Linux Lab: File & Directory Management

Learn to navigate the filesystem, create and edit files, manage directories, and handle common errors.

Lab Objectives

Navigate the Linux filesystem using cd, ls, and pwd.
Create, rename, copy, and move files.
Create and remove directories.
Append content to existing files using redirection.
Delete files and directories, and understand common errors.

Prerequisites

A Linux system with terminal access (Kali, Ubuntu, or any distribution).
No special permissions required — all commands run as a normal user.

Part 1: Navigating the Filesystem

Step 1: Find out where you are:

pwd

Prints your current working directory, e.g. /home/kali.

Step 2: List what is in the current directory:

ls

ls -la

-l shows details (permissions, size, date). -a includes hidden files (names starting with .).

Step 3: Move to a different directory:

cd /tmp

pwd

You should now be in /tmp.

Step 4: Go back to your home directory:

cd ~

pwd

~ is a shortcut for your home directory. You can also just type cd with no arguments.

Step 5: Move up one directory level:

cd ..

pwd

.. means "the parent directory". If you were in /home/kali, you are now in /home.

Step 6: Return home and create a lab directory:

cd ~

mkdir filelab

cd filelab

pwd

You should be in /home/kali/filelab (or equivalent).

Part 2: Creating and Writing to Files

Step 1: Create an empty file with touch:

touch empty-file.txt

ls -la empty-file.txt

The file exists but has 0 bytes.

Step 2: Create a file with content using echo and redirection:

echo "Hello, this is my first file." > hello.txt

cat hello.txt

> redirects output to a file, creating it if it does not exist or overwriting it if it does.

Step 3: Append to an existing file:

echo "This is a second line." >> hello.txt

echo "And a third line." >> hello.txt

cat hello.txt

>> appends to the end of the file instead of overwriting it. You should see all three lines.

Step 4: See what happens if you use > instead of >>:

echo "Oops, I used single redirect." > hello.txt

cat hello.txt

The previous three lines are gone. > overwrites the file completely.

Step 5: Create a multi-line file with a heredoc:

cat > notes.txt << 'EOF'
Meeting notes from today.
Action item 1: Update firewall rules.
Action item 2: Review access logs.
EOF

cat notes.txt

Heredocs let you write multiple lines in a single command.

Part 3: Copying, Moving, and Renaming Files

Step 1: Copy a file:

cp notes.txt notes-backup.txt

ls -la

You now have two files with identical content.

Step 2: Rename a file (using mv):

mv empty-file.txt renamed-file.txt

ls

mv is used for both moving and renaming. empty-file.txt is gone; renamed-file.txt took its place.

Step 3: Create a subdirectory and move a file into it:

mkdir archive

mv notes-backup.txt archive/

ls archive/

The file has been moved into the archive directory.

Step 4: Copy a file into a subdirectory:

cp hello.txt archive/hello-copy.txt

ls archive/

The original file remains and a copy exists in archive/.

Part 4: Creating Directories

Step 1: Create a single directory:

mkdir reports

ls -la

Step 2: Create nested directories in one command:

mkdir -p projects/2025/january

ls -R projects/

-p creates parent directories as needed. Without it, you would get an error because projects/ and projects/2025/ do not exist yet.

Step 3: See the error without -p:

mkdir data/logs/errors

Expected error: mkdir: cannot create directory 'data/logs/errors': No such file or directory

This fails because data/ does not exist. Use mkdir -p to create the entire path.

Step 4: Fix it with -p:

mkdir -p data/logs/errors

ls -R data/

Part 5: Deleting Files and Directories

Step 1: Delete a single file:

rm renamed-file.txt

ls

The file is removed. There is no recycle bin in Linux — it is gone permanently.

Step 2: Try to delete a directory with rm:

rm archive

Expected error: rm: cannot remove 'archive': Is a directory

rm without flags cannot delete directories. You need either rmdir or rm -r.

Step 3: Try rmdir on a directory that contains files:

rmdir archive

Expected error: rmdir: failed to remove 'archive': Directory not empty

rmdir only removes empty directories.

Step 4: Delete an empty directory with rmdir:

rmdir reports

ls

reports/ was empty, so rmdir removes it successfully.

Step 5: Delete a directory and all its contents with rm -r:

rm -r archive

ls

-r (recursive) deletes the directory and everything inside it.

Step 6: Clean up the entire lab directory:

cd ~

rm -r filelab

ls filelab

Expected error: ls: cannot access 'filelab': No such file or directory

This confirms the directory has been completely removed.

Deliverables

Screenshot of pwd and ls -la after creating the lab directory.
Screenshot of cat hello.txt showing appended lines.
Screenshot showing the result of > overwriting the file.
Screenshot of ls -R showing the nested directory structure.
Screenshots of each error: mkdir without -p, rm on a directory, and rmdir on a non-empty directory.

Commands Used

pwd — Print working directory.
ls — List directory contents.
cd — Change directory.
mkdir — Create a directory.
touch — Create an empty file.
echo — Print text (use with redirection).
cat — Display file contents.
cp — Copy files or directories.
mv — Move or rename files.
rm — Remove files.
rmdir — Remove empty directories.

Redirection Operators

> — Redirect output (overwrites).
>> — Redirect output (appends).
< — Redirect input from file.

Common Errors

No such file or directory — Path does not exist.
Is a directory — Use rm -r instead of rm.
Directory not empty — Use rm -r instead of rmdir.
Permission denied — Need sudo or ownership.