Mission 1 of 30
Fundamental Navigation
Confirm exactly where you are and inventory a new workspace.
Start gently: learn where you are, what is around you, and how Linux lists files.
Practice inside
~/linux-practice. Check your setup before you begin. What you’ll practice
- Use pwd to identify your location
- Use ls variations to inspect folders
- Recognize hidden files and long listings
The mental model
- Linux has a single filesystem tree starting at /.
- Your home folder is written as ~.
- Before running commands, pwd is your safety seatbelt.
Try it in your terminal
Where am I?
Safe in practice folderPrints your current folder.
Run from ~/linux-practice
pwdIdentify your Linux environment
Read-only system viewShows the kernel, architecture, distribution details, and (when applicable) the WSL distribution name. These checks are safe on Ubuntu, most Linux distributions, and WSL.
Run from anywhere
uname -srmo
cat /etc/os-release
if [ -n "$WSL_DISTRO_NAME" ]; then echo "WSL distro: $WSL_DISTRO_NAME"; fiList files
Safe in practice folderShows files in normal, detailed, hidden, human-readable, and time-sorted views.
Run from ~/linux-practice
ls
ls -l
ls -la
ls -lh
ls -ltrCreate first practice items
Safe in practice folderCreates harmless files and a folder inside the sandbox.
Run from ~/linux-practice
touch file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt
mkdir testdir
ls -laPut it into practice
- Run the setup command first.
- Identify your distribution and whether you are using WSL.
- Create three files and one folder.
- Compare ls, ls -l, and ls -la output.
Check your result
pwd ends in linux-practice and ls -la shows the workspace contents.
Common mistakes
- You create a file, then panic because you can't find it. Run `pwd` first. Always. It's the terminal equivalent of checking your rearview mirror before changing lanes.
- You see a .bashrc file and wonder if it's something dangerous. It's not. Hidden files are just names starting with a dot. Linux uses the dot to keep them out of your way during a normal `ls`.
Check your understanding
Explain these in your own words. If you’re unsure, revisit the examples before moving on.
- What command confirms your current folder?
- What does ls -a show that ls hides?
Your practice, your pace
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