Backend & cloud1:1 mentoring

Linux & Shell Scripting

Get comfortable on the Linux command line and automate everyday tasks with Bash scripts, step by step.

Level:: Beginner to intermediate
Format:: 1:1 online mentoring

Free, no-obligation chat · Affordable plans that fit your budget · Start this week

1:1 personal attentionOne mentor, one student, at your pace.
Flexible timingsSessions that fit your week and time zone.
Affordable plansPlans that fit your budget.
Practise between sessionsShort problems that build confidence.

About this course

Learn Linux & Shell Scripting online

Most servers, containers and cloud machines run Linux, so the command line is a core skill for developers, testers and DevOps engineers. Beginners often feel lost without a graphical screen: commands look cryptic, permission errors appear, and one wrong delete can be costly.

This course follows the standard Linux fundamentals curriculum: the filesystem, essential commands, users and permissions, text processing, pipes and redirection, processes, package management, networking, SSH, and Bash scripting with variables, conditions, loops and functions, plus scheduling with cron.

Linux and shell scripting is taught through affordable 1:1 online mentoring. A mentor explains each idea with short examples and reviews your work with you. Message us on WhatsApp or email, or fill in the short form, for a free, no-obligation chat. We will suggest a plan that fits your budget and flexible timings, and you can start this week.

Who this course is for

Students and graduates who want a first server-side skill
Developers who deploy or debug applications on Linux
Testers and support engineers who work on servers and logs
Learners preparing for DevOps, cloud or system administration roles
Windows and macOS users who want to use a Linux terminal

Outcomes

What you'll learn

Move around the filesystem and manage files and folders from the terminal
Read and change file permissions and ownership with confidence
Search and transform text with grep, sed, awk, sort and pipes
Manage processes, services and packages
Connect to servers with SSH and keys and transfer files securely
Check networks and ports with common tools
Write Bash scripts with variables, conditions, loops, functions and arguments
Schedule and log automated tasks with cron

Skills you'll gain

Linux command line
Bash scripting
File permissions
grep, sed and awk
Pipes and redirection
Process management
systemd services
Package managers
SSH
Networking tools
Cron
vim or nano

Detailed syllabus

Linux & Shell Scripting syllabus

Every module lists its topics and what you will be able to do. Your mentor plans sessions around them and your own goals.

Module 1
Getting started with Linux
What Linux is and how to get a terminal.
- Linux, distributions and open source
- Installing Ubuntu, WSL or a virtual machine
- The shell, terminal and prompt
- Getting help: man and --help
- Command structure: options and arguments
By the end of this module you can
- Open a Linux terminal and run commands
- Find help for any command
Covered in 1:1 mentoring sessions
Module 2
Filesystem and files
Navigating and managing files.
- Directory layout: /, /home, /etc, /var
- pwd, cd, ls and paths
- Creating, copying, moving and deleting
- Viewing files: cat, less, head and tail
- Wildcards and globbing
- Links and finding files with find
By the end of this module you can
- Navigate with absolute and relative paths
- Manage files safely without accidents
Covered in 1:1 mentoring sessions
Module 3
Users, groups and permissions
Controlling who can read, write and run.
- Users and groups
- Reading rwx permissions
- chmod with symbolic and numeric modes
- chown and chgrp
- sudo and the root user
- umask and default permissions
By the end of this module you can
- Set correct permissions for files and scripts
- Explain why a Permission denied error happens
Covered in 1:1 mentoring sessions
Module 4
Editing and text processing
Working with text, the core of Linux.
- Editing with nano and vim basics
- grep and regular expressions
- sort, uniq, cut and wc
- sed for search and replace
- awk for columns
- Reading logs with tail -f
By the end of this module you can
- Extract and summarise information from log files
- Edit configuration files from the terminal
Covered in 1:1 mentoring sessions
Module 5
Pipes, redirection and environment
Combining small tools into powerful commands.
- Standard input, output and error
- Redirection with >, >> and 2>
- Pipes
- Environment variables and PATH
- Shell configuration: .bashrc
- Command substitution and aliases
By the end of this module you can
- Build a pipeline that answers a question about data
- Configure your shell environment
Covered in 1:1 mentoring sessions
Module 6
Processes, services and packages
Running software and keeping it running.
- ps, top and htop
- Foreground, background and jobs
- Signals and kill
- systemd and systemctl
- Reading logs with journalctl
- Installing software with apt or dnf
By the end of this module you can
- Find and stop a misbehaving process
- Start, stop and enable a service
Covered in 1:1 mentoring sessions
Module 7
Networking and SSH
Working with remote machines.
- IP addresses, ports and DNS basics
- ping, curl and wget
- ss or netstat to see open ports
- SSH login and key-based authentication
- scp and rsync
- Firewall basics
By the end of this module you can
- Connect to a remote server with SSH keys
- Check which service is listening on a port
Covered in 1:1 mentoring sessions
Module 8
Bash scripting basics
Your first automation scripts.
- The shebang and making a script executable
- Variables and quoting
- Reading input and arguments
- Conditions with if and test
- Loops: for and while
- Exit codes
By the end of this module you can
- Write a script that takes arguments and makes decisions
- Use exit codes to detect failure
Covered in 1:1 mentoring sessions
Module 9
Bash scripting in practice
Writing scripts that are safe and reusable.
- Functions
- Arrays
- Error handling with set -euo pipefail
- Parsing files line by line
- Logging and debug mode
- Backups and cleanup scripts
By the end of this module you can
- Write a reusable backup or cleanup script
- Make scripts fail safely and report errors
Covered in 1:1 mentoring sessions
Module 10
Scheduling, archives and next steps
Automating on a schedule and where to go next.
- cron and crontab syntax
- Archiving with tar and compressing with gzip
- Disk usage with df and du
- Log rotation overview
- Next steps: Docker, cloud and CI/CD
By the end of this module you can
- Schedule a script to run automatically
- Plan your next DevOps learning step
Covered in 1:1 mentoring sessions

Ways to learn

How you can learn Linux & Shell Scripting

Linux & Shell Scripting mentor, 1:1 online

A mentor who knows this course plans sessions around your goal, explains each idea with fresh examples and checks your understanding. Personal attention, flexible timings in your time zone and affordable plans that fit your budget.

Talk to our team

How it works

Your learning journey

Four simple steps to start Linux & Shell Scripting with a mentor. A real person replies to you; there is no booking system.

Step 1: Talk to us
Message us on WhatsApp or email, or fill in the short form. The first chat is free, with no obligation.
Step 2: Get your plan
We listen to your goal, level and deadlines, then suggest a plan that fits your budget and timings.
Step 3: Learn with your mentor
Online 1:1 sessions with a mentor who knows your course, explains clearly and checks your understanding.
Step 4: Practise & track progress
Keep going between sessions with practice, and watch your confidence grow week by week.

Learn by doing

Projects and practice

Log analyser script
A Bash script that reads a web server log and reports the top pages, error counts and busiest hours.
Backup script with cron
Archive a folder, keep the last seven copies, log the result and schedule it to run every night.
Server setup checklist
Script the setup of a fresh machine: create a user, add an SSH key, install packages and set permissions.
System health report
Show CPU, memory, disk and open ports in one readable report and save it to a file.

Free practice on MentorNxt

Operating systems interview questions

Your progress

What you'll be able to do

Milestones from the start, middle and end of the syllabus.

Open a Linux terminal and run commands
Early on
Find and stop a misbehaving process
Halfway
Schedule a script to run automatically
By the end

FAQs

Linux & Shell Scripting: frequently asked questions

Is there a self-study option?

Free self-study lessons on MentorNxt currently cover Java and Python only, so Linux and shell scripting is taught through 1:1 mentoring. Your mentor guides you through a terminal on your own computer with practice tasks to repeat between sessions.

Do I need to install Linux on my computer?

No. You can use Windows Subsystem for Linux, a virtual machine, or a free cloud terminal. Your mentor helps you set up the option that works for your computer in the first session.

Which Linux distribution do you teach?

Ubuntu, because it is common and beginner friendly. The commands carry over to other distributions, and your mentor points out the few differences, such as package managers.

Is this useful for DevOps and cloud roles?

Yes. Docker, CI/CD, cloud servers and Kubernetes all assume Linux skills. This course is a good first step before our Docker and DevOps and cloud courses.

Can I learn Bash with no programming background?

Yes. The scripting modules start with the simplest ideas, variables and conditions, and build up slowly with plenty of small exercises.

How much does mentoring cost?

1:1 mentoring is personal online tutoring and is affordable, with plans that fit your budget. Tell us your goal and how often you would like sessions, and our team will suggest an option that works for you in a free, no-obligation chat.

How do I get started?

Message us on WhatsApp or email, or fill in the short form on this page. Our team replies, talks through your goal and level, and arranges a mentor at flexible timings in your time zone. You can start this week.

Free, no-obligation chat

Talk to our team about Linux & Shell Scripting

Tell us what you need. Our support team replies within one working day, by email or WhatsApp, whichever you prefer, and arranges your mentor.

Prefer to talk first?

Message the support team directly. We usually reply the same day.

Chat on WhatsApp Email us

Our mentors teach and explain. They never complete graded work, tests or assessments for students.

Keep going

Syllabus references

Last reviewed9 November 2026

Ready to start Linux & Shell Scripting?

Message us on WhatsApp or email, or fill in the short form. Our team replies with a plan that fits your goal and budget, and you can start this week.

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Learn Linux & Shell Scripting online

Who this course is for

What you'll learn

Skills you'll gain

Linux & Shell Scripting syllabus

Getting started with Linux

Filesystem and files

Users, groups and permissions

Editing and text processing

Pipes, redirection and environment

Processes, services and packages

Networking and SSH

Bash scripting basics

Bash scripting in practice

Scheduling, archives and next steps

How you can learn Linux & Shell Scripting

Linux & Shell Scripting mentor, 1:1 online

Your learning journey

Step 1: Talk to us

Step 2: Get your plan

Step 3: Learn with your mentor

Step 4: Practise & track progress

Projects and practice

Log analyser script

Backup script with cron

Server setup checklist

System health report

Free practice on MentorNxt

What you'll be able to do

Linux & Shell Scripting: frequently asked questions

Talk to our team about Linux & Shell Scripting

Related courses

Docker & DevOps

Cloud Computing Basics (AWS & Azure)

Operating Systems

Git & GitHub

Cybersecurity Fundamentals

Computer Networks

Syllabus references

Ready to start Linux & Shell Scripting?

Learn Linux & Shell Scripting online

Who this course is for

What you'll learn

Skills you'll gain

Linux & Shell Scripting syllabus

Getting started with Linux

Filesystem and files

Users, groups and permissions

Editing and text processing

Pipes, redirection and environment

Processes, services and packages

Networking and SSH

Bash scripting basics

Bash scripting in practice

Scheduling, archives and next steps

How you can learn Linux & Shell Scripting

Linux & Shell Scripting mentor, 1:1 online

Your learning journey

Step 1: Talk to us

Step 2: Get your plan

Step 3: Learn with your mentor

Step 4: Practise & track progress

Projects and practice

Log analyser script

Backup script with cron

Server setup checklist

System health report

Free practice on MentorNxt

What you'll be able to do

Linux & Shell Scripting: frequently asked questions

Talk to our team about Linux & Shell Scripting

Related courses

Docker & DevOps

Cloud Computing Basics (AWS & Azure)

Operating Systems

Git & GitHub

Cybersecurity Fundamentals

Computer Networks

Syllabus references

Ready to start Linux & Shell Scripting?