The Linux Command Line
A Complete Introduction
by William E. Shotts · first published 2011
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Clear, practical introduction to the Linux shell and bash, covering command-line basics and common tools. Suited to beginners and to experienced users seeking more fluency at the terminal.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
You've experienced the shiny, point-and-click surface of your Linux computer -- now dive below and explore its depths with the power of the command line. The Linux Command Line takes you from your very first terminal keystrokes to writing full programs in Bash, the most popular Linux shell. Along the way you'll learn the timeless skills handed down by generations of gray-bearded, mouse-shunning gurus: file navigation, environment configuration, command chaining, pattern matching with regular expressions, and more. In addition to that practical knowledge, author William Shotts reveals the philo
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Another great resource is "The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction." I picked up a lot of command-line fu from this book. http://www.amazon.com/The-Linux-Command-Line-Introduction/dp...
on “The Command Line Crash Course” ↗Taking a glance at this, it seems very unlikley to unseat my favorite intro book: http://linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php I consistently recommend The Linux Command Line by William Schotts. It's available in print through New Starch, or on the web. It's very clearly written, and practical.
on “An Introduction to Unix (2014)” ↗The Linux Command Line has basically taught me everything I know about using bash. I've never read The Smart Girl's Guide to Privacy, but I've heard so many good things about it. It's on my to-read list. The Bug Hunter's…
on “Humble Book Bundle: Hacking Presented by No Starch Press” ↗…UNIX System Programming Handbook [4] Linux Kernel Development 3rd Edition To get a nice general overview and get up and going quickly: [5] How Linux works: What every superuser should know [6] The Linux Command Line [7] Python Crash Course [8] Automate the boring stuff with Python. This is a great book to help you think about how to automate most of the repetitive things you will end up doing on a regular basis.…
on “Ask HN: Best Resources to Learn to Manage Linux Boxes via SSH” ↗…understand the basic directory structure... I agree with this. Anyone interested in command line hacking can find everything nelsonmarcus recommends (and a bit more) in this very readable book: The Linux Command Line A complete Introduction By Shotts https://www.amazon.com/Linux-Command-Line-Complete-Introduct...
on “Ask HN: Must have (Linux) sysadmin skills?” ↗"The Linux Command Line" by William Shotts is a good read also, and is freely available from the author via his website http://linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php
on “A Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming (2010) [pdf]” ↗Can't edit original, but to answer the question regarding good sources for learning, I highly recommend The Linux Command Line . Great book: http://linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php
on “Safe ways to do things in bash” ↗…Also, a lot of troubleshooting you Google is going to involve interacting with the command line, and it's essential to understand what the commands you're executing are actually doing. I'd recommend The Linux Command Line by William Schotts to get started.
on “Ubuntu: ~20% More Performance Than Windows 11 on New AMD Zen 4 Threadripper” ↗Really great resource. If you want more of a book format, I also highly recommend The Linux Command Line by William Shotts: https://linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php
on “Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide” ↗Love both books by Daniel J. Barrett. "The Linux Command Line" by William Shotts is pretty good book for new and experienced command line users. He has also written the supplemental book "Adventures with the Linux Command Line". The author has also generously provided…
on “Linux Basics for Hackers” ↗The Linux Command Line by William Shotts
on “Ask HN: Top 10 Timeless Software Books That ChangedLife as Software Engineer?” ↗> Maybe this one would be good? The Linux Command Line, 2nd Edition: A Complete Introduction Free PDF in the author's (William Shotts) homepage: http://www.linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php/
on “Ask HN: How can a intermediate-beginner learn Unix/Linux and programming?” ↗The Linux Command Line and Adventures with the Linux Command Line, both by William Shotts, are a nice read for beginner linux administartion http://www.linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php/
on “Linux Sysops Handbook” ↗I'd say check out the work of William Shotts at https://linuxcommand.org/ His book, "The Linux Command Line" is free for downloading, and there are lots of references to style guides, good practices, and bash templates in the book. There is also a shorter, HTML version at the same site: https://linuxcommand.org/lc3_learning_the_shell.php…
on “Ask HN: How does one practice day to day shell scripting” ↗The Linux Command Line: A Complete Introduction by William Shotts. In my own learning I found this to be the single greatest resource for getting to know the terminal. It has the perfect balance of overview/detail, allowing…
on “Ask HN: I want to learn to use the terminal, where do I start” ↗