Home directory (~) and shortcuts in Linux CLI - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to change directory to your home folder using the shortcut.

Linux CLI

cd [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A/home

B~

C/root

D/usr

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using /home instead of ~ does not always point to your personal home directory.

Using /root is the home directory for the root user, not your user.

The tilde (~) is a shortcut for the current user's home directory in Linux.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the command to list all files, including hidden ones, in your home directory using the shortcut.

Linux CLI

ls -a [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A/home/user

B/tmp

C/

D~

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using /home/user may not work if your username is different.

Using /tmp or / root lists files outside your home directory.

Using ~ points to your home directory, so ls -a ~ lists all files including hidden ones there.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the command to copy a file named 'notes.txt' from your home directory to /tmp using the home shortcut.

Linux CLI

cp [1]/notes.txt /tmp/

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A~/

B/home/

C~

Dhome

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'home' without a slash is not recognized as a path.

Using '~/ ' with a space or extra slash can cause errors.

The tilde (~) alone expands to your home directory. Adding a slash after it is optional but can cause issues if not used carefully.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a command that moves all '.txt' files from your home directory to the Documents folder inside it.

Linux CLI

mv [1]/*.txt [2]/Documents/

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A~

B/home/user

D/Documents

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using absolute paths like /home/user may not work if username differs.

Using /Documents alone points to root Documents folder, not inside home.

Using ~ for both source and destination paths correctly points to your home directory and its Documents folder.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to create a command that creates a backup directory named 'backup' inside your home directory and copies all '.conf' files there.

Linux CLI

mkdir [1]/backup && cp [2]/*.conf [3]/backup/

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A~

D/backup

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using /backup alone creates or copies to a folder in root, not home.

Mixing absolute and relative paths can cause errors.

Using ~ for all paths ensures the commands work inside your home directory and its backup folder.

Practice

1. What does the ~ symbol represent in Linux command line?

easy

A. The previous directory

B. The root directory

C. The current user's home directory

D. The system's temporary folder

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the meaning of ~

   The tilde symbol ~ is a shortcut that always points to the current user's home directory, like /home/username.

2. Step 2: Compare with other directory symbols

   / is root, - is previous directory, and /tmp is temporary folder, so they don't match ~.

3. Final Answer:

   The current user's home directory -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   ~ = home directory [OK]

Hint: Remember: ~ always means your home folder [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing ~ with root directory /
• Thinking ~ means previous directory
• Assuming ~ is a system folder

2. Which of the following commands correctly lists files in the user's home directory using the shortcut?

easy

A. ls ~

B. ls ./home

C. ls /home

D. ls /root

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the shortcut for home directory

   ~ is the shortcut for the current user's home directory, so ls ~ lists files there.

2. Step 2: Check other options

   /home is the parent folder for all users, ./home is a relative path that may not exist, and /root is root user's home, not current user.

3. Final Answer:

   ls ~ -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   ls ~ lists home files [OK]

Hint: Use ls ~ to list your home files quickly [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using absolute path /home instead of ~
• Confusing relative path ./home with home directory
• Trying to list /root which is for root user only

3. What is the output of the command echo ~/Documents if the user's home directory is /home/alice?

medium

A. /home/alice/Documents

B. /Documents

C. ~/Documents

D. /root/Documents

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand how shell expands ~

   The shell replaces ~ with the full path of the user's home directory, here /home/alice.

2. Step 2: Combine with the rest of the path

   Appending /Documents to /home/alice gives /home/alice/Documents.

3. Final Answer:

   /home/alice/Documents -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   echo ~/Documents = /home/alice/Documents [OK]

Hint: Shell expands ~ to full home path before command runs [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking ~ stays as literal tilde
• Confusing root's home /root with user's home
• Ignoring path concatenation after ~

4. A user runs cd ~username but gets an error. What is the likely cause?

medium

A. The home directory is not mounted

B. The tilde shortcut only works for current user

C. The command syntax is incorrect

D. The username does not exist on the system

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand ~username usage

   ~username expands to the home directory of the specified user if that user exists.

2. Step 2: Identify error cause

   If the username does not exist, the shell cannot expand ~username, causing an error.

3. Final Answer:

   The username does not exist on the system -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   ~username needs valid user [OK]

Hint: Check if username exists before using ~username [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming ~ only works for current user
• Thinking syntax is wrong when it is correct
• Ignoring user existence in error

5. You want to create a script that copies a file named notes.txt from your home directory to a backup folder inside your Documents. Which command correctly uses the ~ shortcut?

hard

A. cp notes.txt ~/Documents/backup/

B. cp ~/notes.txt ~/Documents/backup/

C. cp ~/notes.txt /Documents/backup/

D. cp /notes.txt ~/Documents/backup/

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify source file path

   The file notes.txt is in the home directory, so ~/notes.txt correctly points to it.

2. Step 2: Identify destination folder path

   The backup folder is inside Documents in home, so ~/Documents/backup/ is the correct destination path.

3. Step 3: Check other options

   /notes.txt is root directory file (likely wrong), /Documents/backup/ is absolute path outside home, and notes.txt without path means current directory, not home.

4. Final Answer:

   cp ~/notes.txt ~/Documents/backup/ -> Option B

5. Quick Check:

   Use ~ for home paths in source and destination [OK]

Hint: Use ~ before filenames to refer to your home folder [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using absolute paths outside home by mistake
• Omitting ~ and assuming current directory is home
• Confusing source and destination paths