I’ve just started my Linux journey earlier this year. As a goal to learn how to self-host applications and services that will allow me to take back some control of my data. Immich instead of Google Photos, for example.
I have a local server running Unraid and 22 docker containers now. And then a VPS (Ubuntu 20.04 LTS) running two apps. I’ve learned a ton but one thing I can’t seem to wrap my brain around is navigation through the file structure using only terminal. My crutch has been to open a SFTP session in Cyberduck to the same device I’m SSH’d to and try to figure things out that way. I know enough to change directories, make directories, using Tree to show the file structure at different levels of depth. But I feel like I’m missing some efficient way to find my way to files and folders I need to get to. Or are y’all just memorizing it and know where everything is by now?
I come from a Windows background and even then I sometimes catch myself checking via explorer where a directory is instead of using CMD or PowerShell to find it.
I’d love to hear any tips or tricks!
ls / cd for basic stuff
fzf if I want to find my way through the history
broot if I want to search for a file
ripgrep if I want to find a file with specific contents.
I know that the last 3 are not available by default, but they are good pieces of software, so I’m just going to install them.
You might already know, but fzf does a lot more than just history. You can also use it to find files, open files, and cd into different directories and more.
I’ve never heard of broot but it looks cool and I’m about to check it out right now.