Terminal Activity: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 03:09, 5 December 2013

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The Terminal activity grants access to the XO's Linux command line.

The Terminal is an Activity that allows you to control your XO directly from a command line, similar to the Terminal program in Mac OS X or the Command Prompt in Microsoft Windows. The Terminal allows you to do far more with your XO than running Sugar activities. But BEWARE it is also possible to delete your data, so be careful. And if you become the root user, you have full control of the computer and can destroy all software!

See the Terminal manual.

Starting Terminal

The Terminal Activity is usually not marked as a favorite, so it does not appear in the Home View Favorites view.

In the Home View, press ctrl-2 to select the List view, search for Terminal, and click on it to start.

You might also mark it as a favorite if you like.

Starting a console

You can also access a Linux command prompt by switching to the console, instead of starting the Terminal activity.

Common Terminal commands

When you start Terminal, it runs the Bash "shell" program that interprets keystrokes and commands. Its main job is to allow you to run other programs, for example:

nano for editing text files directly. If you want to edit text files in Sugar, use Write.
yum for automatically installing new software.
rpm - another way to automatically install new software
olpc-logbat - log the activity of the battery system. Useful for assisting developers in debugging battery problems.

There are hundreds of Linux commands available in the Terminal, Linux software describes some more of them. The OLPC system software on the XO is a slimmed-down version of Fedora and so its command-line programs come from Fedora. Many command-line programs from Fedora are not available but experienced users can add them using yum or rpm.

Users and super-user

Initially Terminal begins as the default user (usually "olpc"). Some programs require that you run them as the root "super-user. You can prepend sudo to some of these, or press the #_ icon in the Activity menu to become root, or enter su -l to become root. The root user has awesome destructive power, do not run commands as root unless you have to.

Copy and paste in Terminal

Several options:

Use the Edit menu, which is underneath the scissors icon,
Press Shift+Ctrl+C to copy, Shift+Ctrl+V to paste,
Plug a three-button USB mouse into a port and use the middle mouse button to paste,
Click both buttons below the track pad (or click directly between them) to paste.
Configure a bluetooth mouse on an XO-4 and use the middle mouse button to paste,

You can select text in Terminal's window and use the mouse or track pad methods to duplicate it without first copying it to the clipboard.

Copy from Wiki and Paste in Terminal

Many Wiki pages provide commands that are to be pasted into Terminal. For example:

echo this is a test
echo hello world

What you should do is:

Start the Terminal activity,
Press Alt-Tab to switch to the Browse activity,
Use the mouse or touchpad to highlight the text of the commands,
Press Ctrl+C to copy,
Press Alt-Tab to switch to the Terminal activity,
Press Shift+Ctrl+V to paste,
Look at the outcome of the commands.

Other keystroke commands

Keyboard shortcuts lists special keys in Sugar. Some of these don't work in Terminal, or require that you press the Shift key as well.

Change font size in the Terminal activity

To change the font size, click on the eye icon, then click on - or +.

The Console

Another way to bring up the Linux command prompt is by pressing the Ctrl+Alt+F2 keys in sequence.

By design, not all XOs have the F2 legend on the key, see Keyboard#Missing_keys.

Ctrl-Alt-F2 will switch to a console terminal that runs outside the Sugar and GNOME.

To return to the Sugar or GNOME environment, press Alt+F1. (On releases before 11.2.0, use Alt+F3).

Most Sugar or GNOME commands won't work on the console.

Logging in

Press enter, and the console will log you in as root. You are now logged in as the root user, be very careful.

Alternative terminal program

You may also switch to the GNOME desktop to use the Terminal program there, in the Applications -> System tools menu.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Olpcboxtop|toptext=[[{{PAGENAME}}|Terminal]]}}
+<!--- {{Olpcboxtop|toptext=[[{{PAGENAME}}|Terminal]]}}
- {{ OBX activity |[[Image:Activity-terminal.svg]]|core<!--|{{{text}}}--> }}
+ {{ OBX activity |[[Image:Activity-terminal.svg]]|core }}
  {{ OBX pootle|1=http://dev.laptop.org/git?p=web-activity;a=blob_plain;f=po/Web.pot;hb=HEAD|2=xocore}}
 <small>see more [[:Category:OBX templates|templates]] or [[OBX proposals|propose new]]</small>
 {{Olpcboxbottom}}
-{{G1G1 Support FAQ}}
+Link to [[Terminal]] dev page instead [[User:Katie|Katie]] 09:01, 5 January 2008 (EST)
-The Terminal is a pre-installed Activity that allows you to control your XO directly from a command line.  If you have used a PC, this is similar to the DOS prompt.  The Terminal allows you to do far more with your XO than running Sugar activities.  But it is also possible to delete your data, and the system data from the command line, so care is needed.
+ --->
-'''BEWARE: If you become user "root" by executing "su -l" you have full control to destroy all software!'''
+ {{G1G1 Support FAQ}}
-[[Image:Activity-terminal.svg|85px]] The Terminal activity grants access to the XO's [[Linux]] command line.
+[[Image:Activity-terminal.svg|85px]] The [[Terminal]] activity grants access to the XO's [[Linux]] command line.
+The Terminal is an Activity that allows you to control your XO directly from a command line, similar to the Terminal program in Mac OS X or the Command Prompt in Microsoft Windows.  The Terminal allows you to do far more with your XO than running Sugar activities.  But '''BEWARE''' it is also possible to delete your data, so be careful.  And if you become the [[root]] user, you have full control of the computer and can destroy all software!
-=== Starting Terminal ===
+See the [http://en.flossmanuals.net/terminal Terminal manual].
-This is a pre-installed program found in the Activities taskbar at the bottom of your [http://laptop.org/laptop/start/homeview.shtml Home View]. You may need to scroll through the Activities taskbar by using the right arrow icon at the bottom of your screen ([[Image:Frame-scroll-right.gif|25px]]) to find the [[Image:Activity-terminal.svg|35px]] icon.
+== Starting Terminal ==
-Another way to bring up the Linux command prompt is by pressing the Ctrl+Alt+Neighborhood keys at the same time.  The Neighborhood key is represented by a circle with 8 small dots [[Image:Mesh key f1 small.png]].
+The Terminal Activity is usually not marked as a favorite, so it does not appear in the Home View Favorites view.
-Note: You can find [[Keyboard Shortcuts]] and [http://laptop.org/laptop/start/keyboard.shtml the keyboard illustrated here].
+In the Home View, press ctrl-2 to select the List view, search for Terminal, and click on it to start.
-=== Common '''Terminal''' Commands ===
+You might also mark it as a favorite if you like.
-* [[sugar-control-panel]] - Change [[nickname]], colors, [[time zone]] and other options
-* [[ifconfig]] - View Wireless Network connections
+===Starting a console===
+You can also access a Linux command prompt by switching to the [[#The Console|console]], instead of starting the Terminal activity.
+== Common '''Terminal''' commands ==
+When you start Terminal, it runs the [[wikipedia:bash|Bash]] "shell" program that interprets keystrokes and commands.  Its main job is to allow you to run other programs, for example:
 * [[nano]] for editing text files directly.  If you want to edit text files in Sugar, use [[Write]].
 * [[yum]] for automatically installing new software.
+* [[rpm]] - another way to automatically install new software
+* [[olpc-logbat]] - log the activity of the battery system.  Useful for assisting developers in debugging battery problems.
+There are hundreds of Linux commands available in the Terminal, [[Linux software]] describes some more of them.
+The OLPC system software on the XO is a slimmed-down version of [[Fedora]] and so its command-line programs come from Fedora.  Many command-line programs from Fedora are not available but experienced users can add them using [[yum]] or [[rpm]].
+=== Users and super-user ===
+Initially Terminal begins as the default user (usually "olpc").  Some programs require that you run them as the [[root]] "super-user.  You can prepend <tt>[[sudo]]</tt> to some of these, or press the #_ icon in the Activity menu to become root, or enter <tt>[[su -l]]</tt> to become root.  The root user has awesome destructive power, do not run commands as root unless you have to.
+== Copy and paste in Terminal ==
+Several options:
+* Use the Edit menu, which is underneath the scissors icon,
+* Press Shift+Ctrl+C to copy, Shift+Ctrl+V to paste,
+* Plug a three-button USB mouse into a port and use the middle mouse button to paste,
+* Click both buttons below the track pad (or click directly between them) to paste.
+* Configure a bluetooth mouse on an XO-4 and use the middle mouse button to paste,
+You can select text in Terminal's window and use the mouse or track pad methods to duplicate it without first copying it to the clipboard.
+== Copy from Wiki and Paste in Terminal ==
+Many Wiki pages provide commands that are to be pasted into Terminal.  For example:
+ echo this is a test
+ echo hello world
+What you should do is:
+* Start the Terminal activity,
+* Press Alt-Tab to switch to the Browse activity,
+* Use the mouse or touchpad to highlight the text of the commands,
+* Press Ctrl+C to copy,
+* Press Alt-Tab to switch to the Terminal activity,
+* Press Shift+Ctrl+V to paste,
+* Look at the outcome of the commands.
+See also [[Compound_commands#Copy_and_paste|how to copy and paste a compound command]].
+== Other keystroke commands ==
+[[Keyboard shortcuts]] lists special keys in Sugar.  Some of these don't work in Terminal, or require that you press the Shift key as well.
+==Change font size in the Terminal activity==
+To change the font size, click on the eye icon, then click on - or +.
+==The Console==
+Another way to bring up the Linux command prompt is by pressing the Ctrl+Alt+F2 keys in sequence.
+By design, not all XOs have the F2 legend on the key, see [[Keyboard#Missing_keys]].
+Ctrl-Alt-F2 will switch to a ''console'' terminal that runs outside the [[Sugar]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME GNOME].
+To return to the [[Sugar]] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME GNOME] environment, press Alt+F1.  (On releases before 11.2.0, use Alt+F3).
+Most Sugar or GNOME commands won't work on the console.
+===Logging in===
+Press enter, and the console will log you in as ''root''.
+You are now logged in as the [[root]] user, be very careful.
+== Alternative terminal program==
-The core Linux used on the XO is [http://www.Fedora.org Fedora 7].
+You may also switch to the GNOME desktop to use the Terminal program there, in the Applications -> System tools menu.
-=== Limitations / Known Problems ===
-It is not possible to copy and paste from the Terminal.  So, if you are following some instructions from a web page in the Browse activity, and want to copy them into the Terminal activity, a pen and paper is required unfortunately.  This has been logged on the dev.laptop.org bug tracking system.
-=== See Also ===
+== See also ==
+* [[Linux software]]  A brief description of <i>some</i> of the linux software that is installed with Sugar.
-* [http://www.ss64.com/bash/ BASH Reference] A longer list of commands that can be used in the Terminal.
+* [http://www.ss64.com/bash/ BASH Reference] A longer list of commands and programs (many are not installed on the XO by default because they aren't needed).

Terminal Activity: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 03:09, 5 December 2013

Contents

Starting Terminal

Starting a console

Common Terminal commands

Users and super-user

Copy and paste in Terminal

Copy from Wiki and Paste in Terminal

Other keystroke commands

Change font size in the Terminal activity

The Console

Logging in

Alternative terminal program

See also

Navigation menu

Terminal Activity: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 03:09, 5 December 2013

Starting Terminal

Starting a console

Common Terminal commands

Users and super-user

Copy and paste in Terminal

Copy from Wiki and Paste in Terminal

Other keystroke commands

Change font size in the Terminal activity

The Console

Logging in

Alternative terminal program

See also

Navigation menu

Search