Linux Terminal - System Information

This page is a part of the Linux and CS Systems - Getting Started. This page assumes you have your computer setup to connect to the CS server, or have the appropriate software installed on your computer to run commands. Go back to the Linux and CS Systems Getting Started main page if you don't have our system setup yet.

Commands

The following are some commands to print information about the system.

• uptime - how long since last system reboot
• df - information about disk free space
• whoami - which user is currently logged in on the terminal
• hostname - what computer are you currently running commands on
• pwd - which directory are you inside of
• clear - clear the terminal screen
• finger - see which other users are currently logged in
• man - help about a command (manual). While using man - use q key to quit, and up/down arrows to scroll.

Sample Session

The following is a transcript of the commands and screen output from the youtube video linked at the top of this page. Blank lines have been put in after each command. You can read through the transcript and think about what you think the output will be after each command is entered, and check that this is how it shows in the transcript.

Note that the transcript is for the user cs15100 logged in to the CS server.

Sample Quiz

An example quiz over this material. After watching the video and trying the commands out yourself to make sure you understand.