Introduction to the Unix Shell

This workshop is adapted from The Carpentries.

Overview

1. What is a command shell?
2. Navigating the file system
3. Working with files and directories
4. Creating and searching files
5. Combining commands and automating actions

Setup

We will be using the Unix shell for most of the workshop. If you have a Mac or a Linux laptop, you don’t need to install or enable anything.

If you are using Windows 10+ you will need to turn on “Windows Subsystem for Linux” (WSL) by following the installation instructions here.

For a better terminal experience on Windows, we recommend also installing Windows Terminal in addition to WSL. Windows Terminal is a robust and contemporary terminal application that offers a more intuitive and feature-rich environment. Windows Terminal is not a shell itself but is instead a tool that lets you access and manage multiple command-line shells and tools in one window with tab support. It also provides extensive customization options, enabling you to personalize the appearance and behavior of your terminal. Additionally, Windows Terminal supports UTF-8 characters, ensuring compatibility with a range of languages and character sets.

If you need help or are using an older version of Windows please get in touch at digital.scholarship@ubc.ca.

Slides

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More resources

• Library Carpentry’s UNIX shell reference.
• Software Carpentry’s more detailed shell reference.
• Command line cheat sheet from Tower