Open a terminal and learn to move: see where you are, list what is there, change directories, tour the key folders of a Linux system, get help for any command, and find where commands and settings live.
The terminal always has a "current directory" — the folder you are standing in. pwd ("print working directory") tells you where that is, and ls ("list") shows what is inside. The flags make ls useful: -l is the long, detailed view, -a shows hidden files (names starting with a dot), and -h prints sizes like 4.0K instead of raw bytes.
Print the folder you are currently in
pwdList the files and folders here
lsLong view + hidden files + human-readable sizes
ls -lahcd ("change directory") moves you around. A path with a leading slash (/etc) is absolute — measured from the root of the system. A path without one (Documents) is relative to where you are now. A few shortcuts do a lot of work: .. is the folder above you, and a bare cd jumps you home.
Go to a specific folder (absolute path, starts at /)
cd /etcGo up one level (.. means "the parent folder")
cd ..Go into a sub-folder relative to where you are
cd /var/logcd goes home
cdA Linux system keeps everything in one tree that starts at / (the "root"). You do not need to memorize it — you just need to know where to look. /etc holds system configuration files, /var/log holds logs, /home holds user folders, and /usr/bin holds installed programs. Walk through them now so the layout stops feeling mysterious.
/ is the top of the whole tree — everything lives under it
ls /Configuration files for the system and its services
ls /etcLog files — where the system records what happened
ls /var/logEach user gets a folder under /home
ls /homeMost commands accept --help for a quick summary printed right in the terminal. When you do not even know the command name, apropos searches the manuals by keyword.
Quick summary of options, printed inline
ls --helpSearch the manuals by keyword when you don't know the command name
apropos "copy files"