files

Copy a file:

cp hello.txt hello.bak
ls -l hello*

Move/rename a file (same command):

mv hello.bak projects/alpha/
mv empty.txt empty-renamed.txt
ls -l projects/alpha
ls -l empty-renamed.txt

Delete a file (interactive/safe):

rm -i empty-renamed.txt

-i asks “remove regular file…?” before deleting — excellent for beginners.

Delete a folder tree (careful!):

rm -r projects/alpha
mkdir -p projects/alpha  # recreate it for the next step

rm -r removes directories recursively (everything inside). Use with caution.

7) Names with spaces

Two safe methods:

Quotes:

mkdir "my notes"
echo "a line" > "my notes/file with space.txt"
ls -l "my notes"

Escaping spaces with backslashes:

echo "another line" > my\ notes/another\ file.txt
ls -l my\ notes

If you forget quotes/backslashes, the shell will think you’re typing multiple arguments and show an error like “No such file or directory”.

8) Wildcards (globbing)

List all .txt files:

ls -l *.txt

List everything that starts with he:

ls -l he*

If a wildcard matches nothing, the shell may pass the literal pattern to the command (e.g., ls: cannot access '*.txt': No such file or directory). That’s normal.

9) Verify what you did (mini-checklist)

Where are you?
```
pwd
```
Do you see the files you created?
```
ls -la
```
Do you see the content you wrote?
```
cat hello.txt
```
Is there a copy in projects/alpha/?
```
ls -l projects/alpha
```

10) Cleanup (optional)

If you want to start fresh:

cd ~ && rm -rf ~/playground && mkdir -p ~/playground && cd ~/playground

Troubleshooting

Q: Permission denied when creating files?
A: Ensure you’re working inside your home (e.g., ~/playground) where you have write permission.

Q: No such file or directory when using spaces?
A: Use quotes "like this" or escape spaces: my\ notes/that\ file.txt.

Q: I ran rm -r in the wrong place!
A: This is why we practice in ~/playground. In real life, double-check paths before you press Enter.

Quick Quiz (1 minute)

How do you print the current directory path?
What’s the difference between > and >>?
Which command renames a file?
Show a long listing including hidden files—what options do you use?
Two ways to handle file names with spaces?

Answers: pwd; > overwrites, >> appends; mv; ls -la; quotes or backslashes.

Next Step

Continue to Step 3 — Searching & Text Viewing to learn grep, find, less, and more!

5.9 KiB Raw Blame History Unescape Escape

Step 2 — Navigation & File Operations (Ubuntu 24)