Beginner's Guide to the Bash Terminal

This video is a crash course to help new users get started with BASH. Here is a list of the commands we'll cover:
BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO THE BASH TERMINAL
NAVIGATION
ls - list directory contents
pwd - print name of current/working directory
cd - change working directory
pushd/popd - put working directory on a stack
file - determine file type
locate - find files by name
updatedb - update database for locate
which - locate a command
history - display bash command history
GETTING HELP
whatis - display the on-line manual descriptions
apropos - search the manual page names and descriptions
man - an interface to the on-line reference manuals
WORKING WITH FILES
mkdir - create a directory/make directories
touch - change file timestamps/create empty files
cp - copy files and directories
mv - move (rename) files
rm - remove files or directories
rmdir - remove empty directories
TEXT FILES
cat - concatenate files and print on the standard output
more/less - file perusal filter for crt viewing
nano - command line text editor
USERS
sudo - execute a command as superuser
su - change user ID or become another user
users - print the user names of users currently logged in
id - print real and effective user and group IDs
CHANGING FILE PERMISSIONS
chmod - change permissions of a file
KILLING PROGRAMS AND LOGGING OUT
Ctrl+C - kill a running command
killall - kill processes by name
exit - log out of bash
USEFUL SHORTCUTS
Ctrl+D - signal bash that there is no more input
Ctrl+L - redraw the screen
Ctrl++ - make text bigger in terminal emulator
Ctrl+- - make text smaller in terminal emulator
Check out www.ezeelinux.com for more about Linux.

[@jw24119]

why would anyone dislike this video? This man spent hours trying to teach us and he did a great job.

[@professionalpanda9324]

no yt premium subscription + no adblocker = frustation

[@l5386]

what are dislikes?

[@motoryzen]

​@@l5386 did you seriously ask that question are were you just giving a pathetic attempt to troll 😁

[@l5386]

@@motoryzen the latter :)

[@motoryzen]

@@l5386 well at least you're honest..and that is a step for humanity towards the correct directions 😁 Nodd

[@waliboy3382]

Based on 50 years of using computers (mainframes the size of tennis courts!) and 25 years of PCs and 15 years of searching through poorly produced instructional videos I have to say that this is, without doubt, the best that I have seen on any subject. Well scripted, well presented and incredibly helpful. Thank you!

[@EzeeLinux]

FOR THE PEDANTIC PEOPLE: No, BASH is not a Terminal, It is a Shell. I explain that in the video. The title is constructed to be searchable, not taken literally. Since I have clarified this in the comment section already, there is no need for you to do so. Thanks. :)

[@joooooooooooe]

Take THAT pedantic people! s/ While I’m here, thank you so much for this video. I’ve been working with Unix OS’ for going on a decade, and I always learn something new whether it’s how to use an overlooked command or how to teach new users. Thank you again!

[@ZacharyVelasco]

the penguin made me think my screen was dirty.

[@edinabalintmusic]

Agreed took a while to see the penguin 😄🐧

[@kaan3874]

Omg you are not alone!

[@freyamiles3718]

I saw it at first but left my computer screen for a bit and thought it was a smudge

[@itsdarklikehell]

Use the clear command.

[@DrShafi-xn6pk]

hahhaa me too. I thought it's a mouse haha

[@RKBibleStudy]

I'm about to give you an unusual complement. I live in Nashville where obviously there are a lot of songwriters. I actually am very close to some people who have written some big hit songs. one thing I know about songwriting is that you have to keep the song moving forward continually. In other words, you can't just hover over one idea for a long time. You should always keep the story moving forward, the next event always progressing from the last event especially if you're telling a story of course, and making it very understandable to the listener. Your lessons flow very much like a well-written song. You're an excellent orator, and your lessons flow from one thing to another in a very logical way. I just thought I'd put that out there. I'm very appreciative of the work you do to get these videos out there. I don't know why, but I am really into Linux very much. I just thought I'd pass that along. God bless.

[@EzeeLinux]

Thanks. I do appreciate a well written song... :)

[@ChristianRThomas]

@Learn Linux You have time for comedy? I'm concentrating much too hard to be aware of any jokes. :)

[@siribiriz]

I agree, he's an EXCELLENT ORATOR

[@Decco6306]

Reminds me of Kathleen Hudson for some reason

[@Hammid]

God bless you, Sir!

[@kevinarevalofernandez5657]

kevin@kevin:~$ whatis less less (1) - opposite of more Thanks Linux. Very nice of you.

[@sarath14k56]

LOL

[@TheKurtPrice]

That's actually the story for its creation. more didn't do much, so someone made less. less has many more feature than more.

[@MrDerekib]

siri 1.0 LOL

[@pavelsapehin4308]

What is more? Opposite of less. Eeeasy.

[@hanspzwetsloot4858]

Quarter?

[@fernandoc6578]

This was my first video of Linux. After two years working with it almost as a daily driver I can tell that this is for sure one of the most useful and comprehensible video-tutorial of everything I've learn in my entire life. Congrats Joe👍

[@pt_nakul_sharma]

but by t. M but. But. M. M. M. But by m. But m. M. But. But. But. M m T. M. m gm. Bu. M 😊M m. M. But by M m. T mt. T t Ttg. T M. M. But. But by. G. Bob M t. M t t T M TTt t T M M t t T T T G t t G. G M T G G t T. T t. T T P G

[@CharlesChoMD]

I've been using command line to do small things but this video gave me more understanding. Thanks

[@JustinMacri007]

How dino do system check abs repair with terminal in Mac?

[@jonaso9140]

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[@jonaso9140]

@@JustinMacri007 1

[@jonaso9140]

@@JustinMacri007 kann nk1 kkq1bkonkn 1 1nb1 k

[@jonaso9140]

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[@GunnerJoe93]

Wow I've been reading a book on Bash commands. This video couldn't have come at a better time! I was thinking of the hours I would've wasted learning all the non-essential stuff from a 1000 page book.

[@EzeeLinux]

I'm glad it helped. :)

[@brianhackit7900]

Prithvi Singh don't you love when that happens! I wad looking around for a bash vid but couldn't find a vid rusty was nice and informative like this, simple dirt beginners but thick enough to sink my teeth in.

[@tinicum54]

Thanks. Old guy here, self taught in most things. This is concise and to the point. Sad, lol, I have a long way to go for this to be 2nd nature, so to speak. I still remember the difference, and sub numbers from. RCA transistors to Sylvania. .Shure vs. Pickering vs. Stanton vs Empire Phono cartridges, Crystal vs Ceramic vs. Magnetic. The High gain input and equalization necessary for a magnetic cartridge and a magnetic tape head. OS's are a Brave New World. Thanks

[@EzeeLinux]

T Sh, You speak my language! Welcome, brother! :)

[@rrook88]

what gave me issues with command line.. was figuring what was going on behind the scenes. started programming with mcu asm. gave a deeper understanding. os simply nothing but a bunch of system calls and interrupts.

[@helloworld76048]

i love how you don't _assume_ that the person watching knows this or that. this is truly a beginner's guide; you explain *everything,* even the parts i feel other tutorials would skip. i've been using bash for almost a year now and there was still so much that i had no idea of, or that i did know how to use but didn't know how it worked. this crash course was a massive insight into all that. thank you for the great video!

[@Hedgehog-ji1bm]

As a long time UNIX & Linux user/admin, I have to say this is one of the best tutorials for new users I have seen in a while. I will certainly recommend it to new users. Great job! 👍🏽

[@davidromero7639]

Aye @JMAJ I need your help with guidance on linux coding would you be able to help me out on simple coding ?

[@onehungrygeek]

Holy cow I appreciate you using a dark terminal. I watched this thing on my bed in night. I would have burned my eyes if it were any other color!

[@egoiisticprince7977]

Holly cow😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@El.Chef.Guevara]

I second this comment wholeheartedly, I started watching another Linux dude's tut and couldn't brimg myself to go past the basics, he was using a bright white background with scarlet red font!!

[@meh5812]

dark mode is the best thing ever

[@MiraSmit]

@@El.Chef.Guevara Ouch

[@brianwild4640]

The black screen is default

[@MichaelSharpTechniSmart]

Joe, I have been landing on your videos for years whenever I was in need of something specific and you always seem to have a tutorial in your inimitable style. No more a lurker, you have a brand new subscriber!

[@ceruleanfish6703]

Really enjoyed your presentation, Joe. I'd learned some of these commands before. However, to have someone tie them together like that really makes things easier to remember. Thank you for sharing.

[@amortalbeing]

a tip concerning @10:30 or 11:10 here: whenever you use cd .. to go back, you can use cd - to go forward (to where you were before cd ..) by the way great stuff here. thanks a gazillion times :)

[@Roger-we3co]

2017. I've been missing this video for 4 years! I'm learning for the A+ exam, I'm finding myself really attracted to linux. Even today this info is gold, TY!

[@uyscuti5118]

Amazing video! So well done and explained!

[@subliminalcastillo2126]

God damn, dude. This was one of the best things I've ever seen on youtube. I swear to god the progression, flow & order of this tutorial is so flawless & perfect it's hard to believe a human being came up with it.

[@macybrigmon8166]

UGHHHH THANK YOUUU. a lot of tutorials i find move so slow, this is amazing!!!

[@En1gma3069]

Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together, it's so helpful and I appreciate your time. Great video! Thank you!

[@garyc23]

This video is absolutely brilliant. I'm studying operating systems at Uni and we are learning bash at the moment, this has helped so much. Really appreciate the time and effort you've put into this. Liked and Subbed!!!

[@bovrar2nd861]

Thank you very much sir, I was really needing that didactic approach to the terminal. The fear of the unknown vanishes with valuable information.

[@elizastefanescu5390]

I found this video 4 years ago. It was my first introduction to Bash. I loved it so much that since then, whenever I hear someone that is interested into learning Bash, i recommend this video. I remember how I watched it first time, absorbed every info you provided and next day, I started to tell my colleague what I've learned from your video. She said that I am really passionate because of the way I was telling her how cool Linux is but it was your video that made me so enthusiast! Thank you so much for this video!!! I got my first position in IT with your help and I owe you! Now I am already on a higher position and use Linux on a daily basis. Many thanks!❤

[@alansloane9500]

Thank you so much for making this video! I have learned more in one hour with you than I have in the last 2yrs Please keep making these teaching videos!

[@JacobScott0000]

Man, had loads of fun following along on Terminal. Cheers!

[@luke2803]

Dude....your teaching skills are amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together; while being clear and concise.

[@user-ss6zt2mo1l]

This is the best video I have seen on KZbin this month. Loved it. Thank you.

[@lasagna3084]

Best video I have run across. To the point and structured! Thank you for putting this together!!

[@nilda7141]

I took basic linux unix in school but this video taught me advance commands I never knew and explained deeper why basic commands work and what they mean so much better than any course I have ever taken. Can't tell you how many videos I have seen in the past 4 years, this one is THE BEST one I have ever come across! Thank You

[@MMABeijing]

thank you Sir, you the best...I have found . I am soooo glad I found your channel, amazing!

[@krishnadathmishra8784]

You know how you realize in the middle somewhere that this is a good book and you like it so much that you just don't want it to end..but then it does and then it leaves you with this weird happy + sad feeling..This video was that.. Brilliant stuff for a beginner.. Thanks Joe.

[@coltonpoganiatz868]

Best video I have ever seen in my life, thank you for actually teaching us like were beginners!

[@YeffRamos]

when he says "rm -r" and you start sweating because you think he's gonna add an "f *"

[@kach51]

Wish I met you and your video much earlier in my life. Great teacher.

[@clschnak]

even 3 years later, still a helpful tool. Thank you

[@peksn]

dude i love your animated style of commentary, it really keeps the flow going!

[@johnnyb1505]

Man thank you for this man, You taught me this a lot easier than I learned in class. Have my linux certification coming up soon.

[@TheCgOrion]

Being an expert in MS-Dos, cmd, and powershell, but just starting Arch Linux, one time through this video and you have tremendously helped me. All I had to do was equate commands to their MS counterparts. Interesting that some are shared commands. I never realized that I already had a start in Bash until watching your well made video. Dare I say that Bash is already looking more elegant! Subscribed!

[@EzeeLinux]

I'm glad it helped. I used to program automation systems that ran on DOS so I'm quite familiar with it. :)

[@noweare1]

There is bash on windows now. It is actually a linux distro running side by side with windows 10.

[@UzairKhan-qd3xu]

@@noweare1 wsl 2

[@rugglez]

I am so impressed with your guide! You have presented a lot of useful information in a well paced, well spoken and well delivered way. You are clear with your instructions, keep things moving forward but also don't pile on too much new information all in one go. I already knew a little bit about Bash, and your guide helped me to validate things I thought I already knew, then taught me a whole lot more on the subject. A massive thank you from me for your wonderful teaching style. I'm off to search through your archives now in the hope of some Javascript and other web development guides :)

[@YouKnowMeDuh]

I appreciate this video. I know a lot of these commands, yet there were gaps in my understanding of them as well as the different ways I could use them. Learned a lot of new commands too!

[@ronaldnavarro6665]

I've just started using Linux and this video was incredibly useful to me. Thank you so much for this excellent video and channel. Greetings!

[@MartaZagrajek]

"your life will never be the same again" beautiful! Thank You. I have learned a lot.

[@nicholasyee1733]

Just started using the CLI and this has been a great help! Thank you so much for this video!

[@lordnavalyn]

Many times i tend to forget things like some of the usabilities of these commands. You are making a good source for ppeople like me. Thank you.

[@arcarajoportorta]

Joe, you're the man.

[@AndrewKwabula]

Dude, you make scary stuff look easy. I have just started with Linux as well as Bash for Windows which I use on Windows for Web Development. You are thorough, crystal clear voice. Thanks very much.

[@seanmoran6683]

I keep finding myself coming back to this video, thank you for all your help.

[@auburnkit]

had no idea where to look and decided on this video. glad I did! super helpful, thank you!

[@petey80]

This video is incredible. I was hardcore into DOS back in the old days, have my first Linux computer coming this week. I'm a total Newb, and am so excited! Thank you for this, you are a great teacher!

[@weirdscix]

I don't consider myself a beginner but been so long since I saw a Joe video I'm going to watch anyway

[@Farmer_Frontier]

I’m very excited to have stumbled across this page. I am new to Linux and i can boldly say learning with you will give me a right start. Thank you 👌

[@ashishkangaokar]

Your voice has a power that makes watcher to learn things automatically!! Amazing video sir!!

[@kirikouwepeutihmecemonami4219]

I am very new to Linux and as an aspiring programmer I found this video very helpful and easy to watch (even at *2 speed) ! Thank you for this quality content, now it's time for me to try this out !

[@Msyoutube38]

"I dont get it" part got me. One hell of a vid.

[@taidee]

This is a great tutorial, even years after it was made. Just the right pace too.

[@prasad1686]

I just started learning Linux two week ago and this is the the best video i ever saw. I subscribed to the channel too - Joe, Thank you

[@Spartacus69]

Pushd and popd... Just wow thank you so much for putting this together

[@boboala1]

Good job here, Joe! Relevant content, succinct delivery and pacing without reiteration. I'm new to Linux (my roots in MS-DOS) and I started leaning from this video right from the get-go! Keep up the good work!

[@mintyfresh3152]

Excellent overview of the basics. It came up on autoplay while I was dozing off and I watched it through. Well organized and not intimidating for new users.

[@lucatoni1481]

Great video! I was completely lost trying to learn from other videos but this one made it really simple!

[@michaes5182]

Im taking my Linux Essentials Cert and I just wanted to let you know that I find your video very informative, enjoyable, and easy to follow along with. Im currently using my Raspberry pi to practice terminal commands. Thanks for the great video :)

[@user-qv6jz4mi6m]

SHRIAL

[@TheSiddwazz]

The way this tutorial was presented makes Bash scripting easier to learn & understand. Well done Joe :)

[@Noodle_DHF]

Easily one of the greatest tutorial videos for I.T. Couldn't have done a better job in this video, thank you!

[@hiraijaz3777]

Your turtorial helped me with my Mid exam. I'm really thankful. Thanks a bunch

[@DrayseSchneider]

If I could have had a video to watch like this when I first started banging about, trying to find my way around OpenBSD, things might have gotten a bit smoother. The os had, and still maintains, excellent man pages so it was quite a learning experience as poured over the in built documentation. All the same, all the hours I could have saved if some friendly soul had posted an accessible video on the Korn Shell all those years ago. 😁

[@nobodynowhere163]

I've been using Linux for years, and even I learned a thing or two in this video.

[@Kat-lx7qq]

thank you so so much Joe. I suppose its impossible for you to know how much of a help you really are with this video. Super generous of you. thank you

[@fiddley]

Ecxellent vid! I've used the console a bit in my time when needed, but only now am i making a proper effort to learn it. I love how you put some proper useful nuggets up front: locate, which & apropos. Those got me hooked and I stayed for cd, cat and sudo! Thanks for posting this!

[@mrcrbgaming2412]

honestly, Thank you for m making this video man, it has openned a wholoe new world for me and now my whole life revolves around it, i hop this video reaches alot more ppl like me that are also iin =terested i this subject! :)

[@kyrandunn-mills6584]

This video made me from scared of the terminal to in love with it

[@sammyasher]

SAME

[@dtcarthy]

Joe, not only was this video incredibly helpful, but it was fun as hell too. Subscribed, liked and will be going through your catalogue

[@VenomHazers]

I just wanted to show my appreciation on how great your tutorial was. Keep up the great work! :D

[@lotsarats]

it would be great to see an advanced guide to bash. cause i'm sure all us experienced users can still be doing things better/easier in some way.

[@Chr0n0s38]

Depending on what you're doing you may consider switching to zsh. It allows you to do bulk file renaming. For example you might have a bunch of files with the name fileX.txt where X is a number. You can use zsh to rename all of them to oldfileX.txt or change the extensions or whatever with just one command. Bash would require some more work to do something similar.

[@coon-si3ce]

if you want to find out information on "cd" type "help cd" Some things are in the man, man, but depending on the command, you may be able to use help, or some things you can use command -h or command --help which should give the same results.

[@xrafter]

cd is built-in command in bash and other shells

[@franciscofuentes8916]

Oftentimes the man can be daunting

[@synen]

I like to watch multiple videos of the same tech topics to make sure I grasp all the concepts correctly. Without a doubt, this one is by far the best one for linux terminal usage, thank you so much Joe.

[@JoseTorres-ql1ul]

This video is gold thank you so much for taking your time here. Awesome teacher!

[@BullishBuddy]

I'm still watching this in 2019!

[@StuartChudy]

Jeff Xi me too!

[@tylerdurden8469]

Me three! 😁😁😉😅

[@busdriver1261]

I'm using it as a guide to my bash education. Writing a lot of the command/syntax explanations from the video to a text file . It will become second nature in time. Reminds me of my DOS/4DOS days in the 90's :)

[@JTKroll12]

he's right my life was never the same ever since I learned the pipe

[@jiejenn]

A big thanks for making this tutorial. I have been using bash on a Windows PC and recently started my own server to run different task in a Linux environment, this tutorial really helpede to get a better use of bash commands.

[@NathanPK]

You are an excellent teacher. Clear and concise. Subscribed.

[@sinlajuan]

I am sitting in my office (where I should be working) but I'm learning Linux. I have found tons of tutorials that were helpful but I stopped this one at 26:35 bc I want to finish it at home so I can practice along! Very informative thus far. Will subscribe now!!

[@RobinCernyMitSuffix]

Sad that you are working in a Windows environment... I'm lucky and work in a Linux "only" environment (there are 1-2 BSD machines)

[@compphysgeek]

Terminal: the scariest part of Linux .. Intimidating .. only two things I always hear in these videos. When I started using a computer, GUIs haven't been developed yet. I started on a Commodore 64 and later my first IBM compatible PC came with MS-DOS 4.01. I had my first computer mouse when I got DOS 6.2 and Windows 3.11. Naturally, to me the Terminal is neither intimidating nor scary. I would probably feel like that about punch cards. I guess it's all just a matter of what you know and what you're used to.

[@rickforges8918]

punch cards .. me too. -- Coleco Adam was my start tho.

[@DaveSomething]

I've been a CLI fan for most of my life, learned a few things, cleared up a lot of things... thank you for explaining.

[@sustomusickillsyoutube]

This is so excellently made, simple, and well explained. Thank you so much!

[@jwz1204]

I use linux for a long time. But a lot of these basic commands I didn't even know.

[@nicuvrabii8052]

Thank you for a great introduction to Bash commands! At college, we spent 10 times more time to "learn" this information. The next step is to figure out how to run parallel processes on a remote cluster...

[@ul3m8]

This was a very nice tutorial. Enough explanation but not to slow to get boring! I'd love a 2nd video about the bash!

[@dan_]

I've been using Linux at home on and off for at least the last 10 years (mostly on for the latter half of that) and within 15 minutes of this video you've already taught me a brilliant timesaver. I was not aware of that push/popd command!

[@mikepence763]

I think I might be a nerd. I just got off work, I go to youtube, and I start watching a beginner's guide to bash for the fun of it. Great video I might add, it's very informing. I find this more entertaining than something like cash me outside girl any day.

[@EzeeLinux]

Thanks. :)

[@NeilRoy]

There should be a "ren" command for renaming files. It seems to me that "mv" is moving a file and overwriting one if it already exists. It has the effect of renaming, but I would imagine "ren" would be safer, warning you (I would hope) if the new filename already exists.

[@tekhead]

Great lesson. I enjoyed the way you teach but also how you leave room to the imagination. The possibilities. Wasn't dry and you sparked deeper curiosities. Thank you!

[@akirubamiru6700]

The best introduction to Bash Linux, I have ever watched.

[@GioGziro95]

13:16: You can also just *cd* into the directory and then do *cd -* (cd space hyphen) to get back. :)

[@i_dont_want_a_handle]

wow thanks!

[@mikecantreed]

So what's pushd and popd useful for?

[@the_blahhh]

@@mikecantreed cd - will return you to the previous directory. pushd will save a directory you want to return to using popd. Say youre in documents and want to return back there later. Now you go to /etc. Later, you may do some more cd commands, maybe youre in /etc/someotherdir or somewhere else entirely like /opt. In this situation, cd - will only take you to the last directory you were in, while popd will take you back to documents, since you saved it. The pushd command also lets you save many directories, which is why its called "push"d, and will be familiar to people who know about stacks.

[@NeilRoy]

@@mikecantreed: I think programmers will remember pushd and popd as they are similar to stack commands. If these work the same, than you can probably push several directories onto the stack, then pop them off later (usually they work by grabbing the last item you pushed first, like a stack of books, the last book will be on top, so when you pop it off, you take the one on top, or the last one).

[@oizy1760]

or just "cd .." to go back one directory or "cd" on it's own to return to the current users home folder.

[@finndriver1063]

This video should be included with every Linux install. It would have come in so handy as a comprehensive beginners terminal guide when I started using Linux. I remember when it all just clicked with the terminal. I would compare it to the 'LISP moment'. Nowadays I only keep lxde installed for the occasional GUI program. All else is terminal or curses.

[@EzeeLinux]

Thanks. That's quite a compliment. :)

[@Beekay_HQ]

This video is gold. Especially explanation of file permission is very clear.

[@joseluizlimaneto3080]

"The terminal assumes you now what you want to do." "It says who you are..." --> OMG!! It understands me more than my family!!!

[@Chr0n0s38]

Just a side note (okay I admit I haven't watched the video yet, just read the description). Ctrl+D sends an end of file character. This is important because it allows Ctrl+D to not only exit the terminal, but also interactive language prompts as well such as Python, Scheme, Lisp and OCaml.

[@whalestailz]

what about perl

[@EliteProductions3129]

24:38 "That's how you Get-Help" I see what you did there

[@tonysu208]

Very nice introduction to not only some basic BASH commands, but a few other things... In particular, your explanation of file (and folder) permissions is particularly clear.

[@kamcosmic]

My new assignment requires me to know my way around Linux and this was exactly what I was looking for! Thank you so much for your clear and concise explanations. It's perfect for short attention spanned me.