How do I prepare for a Linux interview?

Work through realistic questions, read why each answer is right, then redo the ones you missed. This test has ten, taken from what interviewers commonly ask a beginner or a junior. Then read the postings: the 2,025 open jobs that name Linux show what employers expect on top of it.

Is this Linux test free?

Yes. It needs no account and no email, runs in your browser and sends nothing anywhere.

What does my score mean?

It is a self-check. Eight or more right means the basics are fresh; five to seven means a good base with gaps; under five means more practice first. It is not an official certificate.

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Linux test: 10 questions to check yourself

In plain words: Linux is an operating system that runs most of the world’s servers. You work with it by typing short commands. Answer ten questions, press the button, and see which you got right and why.

2,025 open jobs name Linux today, with a median advertised pay of $191K. The questions are the kind that come up in a first interview.

1Which command shows the folder you are in?pwdlscdwho

2What does ls -l show?Only hidden filesA detailed list with permissions, owner, size and dateThe last ten lines of a fileDisk space

3What does chmod +x deploy.sh do?Deletes the fileMakes the file runnable as a programCopies the fileHides the file

4Which command finds the lines of a file that contain the word error?grep error file.logfind error file.logcat error file.logecho error file.log

5What does the pipe | do in cat log.txt | sort | uniq -c ?Sends the output of one command into the next oneRuns the commands one after another even if one failsSaves the output in a fileRuns them at the same time on separate machines

6What does sudo do?Runs one command with administrator rightsShuts the machine downInstalls LinuxShows hidden files

7What does the permission string rwxr-xr-- mean for the owner?Read onlyRead, write and runRun onlyNo access

8Which command shows running processes and how much memory and CPU they use, updating live?toppsdfmkdir

9What does the > sign do in echo hello > a.txt ?Appends to the fileWrites the output into the file, replacing what was thereReads from the fileCompares two values

10What does kill 4321 do?Deletes the file 4321Asks the process with the number 4321 to stopShuts down the machineShows process 4321

Questions about this test

How do I prepare for a Linux interview?: Work through realistic questions, read why each answer is right, then redo the ones you missed. This test has ten, taken from what interviewers commonly ask a beginner or a junior. Then read the postings: the 2,025 open jobs that name Linux show what employers expect on top of it.
Is this Linux test free?: Yes. It needs no account and no email, runs in your browser and sends nothing anywhere.
What does my score mean?: It is a self-check. Eight or more right means the basics are fresh; five to seven means a good base with gaps; under five means more practice first. It is not an official certificate.

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