Linux

Linux vocabulary.

A practical reference for the commands, paths, tools, and concepts shown in the map.

Shell & CLI basics

pwd

Prints the current working directory.

pwd

ls / cd

Lists directory contents and changes directories.

ls -la && cd /var/log

cp / mv / rm

Copies, moves, renames, and removes files or directories.

Pipes & redirection

Connects command output or writes it to files with `|`, `>`, and `>>`.

grep / find

Searches text and locates files by name or other attributes.

Filesystem & architecture

/etc /var /home

Common locations for configuration, changing system data, and user files.

/bin /sbin /dev /proc

Locations for executables, administration tools, devices, and process metadata.

FHS

Filesystem Hierarchy Standard: conventions for where Linux stores system content.

File types

Regular files, directories, and symbolic links are common filesystem entry types.

Text editing

vi / Vim

Modal terminal editors commonly available on Linux systems.

Command / insert modes

Vim uses command mode for navigation and insert mode for typing.

:w / :q / :wq

Save, quit, and save-then-quit commands in Vim.

Package management

Repositories & dependencies

Package sources and the software relationships needed for an install.

apt / dpkg

Debian-family tools for dependency-aware and low-level package operations.

yum / dnf / rpm

Red Hat-family tools for dependency-aware and low-level RPM operations.

Install / update / remove

The basic lifecycle for adding, maintaining, and uninstalling software.

Users & security

User / group management

Identities and collections used to assign ownership and access.

sudo

Runs an approved command with elevated privileges.

rwx permissions

Read, write, and execute access for owner, group, and others.

useradd / usermod

Creates accounts and changes their properties, groups, or shells.

Networking

IPs / interfaces / DNS

Addresses, network connections, and hostname resolution.

ping / ip / traceroute

Checks reachability, inspects local networking, and traces network hops.

SSH / SCP

Secure remote shell access and secure file copying.

Services & processes

ps / top / htop / kill

Inspects, monitors, and signals running processes.

systemd / systemctl

The service manager and its command-line control utility.

Cron jobs

Scheduled commands that run at recurring times.

journalctl

Reads logs collected by the systemd journal.

Storage

Disks & partitions

Block devices and the regions carved out for filesystems.

fdisk / parted

Utilities for inspecting and editing partition tables.

Mounting /etc/fstab

Attaches filesystems to directories and records persistent mounts.

LVM

Logical Volume Management for flexible physical and logical storage.