Introduction to Command Line and Unix Shell

Name: Introduction to Command Line and Unix Shell
Rating: 4.5 (7 reviews)

4.525 hours4K learnersCertificate

Explore the potential of the Unix shell for building and running programs. Boost your productivity and control your computer with programmable commands.

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JetBrains Academy

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What you'll learn

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the Unix/Linux command line interface and the Bash shell scripting language. It explores such key concepts as file systems, text processing, Bash syntax, and system administration. You will also gain an understanding of web technologies, operating systems, and the standards and formats prevalent in the industry. On completing the course, you will be able to:

Сreate, manipulate, and manage files and directories in a Unix/Linux environment.
Write Bash scripts with variables and control structures and make them executable to automate tasks and manipulate data.
Build, compile, and execute programs right from the command line.
Create, manage, and manipulate files and directories like a pro.
Handle industry-standard data formats like JSON and YAML.
Work with VCS systems and the most popular language for creating CI/CD pipelines.

Topics covered by this course

Working with files

10 topics

Bash syntax

9 topics

Operating systems

8 topics

Web technologies

8 topics

Software construction

8 topics

Standards and formats

6 topics

Text processing

5 topics

CI/CD processes

5 topics

Version control

4 topics

Command line basics

4 topics

Managing processes

4 topics

Programming concepts

3 topics

Networking

3 topics

Networking

3 topics

Package managers

3 topics

Learn by doing

# 1

Apply knowledge into practice

You already know the theory. Now it's time to code like you do at work—in a professional IDE, with real project constraints, solving problems that actually matter. Welcome to software engineering as it should be.

# 2

Navigate complexity with surgical precision

Most developers waste months learning random concepts without seeing how they connect. Our interactive Knowledge Map fixes this. It shows exactly how every programming concept relates to others, helping you build a structured mental model of coding.

# 3

Copy the best. Then improve.

Here's what top engineers do that others don't: they study other people's code obsessively. When you get stuck on Hyperskill, you can explore solutions published by other developers. See their exact code. Understand their approach. Learn their tricks.

# 4

Code review that actually makes you better

We stripped code review down to what actually matters: does your solution work? Have you handled the edge cases? Is there a cleaner way to write this? Hyperskill acts like a competent reviewer who actually tests your code. Not genius-level analysis, not architecture debates — just solid feedback on making your code better.

Elevate your engineering mastery through real-world challenges

Master advanced engineering concepts through ambitious projects. Each project deepens your expertise and transforms you from an experienced engineer into an exceptional one.

Hyper Commander

In the time of DOS, a popular file manager called Norton Commander appeared. The usability and a visual interface were the keys to its rise. Let's make your own commander with this Bash project.

Graduate

True or False

All successful programmers work hard. But they need to relax too. A way to get relaxed is to play computer games. In this project, you will create a question game with the help of the curl utility.

Graduate

Enigma

Humanity has explored ways to keep secrets since the early days — non-standard hieroglyphs were found in a tomb from the Old Kingdom of Egypt around 1900 BC. Julius Caesar invented a substitution cipher in 60 BC. The Enigma machine was designed in 1918 to protect communications in the banking industry. In the early 1970s, IBM founded the "crypto group," which developed a block cipher to protect its customers' data. In 1973, the US adopted it as a national standard; it took 25 years for hackers to crack it.

Graduate

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Learn from the industry experts

JetBrains Academy

JetBrains Academy is a part of JetBrains, a global software company specializing in the creation of intelligent, productivity-enhancing tools for software developers and teams. With years of expertise in software development and education, JetBrains Academy empowers more than a million people worldwide to learn and teach computer science, and help organizations inspire their teams to reach their goals in tech. Professional development tools play a big role in computer science education. This is why JetBrains Academy courses offer integration with JetBrains IDEs. This integration assists learners in getting experience with real development processes to streamline their learning curve at future work.

Your peers think Hyperskill rocks

Kenneth Satterlee

2 months ago

This course was great. I enjoyed every part of it and learned so much

Yaraslau Krautsou

3 months ago

**What the course does well:** - **Incremental structure** — each stage builds directly on the last, so nothing feels like a sudden jump. By the end you have a complete, working program rather than a collection of isolated exercises.- **Practical focus** — the tools covered (`uname`, `whoami`, `wh ...

Charles Perry

4 months ago

It gave me a great appreciation for the power of command line utilities and shell scripts. I also learned much about the subtleties of writing shell scripts.