Linux 101: Navigate the Filesystem
Your third hands-on session in a Linux terminal. Learn how the Linux directory tree is organized and practice navigating it with absolute paths, relative paths, and common shell shortcuts.
In this Shell Gym, you will learn how the Linux filesystem is organized and practice finding your way around it from the command line.
Assumed knowledge: you know what files and directories are, can run commands with arguments and options, and can read their output and error messages. You do not need to know the Linux directory layout or how filesystem paths work - both are introduced here.
What you will learn:
- Find your current directory and move anywhere using an absolute path.
- Recognize
/,/home,/tmp,/etc,/usr, and/var, and understand what they are commonly used for. - Move into child directories and back up the tree using relative paths.
- Return to your home directory, use
~inside paths, and jump back to the previous directory. - Navigate to directories whose names contain spaces and other special characters.
A session takes just a few minutes and is meant to be repeated over time until navigating the filesystem becomes second nature.
Train once, and this gym will be added to your Daily Practice. The reps return after 1, 3, 7, 14, and 30 days, until using the commands becomes muscle memory.
Practice in a real terminal
Work in an ordinary shell on a real Linux VM. Shell Gym watches what you do and completes each rep automatically as soon as you reach the goal.
Small reps, focused gyms
Each module groups a handful of short reps around one command or concept, so you can focus on one thing at a time and build the skill step by step.
Spaced repetition, built in
The gym comes back after 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 days, so you revisit the commands before they fade and gradually turn deliberate practice into muscle memory.
Built into Daily Practice
When a gym is due, it appears in your Daily Practice. Pause it when you need a break, or complete it once the skill has become second nature.
Every session on record
Each session records how long you practiced and how many reps you completed, so you can see your training history and progress right here.
Help when you get stuck
Open a hint or follow the live feedback Shell Gym gives you based on what it sees on the VM — just enough to get unstuck without giving away the answer.