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The Terminal

4 min read Quiz at the end

The terminal is a text interface where you type commands to control Linux. The prompt shows your username, hostname, and current directory. Press Tab to autocomplete and the up arrow to repeat previous commands.

Opening the Terminal

The terminal (shell) lets you control your system with text commands. The most common shell is bash (Bourne Again Shell).

$ whoami       # current user
$ hostname     # computer name
$ date         # current date/time
$ uptime       # how long system has been running
$ echo "Hello" # print text

The $ symbol is the prompt — you type after it.

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Topic Quiz · 5 questions

Test your understanding before moving on

1. What does pwd print?

💡 pwd (print working directory) shows your current absolute path.

2. What does whoami show?

💡 whoami prints the username of the currently logged-in user.

3. What does echo do?

💡 echo prints text or variable values to standard output.

4. What is the $ in the terminal prompt?

💡 $ indicates a regular user prompt; # indicates root.

5. What does the # prompt mean?

💡 # in the terminal prompt means you are logged in as root (superuser).

Quick Access

The Terminal

Opening the Terminal

Test your understanding before moving on