Linux Basics for Webserver

About

To use the webserver efficiently you will need some basic knowledge of how to navigate through, and operate Linux Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. Most of the tasks you will perform on our Nginx server will be miniscule and only require knowledge of navigating, and text editing with Vim and Nano. This page on the wiki will guide you through all of the basic commands you will need to know.

Commands

sudo

Sudo is something used before you execute an administrator level command, it stands for super user do. This will require the password to the "root"/"administrator" account.

ls

The command "ls" is used to list all non-hidden files in a directory. This command can be used on its own to list the current working directory, or it can be used with a directory listed after it to list said directory. ex. ls /etc/nginx/sites-available

-l

The "ls -l" option displays the contents in long listed format which includes read and write permissions, space used, etc.

cd

The command cd is used to change the working directory, therefore the command stands for change directory. ex. cd /etc/nginx/sites-available

nano

Nano is like a basic text editor for Linux, nano is often related to notepad from Windows due to its basic nature. See Vim/Nano

vim

Vim is a text editor with more options that can be used for scripting and such, this editor is typically preferred over nano for configuration files and such. See Vim/Nano

man

Man is a command that displays how other commands work. ex. man ifconfig

ifconfig

The command ifconfig displays network adapters in a Linux system. Think of it like ipconfig.

apt

The aptitude installer is used to install most packages in LInux Ubuntu.

Extra Helpful Commands

sudo -i

Opens a temporary session in the root account. Exit this by executing exit

Ctrl + D

Log out of current user session.