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Linux Console

First steps with the Linux shell. Create files, move them, write content. 5 tasks.

Duration: 20 minLevel: BeginnerExercises: 5

First steps in the console

First steps with the Linux console

The console (also terminal or shell) is the text-based way to control a Linux computer: you type commands, the computer runs them. Professionals do almost everything via the console because it is fast and automatable.

Key terms & commands

Directory: a "folder". You move around with cd, create one with mkdir.
echo: prints text — with > you write it into a file.
cat: shows the content of a file.
ls: lists files in a directory.

Work in the folder /home/student/uebung/ in this lesson. Create it first: mkdir -p /home/student/uebung.

Your goal

You create files, write text into them and practise the basic commands — the foundation for all further modules.

Exercises

1. Create your first file
Concept: creating a file with >. The arrow > redirects a command's output into a file (overwriting it). This lets you create a file with content in one step.

Create the practice folder and write hallo into a file:
```
mkdir -p /home/student/uebung
echo "hallo" > /home/student/uebung/hallo.txt
```
Check with cat /home/student/uebung/hallo.txt.

Check: /home/student/uebung/hallo.txt contains the word hallo.
2. Your name in a file
Concept: appending lines with >>. While > overwrites, >> appends to a file. This lets you write multiple lines.

Write your first and last name on two lines into ich.txt:
```
echo "Max" > /home/student/uebung/ich.txt
echo "Mustermann" >> /home/student/uebung/ich.txt
```
Replace the example names with your own.

Check: /home/student/uebung/ich.txt contains at least two lines.
3. Write a list
Concept: writing a list. In many text formats a list item starts with a hyphen and space (- ). Write a list with at least three items into liste.txt.
```
printf -- "- Apple\n- Banana\n- Cherry\n" > /home/student/uebung/liste.txt
```
printf with \n creates line breaks. Alternatively write it by hand with nano.

Check: /home/student/uebung/liste.txt contains at least three lines starting with - .
4. Uppercase
Concept: transforming text with tr. The command tr (translate) replaces characters — e.g. lower- to uppercase. Write a word in UPPERCASE (at least 5 letters) into laut.txt.
```
echo "warning" | tr 'a-z' 'A-Z' > /home/student/uebung/laut.txt
```
Result: WARNING. tr 'a-z' 'A-Z' converts each lowercase letter to the corresponding uppercase one.

Check: /home/student/uebung/laut.txt contains at least 5 uppercase letters in a row.
5. Create three files
Concept: multiple files & ls. Create three files, then write an overview of their names into drei.txt — combining touch (create an empty file) and ls (list).
```
cd /home/student/uebung
touch a.txt b.txt c.txt
ls *.txt > drei.txt
```
touch creates empty files; ls *.txt > drei.txt writes the list into the file.

Check: /home/student/uebung/drei.txt is not empty (contains the file names).

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First steps in the console

First steps with the Linux console

Key terms & commands

Your goal

Exercises

1. Create your first file

2. Your name in a file

3. Write a list

4. Uppercase

5. Create three files

Related courses

Now practice it yourself