Using the Shell Prompt
If your Linux system has no graphical user interface (or one that isn??™t working at the moment), you
will most likely see a shell prompt after you log in. Typing commands from the shell will probably
be your primary means of using the Linux system.
The default prompt for a regular user is simply a dollar sign:
$
The default prompt for the root user is a pound sign (also called a hash mark):
#
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Linux First Steps Part I
In most Linux systems, the $ and # prompts are preceded by your username, system name, and
current directory name. For example, a login prompt for the user named jake on a computer
named pine with /tmp as the current directory would appear as:
[jake@pine tmp]$
You can change the prompt to display any characters you like??”you can use the current directory,
the date, the local computer name, or any string of characters as your prompt, for example. To
configure your prompt, see the ???Setting Your Prompt??? section later in this chapter.
Although a tremendous number of features are available with the shell, it??™s easy to begin by just
typing a few commands. Try some of the commands shown in the remainder of this section to
become familiar with your current shell environment.
In the examples that follow, the dollar ($) and pound (#) symbols indicate a prompt.
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