In this section, we will cover the fundamental commands for navigating the command line in Bash. Understanding these commands is essential for efficiently working with the file system and managing files and directories.

1. Command Line Interface (CLI): A text-based interface used to interact with the operating system.
2. Shell: A program that interprets and executes commands entered by the user.
3. Prompt: The text displayed by the shell indicating that it is ready to accept commands.

Displays the current directory you are in.

Explanation: The pwd command outputs the full path of the current working directory.

Lists the files and directories in the current directory.

Explanation: The ls command shows the contents of the current directory.

Common Options for ls:

• -l: Long listing format.
• -a: Include hidden files (files starting with a dot .).
• -h: Human-readable file sizes.

Explanation: The -lah options provide a detailed list, including hidden files, in a human-readable format.

Changes the current directory to the specified directory.

Explanation: The cd command changes the current directory to Documents.

Useful cd Shortcuts:

• cd ~: Change to the home directory.
• cd ..: Move up one directory level.
• cd -: Switch to the previous directory.

Explanation: These shortcuts help navigate the file system more efficiently.

Creates a new directory.

Explanation: The mkdir command creates a new directory named new_folder.

Removes an empty directory.

Explanation: The rmdir command removes the empty directory new_folder.

Deletes files or directories.

Explanation: The rm command deletes the file file.txt.

Removing Directories with rm:

• rm -r directory_name: Recursively remove a directory and its contents.

Explanation: The -r option allows rm to remove directories and their contents.

1. Open your terminal.
2. Use pwd to print the current directory.
3. Use ls to list the contents of the current directory.
4. Change to the Documents directory using cd Documents.
5. Print the current directory using pwd.
6. Move up one directory level using cd ...
7. Print the current directory using pwd.

1. Create a new directory named test_folder in your home directory.
2. List the contents of the home directory to verify the creation.
3. Remove the test_folder directory.
4. List the contents of the home directory to verify the removal.

• Mistake: Forgetting to use -r when trying to remove a non-empty directory with rm.
  • Tip: Always double-check if the directory is empty or use rm -r for non-empty directories.
• Mistake: Using rm without caution, leading to accidental deletion of important files.
  • Tip: Use rm -i to prompt before each removal.

In this section, you learned the basic commands for navigating the command line in Bash. These commands are fundamental for interacting with the file system and managing files and directories. Practice these commands to become more comfortable with the command line interface. In the next section, we will explore more basic Bash commands for file and directory operations.