Command Line Basics for Beginners - Full Course

This course teaches foundational command line skills—such as navigation, file management, and input/output control—by guiding users through the creation of a project file structure.

• Terminal purpose — It serves as a text-based interface for the operating system, allowing for faster navigation and automation compared to standard visual file managers [03:28].

• Tracking location — Use the pwd command to print the current working directory path [10:24].

• Listing contents — Run ls to display all files and folders located within the active directory [10:51].

• Changing folders — Navigate to a new location using the cd (change directory) command [11:31].

• Parent navigation — Type .. to move one level up the file hierarchy [15:43].

• File management — Create new files with the touch command and remove them using rm [20:56].

• Directory control — Use mkdir to build new folders, and rmdir (or rm -r for folders with content) to delete them [25:58].

• Writing text — Use echo to output text to the screen, or use the > operator to redirect that output into a file [30:43].

• Appending content — Utilize the >> operator to add new text to the end of a file without overwriting existing data [33:27].

• Reading data — Run the cat command to display the contents of a file inside the terminal window [37:37].

• How does the cat command function when used with a redirection operator?

• What is the difference between rmdir and rm -r when deleting folders?