What is the Linux command line?
The Linux terminal gives you an interface where you can type commands and see the result printed as text. You can use the terminal to perform tasks such as moving files or navigating a directory without using a graphical interface. Terminals simply transmit information. For the operating system to understand this information, you need a shell.
On the Linux command line, you can execute commands manually by typing them into a terminal. You can also automate commands by using shell scripts.
A brief history of the Linux command line
Let’s take a short walk through the history of the Linux command line. In the early days of computing, there was the Unix operating system designed to run on mainframes as a multi-user system. Users connected to it remotely through terminals.
These terminals were very simple because they could only send keystrokes and display data on the screen.
Because the text required few resources, users could interact quickly and efficiently. All of the tasks that users performed were done through this text interface. To coordinate the execution of different programs, users could connect to a single master program.
User commands were enclosed in “shell” programs. To simplify complex tasks, users could write shell scripts that automate a long series of shell commands.
Linux is a descendant of Unix. Its main part is designed to behave similarly to a Unix system. The Bourne Again Shell (BASH) was developed by Stephen Bourne and released in 1979 in version 7 of the Unix release. It eventually became the default shell for Linux systems.
How to open the terminal
This section will tell you how to open the Linux terminal in two ways.
Method 1: Actions
- Click Actions in the upper left corner of the screen.
- Locate a terminal, shell, command, or prompt.
- Select the terminal icon to launch it. There’s your terminal. For now, it’s just a dim screen.
If you use other versions of Linux, the terminal is usually in the same place as the other application launchers. If you can’t find it, use the following method.
Method 2: Keyboard shortcut
This is the easiest way to access your Linux terminal. Press CTRL+ALT+T to open the terminal instantly.
Although this is the default shortcut, you have the possibility to change it. Go to “Settings”> “Keyboard shortcuts”.
Here you can see all the keyboard shortcuts.
Click the shortcut next to “Run Terminal”, type a new shortcut in the “Install Shortcut” window, click “Install”, and you’re done.
For example, I changed the shortcut to CTRL+T.