Command Line: A Modern Introduction

In 2023, the command line is still the interface of choice of many software developers, sysadmins, data scientists, and normal users for its practicality, continuous evolvement, and built-in automation.

For certain tasks, there is no replacement. Many utilities are available only through a command line interface, remote servers are still accessed through SSH, and containers like Docker and CI pipelines are built using shell commands.

If you are a software developer without knowledge of the command line and popular shells like Bash or Zsh (which can be leveraged on Linux, macOS, other Unix systems, or Windows today), you are missing out.

I have been a long-time Linux and command-line user. Even though I have been programming for over 20 years, I can say that I started to use the command line to its full potential only “recently”. Why? Because I didn't know what I didn't know.

Using the command line properly can feel very satisfying if you know what you are doing. And I want you to know. That's why I wrote a small ebook about the Linux command line that can be a foundation for any shell-related tasks you need.

The book

My book Command Line: A Modern Introduction is a culmination of more than two years of research, writing, and rewriting. All of that so you can learn the most essential things in the shortest possible time.

Perhaps you have heard the saying, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” With this book, I did the opposite. Skip the other multi-hundred pages books and save yourself some time reading.

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The book introduces you to the efficient usage of the command line, shells like Bash and Zsh, scripting, and many modern programs that are available for the terminal today. It features lesser-known tips and tricks, shortcuts, getting quick help, and so on. And I designed it to be useful for people who want to start with the command line and those who already use it.

You will get a beautiful PDF with almost 100 syntax-highlighted and annotated shell sessions and other code examples. If this book doesn't change the way you interact with the command line, nothing will!

Table of Contents

For reference, here are the main topics of the book:

• Command Line
• Shells and Terminals
• Getting Around the Command Line
• Prompt
• Running Commands
• Shell Shortcuts
• Getting Help
• Configuration
• Accounts and Permissions
• Package Management
• Job Control
• System Monitoring
• Faster Navigation
• Search
• Disk Usage
• File Management
• Viewing Files
• Editing Text Files
• Text Data Wrangling
• Basic Networking
• Making HTTP Requests
• SSH and SCP
• Terminal Multiplexers
• Task Runners and Build Tools
• Shell Scripts
• Our First Shell Script
• Programming in Bash
• Bash Scripting Practices
• Scheduling

I picked topics related to programming tasks, system administration, Bash scripting, and anything that has to do with efficient command line usage!

Start reading!

I encourage you to start reading right now!

Once you are ready, get your full copy on Gumroad. It is $12 and worth every penny.

Last updated on 21.1.2023.