Navigating Your File System Using Shell

Why should I use shell to navigate my files?

It's the fastest way to manage files on your system.

There are plenty of tutorials on shell, why should I use this one?

If another tutorial suits you go with that. This tutorial is meant to be short and practical.

Why should I know about directories and files?

They are simple to understand, yet important because they make up everything on your disk.

What's the difference between a directory and a file?

You can think of a directory as a folder. It can hold other folders and files.

Files hold information. They are stored in directories.

How do I move around my file system?

I like to use these three questions to help me determine what command to use:

Where am I? Use pwd

Where am I going? Use ls

How do I move? Use cd <directory>

If I'm lost in my system how do I get back?

<cd> brings you back to your home directory.

<cd ..> brings you to the parent of your current directory.

<cd -> brings you back and forth between your current directory and your last.

If I forget these commands how do I find them?

The manual.

It can be accessed with <man man>

How do I learn more about a command?

The manual, but this time we can get more specific.

For example, <man ls> will tell you about the ls command and all the things you can do with it.

Do I really have to type the entire name of a directory or file?

No. You can use the <tab> button to auto fill the rest of the file name.

It can't read your mind yet so you'll have to type enough characters to differentiate between directories or files that share similar names on your system.

That's all I got  on navigating your system. Next time I'll be talking about how to manage them.