Linux basics

The login and compute nodes primarily use Linux command-line environments. Learn paths, navigation, file inspection, permissions, and text editing before uploading data and submitting jobs.

Topic	Purpose
Paths and directories	Locate data, scripts, and results
File viewing	Inspect inputs and logs
Copying and moving	Organize projects and backups
Archives	Transfer datasets and archive results
Permissions	Check read, write, and execute access
Text editing	Update scripts and configuration
Processes and resources	Check running programs and disk space

Home directory

Your login shell normally starts in your home directory, represented by ~:

cd ~
pwd

pwd prints the current directory.

Paths

An absolute path starts at /, for example /home/user/project. A relative path starts from the current directory, for example data/input.txt. . denotes the current directory; .. denotes its parent.

Command structure

Commands consist of a command name, options, and arguments. In the original notation below, the three terms mean command, options, and arguments:

命令 选项 参数

Example:

ls -lh data

Here ls is the command, -lh supplies options, and data is the target directory.

Suggested learning order

1. pwd, ls, cd: navigation.
2. mkdir, cp, mv, rm: file organization.
3. cat, less, head, tail: inspect contents.
4. chmod, du, df, ps: permissions, storage, and processes.
5. nano or vim: edit scripts.

See Common commands, On-site access, Off-site access, and Slurm.