How to Get Into Linux: Your 2025 Guide

Linux is an open-source computer operating system (OS) like MacOS or Windows created in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. While the home user base of Linux is smaller than Windows or MacOS, devices that use Linux are everywhere: smartphones, IoT devices like thermostats, cars, servers, supercomputers, and even much of the internet are powered by Linux. The Linux-based OS uses the Linux kernel, which is the component that manages hardware resources, software package management, performance, and security, among all the other tools that make up the OS. 

Discover more about Linux, how to get into Linux, where to start, and how you can gain further in-demand skills in this OS. 

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How to get into Linux

Linux is a powerful operating system that is free. It gives control to you in order to use it for whatever you want, and modify it as you see fit. Linux gives you complete freedom and has an active community to help users get the most out of their computers. To get into Linux, you learn about some key components:

• Kernel: The kernel is the most basic component of the OS and manages hard processes, memory, and files. 

• System user space: The user space is where you perform administrative tasks like installing software, managing the desktop environments, and using the command line to manage daemons, which are background processes in Linux. 

• Applications: Applications in Linux function similarly to other OSs, including programming languages, tools, and other software. Many versions of Linux have a central database where you can download applications. 

When getting into Linux, you’ll want to learn more about distributions, how to install the environment, and some basic commands to help you start. 

Choose the right Linux distribution

Linux has many different flavors to it, known as distributions. Each distribution orients itself to different users; some are made for absolute beginners, and some are advanced ones made for users with in-depth computer skills. Some recommended beginner distributions, also known as “distros,” include:

• Ubuntu: Secure, lots of support, and easy to use

• Linux Mint: Has similarities to Windows, good for former Windows users

• Fedora: Innovative and powerful for cloud computing and advanced users

• Debian: Stable, secure, and advanced distro that others like Ubuntu are based on

Set up a Linux environment

One of the best ways to start using Linux is to create a bootable USB drive that boots your computer into a Linux distribution without disturbing your current OS. This allows you to fully access a Linux desktop environment on any computer you boot from the USB drive without ruining any of the data on the computer you are using. Follow the steps below to start using Linux:

1. Find a Linux distro you want to use and download the ISO file from the distribution website. 

2. Next, get a thumb USB drive and make it a bootable drive using software like Etcher. This software allows you to drop the ISO file into its software, and then it burns the file onto the USB. (Ensure you back up all files on that USB first because making it bootable will erase everything.)

3. Once you stick in the USB that now has your desired Linux distro, you can use it as a way to be in a “live” Linux distribution off the USB. Now you have to restart your computer and go into your basic input/output system (BIOS) to change the boot order of the USB stick. The BIOS looks different for everyone, so be sure to follow a tutorial that matches your machine. Linux.com offers many such tutorials. 

Now you’re in a live version of a Linux distro. From here, you can experiment with this distribution or decide to fully install Linux.

Learn basic Linux commands

Many people associate Linux with using the CLI over the graphical user interface (GUI). Using the CLI in Linux gives you full control over the computer, unlike the GUI, which only allows you to perform simple tasks. You can learn the basic Linux commands from many online resources that offer cheat sheets. Some basic commands you will want to know right away include:

• pwd: Prints the working directory and shows the current directory

• ls: Lists the content in a directory

• cd: Change to view a different directory

• mkdir: Creates a new directory

• rm: Removes a file

• cp: Copies files or directories to a different directory

• mv: Moves or renames files or directories

• cat: Displays the contents of a file in the terminal

Explore Linux system administration

Linux's open-source CLI-based nature means that you must perform many system administration tasks in Linux. System administration tasks in Linux include:

• File management: Fast and efficient file management in Linux comes down to using the CLI instead of a GUI.

• Software installation: Depending on your Linux distro, you may have some open-source software already installed. However, to install a new package you can use the command in any Ubuntu/Debian distro: sudo apt install [package] installs any software that works on Linux.

• User permissions: You can easily manage user permissions in Linux by adding new users, sudo adduser [username], switching users, and even modifying who can access certain files and who owns them. 

• Security: To secure your computer, server, or network you can create an SSH pair, enable firewalls, and disable root logins to start creating basic security measures. Many different ways exist to configure security in Linux. Many people see it as the most secure OS for things like servers. 

If you work in an enterprise environment or a business using Linux for its systems, a Linux system administrator is the one who installs, configures, manages, updates, and maintains the Linux OS in that environment. 

Gain practical experience

One of the best ways to gain practical experience in Linux is to use it. You can start learning Linux by doing projects that build skills. Some projects from the Coursera Project Network include:

• Linux: File Management for DevOps

• Linux: Processes & System Resource Management for DevOps

Some other project ideas to get you started in learning Linux include:

• Building a network attached storage (NAS) device to create your own storage server

• Building your own web server using Linux Apache MySQL PHP (LAMP) stack

• Configuring your own firewall to allow only certain network traffic

• Creating a resource monitoring system to monitor and see all network activity

Engage with the Linux community

Due to its open-source nature, Linux has a large community that shares resources, tips, and more. The Linux community is global, which means many projects have developed over the years with smaller communities fostering them and helping other users with troubleshooting and advice. Some Linux users create servers that allow you to log in to a Linux shell to practice scripting, web development, and interacting in a Linux environment. 

Advance your skills with certifications

You can advance and prove your Linux skills to employers by earning certifications. Some popular Linux certifications include:

• CompTIA Linux+

• Red Hat Certified System Administrator

• Linux Professional Institute LPIC-1

• ​​Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator (LFCS)

With more and more servers and cloud environments using Linux, it’s important to demonstrate your skills to employers as you look for a job as a Linux system administrator or a network administrator. 

Learn more about Linux with Coursera

Linux is a powerful, free, open-source operating system with many different kinds of flavors depending on your needs. Explore the power of Linux with the Hands-on Introduction to Linux Commands and Shell Scripting from IBM, part of the IBM Devops and Software Engineering Professional Certificate on Coursera. 

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Hands-on Introduction to Linux Commands and Shell Scripting

This course provides a practical understanding of common Linux / UNIX shell commands. In this beginner friendly course, you will learn about the Linux ...

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IBM DevOps and Software Engineering

Launch your DevOps and Software Engineering Career. Master DevOps, Agile, Scrum, CI/CD and Cloud Native with hands-on job-ready skills.

4.7

(4,937 ratings)

94,956 already enrolled

Beginner level

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Average time: 6 month(s)

Learn at your own pace

Skills you'll build:

Software Engineering, Python Programming, Application development, Web Application, Flask, Artificial Intelligence (AI), CI/CD, Continuous Integration, Continuous Development, Infrastructure As Code, Automation, Software Testing, Test-Driven Development, Behavior-Driven Development, Test Case, Automated Testing, Kanban, Zenhub, Scrum Methodology, Agile Software Development, Sprint Planning, Software Architecture, Agile and Scrum, Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), Openshift, Docker, Kubernetes, Containers, Cloud Native, agile, Devops, TDD/BDD, Observability, Telemetry, Monitoring, logging, Tracing, Representational State Transfer (REST), Cloud Applications, Microservices, serverless, Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), security, Cloud Computing, Hybrid Multicloud, Iaas PaaS Saas, Data Science, Data Analysis, Numpy, Pandas, Distributed Version Control Systems (DVCS), Git (Software), Github, open source, Cloning and forking, Shell Script, Bash (Unix Shell), Extract Transform and Load (ETL), Linux, Linux Commands