The first command we’re going to look at is ls
. A command is a directive to the computer to perform a specific task. When you type ls
, the command line looks at the directory you are in, and then “lists” all the files and directories inside of it. Be sure to type the letter l
as in “List” and not the number 1.
In the terminal, the first thing you see is $
. This is called a shell prompt. It appears when the terminal is ready to accept a command.
If we typed:
$ ls
the terminal would display our current directory’s files and directories:
2014 2015 hardware.txt
The directories 2014, 2015, and the file hardware.txt are the contents of the current directory.
Instructions
In the terminal, after the $
, type:
ls
and press enter.
You should see the three items print out below the command.