Workshop: File Systems and the Command Line

In this workshop we will get to know our computer better, and explore the computer's filesystem using a tool called the Command Line. We will learn some useful commands, and also learn more about how computers work, which will prepare us for writing code! If you need a reference at any point in the workshop, there is a list of commands included at the end of the page.

To get set up for this workshop, you need to have a suitable Command Line that you can launch installed on your computer. Please follow the instructions in this guide, especially if you use Windows.

Demo: Secret Files

Activity: Command Line House Tour

In this part of the workshop, we will

Making folders and files

touch and mkdir can be used to make multiple things at once. So, if you type mkdir house garden street, it will make three folders in your current location: one called house, one called garden, one called street

List of Commands

In this session, we are going to use the following commands:

command	name	meaning
`pwd`	"print working directory"	print out a path to my current location
`ls`	"list"	list the files and folders in the current location
`cd`	"change directory"	move to a different folder
`cd ..`	"change directory"	move UP one folder
`cd ~`	"change directory"	navigate to the Home directory
`touch file.txt`	"touch"	make a new, empty file called file.txt
`cat file.txt`	"concatenate"	print out the contents of a file called file.txt
`mkdir my-folder`	"make directory"	make a new folder called 'my-folder'

Neat tricks:

Type cd (cd and then a space), and then drag and drop the folder you want to navigate to onto the command line. Press enter and it will take you there
Use the Tab key to autocomplete folder and file paths
Use the up and down arrow keys to find and select commands you already ran
on a Mac: hold down the 'option' key to place your cursor anywhere on the command line

Watch out for:

you can't place your cursor by clicking! if you need to