Terminal.Drill Get the app
ch01 · beginner · 80-110 min

navigation and filesystem map

Move through a Linux filesystem deliberately, with absolute paths, relative paths, listings, and find-based evidence.

You can navigate without guessing and prove where files live before acting on them.

navigationpathsfilesystemfindrealpath
Teaching diagramch01 · mental model
Every path resolves to one absolute location cwd pwd shows it . here .. parent ~ home /abs/target realpath proves it find /var/log -type f -name '*.log' -mtime -1 walks the tree, filters to evidence absolute path = same target from anywhere | relative path = depends on cwd

shows: How `.`, `..`, and `~` resolve from the current directory into a single absolute location, with `pwd`/`realpath` confirming where you actually are and `find` filtering a tree down to evidence.

does not prove: It shows how path tokens resolve in principle; it does not prove your shell's current directory at any moment — only running `pwd` or `realpath` on the live machine proves that.

Lessons in this chapter

  1. ch01/l01 Absolute, relative, and remembered paths cd - Use path forms intentionally instead of wandering the tree.
  2. ch01/l02 Listing as inspection ls -la Choose listing views based on the question you need answered.
  3. ch01/l03 Finding without opening everything find . -type f -name '*.log' Use `find` predicates to reduce a filesystem problem to a targeted list.
capstone

directory reconnaissance packet

Map a throwaway directory tree and prove where each target lives without opening unrelated files.

Deliverable

A short report with path forms, listings, find commands, and cleanup command.

Success criteria

  • You can recover location with `pwd`.
  • You can pick `ls`, `stat`, or `find` for the evidence needed.
  • You clean up only the disposable tree.
Terminal Drill companion

Navigation

After you can move through a test tree and explain every path token you used.

Train after the lesson

Command prompt -> typed commandPath -> purposeMeaning -> flags