Chapter 3: Files and directories

Find your way around the Linux directory tree, and create, copy, move, link and remove files from the shell, using patterns to work on many files at once.

What you will learn

• Describe how Linux organises files in one directory tree, and what the main directories hold.
• Name files with absolute and relative paths, move around with cd, and list directories with ls.
• Create, copy, move, rename and remove files and directories.
• Give a file more than one name with hard links and symbolic links, and explain how they differ.
• Use shell expansions (patterns, braces, the tilde, variables and command substitution) and quoting to work on many files at once.

Sections

1. The directory tree
2. Paths and finding your way
3. Exercise: Find your way around
4. Create, copy, move and remove
5. Exercise: Organise a website's files
6. Hard links and symbolic links
7. Exercise: Switch releases with a link
8. Work on many files at once
9. Exercise: Files and directories review
10. Linux files and directories quiz
11. Linux files and directories cheat sheet