Terminal Basics#

You do not need to become a Linux expert for CS 135 or CS 202, but you do need a few reliable terminal habits.

Use this page after you have opened a terminal connected to Bellagio through X2Go Client, VS Code Remote SSH, SSH, or another approved course method. Current course announcements, account instructions, and your syllabus control current-semester setup details.

Essential commands#

Show the current directory:

pwd

List files:

ls

Change directories:

cd directory-name

Create a directory:

mkdir directory-name

Create nested directories:

mkdir -p ~/cs135/project

Compile a C++ file:

g++ $CXXFLAGS main.cpp -o main

$CXXFLAGS expands to the C++ compiler settings configured for the course. See What is CXXFLAGS? for more detail.

Run the compiled program:

./main

Exit the login session:

exit

When a command fails#

Read the full error message. Save the command you ran and the exact output. That information is useful when opening a help ticket for a connection problem or asking a debugging question in the appropriate course support channel.

For more commands, see Useful Linux Commands.