Made by yours truly in 2014 for the Gender and Tech resources.

Upgrade 2016: This version of the guide uses paper Operating System fundamentals, that are then tied in with Linux kernel and GNU OS implementation and applications, to provide a context for learning and practising with (more) commands. That background is not necessary, but can deepen the learning.

It is assumed you have a working linux distro installed, know how to log in and open a terminal emulator window (doesn't matter which one).

After this DIY course you can:

• run basic commands, navigate directories
• use simple I/O redirection and pipes
• use a text editor (doesn't matter which one)
• look up details of command usage in man pages

• Case sensitivity is very important and a common source of problems for people new to Linux. Other systems such as M$ windows are case insensitive when it comes to referring to files. Linux is not. You can have two or more files and directories with the same name but letters of different case.
• A lot of commands in linux are named as an abbreviation of a word or words describing them. This makes it easier to remember them.
• These command-line guides are based on Debian (will also work for Ubuntu and Mint) and the use of bash.

• # - requires the given command to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command
• $ - the given command to be executed as a regular non-privileged user