When you are new to Linux, you can make learning Linux easier by using a Linux desktop. This is because it’s easier to run Linux software programs and run Linux commands from a Linux desktop.

To run Linux commands from a desktop, you need to open a terminal emulation window (a.k.a. Linux terminal or Linux console). Once you’ve opened a Linux terminal, the Linux command line prompt appears and you can run Linux commands. Linux Tips: The Linux command line prompt is also known as “CLI”, for “command line interface”. And Linux commands are also known as “Linux terminal commands” and “Linux console commands”.

With over 130 different Linux distributions (versions) to choose from, running several different Linux desktops, it may seem confusing to open a Linux terminal. But there are basically three easy ways to open a Linux terminal and get to the Linux command line prompt - so you can learn how to use Linux commands.

3 Ways to Open a Linux Terminal Emulation Window (Terminal / Console) from the Linux Desktop

1. Look for an icon that looks like a computer screen and click on it. Some desktops don’t have this icon.

2. Right-click on an empty space on the desktop and a menu will appear. Look for an item on the menu named “Linux terminal”, “Linux console”, or similar - and select this item.

3. Look through all the menus (and submenus) on the desktop for the words “Linux terminal”, “Linux console”, or similar, - and select this item.

After you’ve opened a terminal emulation window, you’ll see a Linux command line prompt. This prompt may appear like this ]$ or it may look different on your system.

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These articles, with names ending in “Linux Concepts & Terms”, have been created to help you learn how to “speak geek” and understand Linux terms - and this will help you learn how to use Linux!

Linux Tips: Rather than just defining Linux terms, these articles will describe “related” Linux terms “in context”, while using the terms to describe Linux concepts. The end result is: “Translating Linux Geek-Speak into Clear Steps for Frustration-Free Mastery!”

Booting Linux to a Console or to a Desktop and Logging In to Linux You can set up Linux to 1) boot to a console, also known as a virtual terminal - or 2) boot to a Linux desktop.

To use Linux, you must log in to Linux. You log in as a user at a login prompt at a console, or at a GUI login prompt, prior to going to a Linux desktop.

Booting Linux to a Linux Console

When you boot to a Linux console, you don’t see a Linux desktop or have access to a Linux desktop, you just see a black screen with a login prompt, and the login prompt looks similar to this: Login:

Linux Tips: Linux servers are very often installed and set up so that they boot to a Linux console (a Login: prompt) instead of a Linux desktop. In many situations, a Linux desktop is not required on a Linux server and so a desktop is not installed.

To run Linux commands to do Linux system administration, you log in as the user named root - at the Login: prompt at the console, not at a GUI login prompt prior to logging in to a desktop.

At the Login: prompt, you type in root and press Enter and then type in the password for the root user at the password prompt and press Enter.

Linux Tips: For security reasons, never log in to a Linux desktop as the root user. To work as the root user from a Linux desktop, log in to the desktop as a regular user, open a terminal emulation window and run the su command, with the - (dash) option.

The Linux terms: “Linux console”, “Linux terminal”, “Linux virtual terminal”, “vt” and “terminal emulation window” are also sometimes referred to as simply “terminal” or “console”.

Written by Clyde Boom.