The LPI Linux Essentials Course is an introductory program designed for those interested in gaining a foundational understanding of Linux and open-source software. It’s tailored to help newcomers navigate the basics of Linux, providing essential skills that can lead to further learning or a career in IT. The course prepares learners for the LPI Essentials Certification, verifying their familiarity with Linux operating systems, the command line, and basic security principles.

The purpose of the Linux Essentials Certificate is to define the basic knowledge required to competently use a desktop or mobile device using a Linux Operating System. The associated Linux Essentials Program will guide and encourage youth (and those new to Linux and Open Source) to understand the place of Linux and Open Source in the context of the broader IT industry.

• Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this certificate.
• Requirements: Passing the Linux Essentials 010 exam. The Linux Essentials exam contains 40 questions and must be completed within 60-minutes.
• Languages: English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish
• Validity period: Lifetime

• Grasp the history of Linux and identify various popular open-source operating systems.
• Understand major open-source applications and the significance of open-source licensing.
• Develop essential ICT skills for working in a Linux-based environment.
• Gain proficiency in using the command line interface (CLI) for navigating and manipulating the Linux filesystem.
• Learn to access and utilize built-in help systems and documentation for Linux commands.
• Master file management through the command line, including creation, moving, and deletion of files.
• Acquire skills in archiving, searching, and extracting data from files using command-line tools.
• Understand the process of scripting to automate tasks within the Linux command line.
• Attain knowledge of Linux operating system choices, computer hardware basics, data storage, and networking.
• Learn to manage basic security by handling users, groups, file permissions, and understanding special directories and files.

Topic 1: The Linux Community and a Career in Open Source

1.1 Linux Evolution and Popular Operating Systems

Description: Knowledge of Linux development and major distributions.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Distributions
• Embedded Systems
• Linux in the Cloud

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• Debian, Ubuntu (LTS)
• CentOS, openSUSE, Red Hat, SUSE
• Linux Mint, Scientific Linux
• Raspberry Pi, Raspbian
• Android

1.2 Major Open Source Applications

Description: Awareness of major applications as well as their uses and development.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Desktop applications
• Server applications
• Development languages
• Package management tools and repositories

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• OpenOffice.org, LibreOffice, Thunderbird, Firefox, GIMP
• Nextcloud, ownCloud
• Apache HTTPD, NGINX, MariaDB, MySQL, NFS, Samba
• C, Java, JavaScript, Perl, shell, Python, PHP
• dpkg, apt-get, rpm, yum

1.3 Open Source Software and Licensing

Description: Open communities and licensing Open Source Software for business.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Open source philosophy
• Open source licensing
• Free Software Foundation (FSF), Open Source Initiative (OSI)

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• Copyleft, Permissive
• GPL, BSD, Creative Commons
• Free Software, Open Source Software, FOSS, FLOSS
• Open source business models

1.4 ICT Skills and Working in Linux

Description: Basic Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills and working in Linux.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Desktop skills
• Getting to the command line
• Industry uses of Linux, cloud computing and virtualization

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• Using a browser, privacy concerns, configuration options, searching the web and saving content
• Terminal and console
• Password issues
• Privacy issues and tools
• Use of common open source applications in presentations and projects

Topic 2: Finding Your Way on a Linux System

2.1 Command Line Basics

Description: Basics of using the Linux command line.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Basic shell
• Command line syntax
• Variables
• Quoting

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• Bash
• echo
• history
• PATH environment variable
• export
• type

2.2 Using the Command Line to Get Help

Description: Running help commands and navigation of the various help systems.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Man pages
• Info pages

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• man
• info
• /usr/share/doc/
• locate

2.3 Using Directories and Listing Files

Description: Navigation of home and system directories and listing files in various locations.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Files, directories
• Hidden files and directories
• Home directories
• Absolute and relative paths

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• Common options for ls
• Recursive listings
• cd
• . and ..
• home and ~

2.4 Creating, Moving and Deleting Files

Description: Create, move and delete files and directories under the home directory.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Files and directories
• Case sensitivity
• Simple globbing

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• mv, cp, rm, touch
• mkdir, rmdir

Topic 3: The Power of the Command Line

3.1 Archiving Files on the Command Line

Description: Archiving files in the user home directory.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Files, directories
• Archives, compression

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• tar
• Common tar options
• gzip, bzip2, xz
• zip, unzip

3.2 Searching and Extracting Data from Files

Description: Search and extract data from files in the home directory.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Command line pipes
• I/O redirection
• Basic Regular Expressions using ., [ ], *, and ?

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• grep
• less
• cat, head, tail
• sort
• cut
• wc

3.3 Turning Commands into a Script

Description: Turning repetitive commands into simple scripts.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Basic shell scripting
• Awareness of common text editors (vi and nano)

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• #! (shebang)
• /bin/bash
• Variables
• Arguments
• for loops
• echo
• Exit status

Topic 4: The Linux Operating System

4.1 Choosing an Operating System

Description: Knowledge of major operating systems and Linux distributions.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Differences between Windows, OS X and Linux
• Distribution life cycle management

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• GUI versus command line, desktop configuration
• Maintenance cycles, beta and stable

4.2 Understanding Computer Hardware

Description: Familiarity with the components that go into building desktop and server computers.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Hardware

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• Motherboards, processors, power supplies, optical drives, peripherals
• Hard drives, solid state disks and partitions, /dev/sd*
• Drivers

4.3 Where Data is Stored

Description: Where various types of information are stored on a Linux system.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Programs and configuration
• Processes
• Memory addresses
• System messaging
• Logging

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• ps, top, free
• syslog, dmesg
• /etc/, /var/log/
• /boot/, /proc/, /dev/, /sys/

4.4 Your Computer on the Network

Description: Querying vital networking configuration and determining the basic requirements for a
computer on a Local Area Network (LAN).

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Internet, network, routers
• Querying DNS client configuration
• Querying network configuration

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• route, ip route show
• ifconfig, ip addr show
• netstat, ss
• /etc/resolv.conf, /etc/hosts
• IPv4, IPv6
• ping
• host

Topic 5: Security and File Permissions

5.1 Basic Security and Identifying User Types

Description: Various types of users on a Linux system.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Root and standard users
• System users

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, /etc/group
• id, last, who, w
• sudo, su

5.2 Creating Users and Groups

Description: Creating users and groups on a Linux system.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• User and group commands
• User IDs

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, /etc/group, /etc/skel/
• useradd, groupadd
• passwd

5.3 Managing File Permissions and Ownership

escription: Understanding and manipulating file permissions and ownership settings.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• File and directory permissions and ownership

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• ls -l, ls -a
• chmod, chown

5.4 Special Directories and Files

Description: Special directories and files on a Linux system including special permissions.

Key Knowledge Areas:

• Using temporary files and directories
• Symbolic links

The following is a partial list of the used files, terms and utilities:

• /tmp/, /var/tmp/ and Sticky Bit
• ls -d
• ln -s

• Entry-level IT professionals
• Computer Science students
• System administrators transitioning to Linux
• Technical support specialists
• Developers who require Linux basics
• Open-source enthusiasts

• Basic familiarity with operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows or macOS.
• Understanding of the basic concepts of files and processes.
• Some experience with using a keyboard and mouse to interact with a computer system.
• Willingness to learn and explore new software, especially from a command-line interface.
• No prior experience with Linux or command-line interface is required, but it can be helpful.