Lab Activity
File and Directory Management
Learn how to create, move, copy and delete files and directories while getting comfortable with paths and wildcards in Linux.
Overview
In this lab, you'll work with the essential file and directory commands that every Linux administrator uses daily. You'll practice creating, copying, moving and deleting files and directories, work with wildcards for bulk operations, and build simple directory structures. These skills form a core part of the LFCS exam and are critical for managing real systems efficiently.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this lab, you'll be able to:
- Create and manage files using tools like touch, cp, mv and rm.
- Build directories, including nested structures, using mkdir and mkdir -p.
- Use wildcards to match and manipulate groups of files.
- Move and rename files in a single operation.
- Copy and remove entire directory trees with recursive commands.
- Confirm your work using ls, directory paths and file inspection.
Key Concepts
- File Creation and Manipulation: How Linux handles new files, renames and moves.
- Directory Management: Creating, removing and traversing directories with precision.
- Wildcards: Pattern matching with *, letting you work on multiple files at once.
- Recursive Operations: Managing full directory trees with cp -r and rm -r.
- Relative vs Absolute Paths: Understanding how location affects command behavior.
Why It Matters
- Directly supports LFCS exam tasks: file and directory operations make up a significant portion of the exam objectives.
- Improves speed: knowing these commands cuts down time spent navigating or managing files.
- Boosts accuracy: helps avoid common mistakes like deleting the wrong directory or overwriting files unintentionally.
- Forms the groundwork for scripting and automation: these commands show up everywhere.
- Builds confidence in managing any Linux environment, from servers to containers.