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Linux Terminal

July 1, 2025 4 min read Linux Docs IBM-DevOps Linux-Terminal Linux-Shell

An introduction to the Linux terminal and shell, explaining their roles, how they work together, and how to use basic commands for navigating the filesystem.

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This document provides an overview of the Linux shell and terminal, explaining how they function together to allow users to interact with the operating system. It covers the basics of shell commands, the terminal interface, and how to navigate the Linux filesystem using commands like `cd` and `ls`.

The Linux Shell and Terminal

The Linux shell is an OS-level application that interprets commands, while the terminal is the user interface where commands are entered and their output is displayed. Although modern Linux distributions have graphical user interfaces, the shell and terminal remain popular for their flexibility and efficiency, especially for scripting.

How Commands are Executed

The process of running a command involves several steps:

  1. The user enters a command into the terminal.
  2. The terminal relays the command to the shell.
  3. The shell, along with the OS and kernel, translates the command for the hardware.
  4. The hardware executes the command.
  5. The kernel reads the results and sends them back through the shell to the terminal for the user to see.

The terminal is a powerful tool for interacting with the filesystem. The command line is where commands are entered, and the command prompt indicates where the typed text will appear.

The Current Working Directory

The current working directory is the location where the shell will look for files and execute commands. The path to the current directory is often displayed in the command prompt.

Understanding Paths

A path is the human-readable location of a file or directory. There are several special path notations:

PathDescription
~The user’s home directory.
/The root directory of the filesystem.
..The parent directory of the current location.
.The current directory.

Changing Directories with cd

The cd (change directory) command is used to navigate the filesystem. For example, cd / will change the current directory to the root directory, and cd bin will move into the bin directory.

Listing Directory Contents with ls

The ls command is used to list the files and directories within the current directory. It can be executed by typing ./ls when in the same directory as the executable, or simply ls if the command is in the system’s path.

Conclusion

The Linux terminal and shell are fundamental tools for interacting with a Linux system. By understanding how they work together and learning basic commands like cd and ls, users can efficiently navigate the filesystem and execute commands.

FAQs

The Linux shell is a command-line interpreter that executes commands, while the terminal is the user interface application that allows you to interact with the shell.

A user enters a command in the terminal, which sends it to the shell. The shell, OS, and kernel work together to have the hardware perform the command, and the output is sent back to the terminal for the user to see.

  1. cd ~
  2. cd /
  3. cd .
  4. cd ..
(4) The cd .. command is used to move to the parent directory of the current location in the filesystem.

CharacterDescription
A. ~1. The root directory of the filesystem.
B. /2. The current working directory.
C. .3. The user’s home directory.
D. ..4. The parent directory of the current location.
A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4

The ls command can only be executed from the /bin directory.

False. Many commands located in the /bin directory, including ls, are built into the shell, so you can run them from any location in the filesystem.

  1. cd / and then ls
  2. cd ~ and then ls
  3. cd .. and then ls
  4. cd . and then ls
(2) The command cd ~ navigates to the user’s home directory, and ls then lists its contents.

The command is not a built-in shell command, and the directory containing the executable is not in the system’s PATH variable, or the user has misspelled the command.

  1. The command line is where you enter commands.
  2. The command prompt indicates where the text you type will be displayed.
  3. The command prompt always displays the full path of the current working directory.
  4. The cursor at the command prompt is often a vertical line or a block.
(3) Not all terminals display the full path of the current directory in the command prompt; some may only show the current directory’s name.
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