LPI Linux Essentials Cheat Sheet

Linux Community and Open Source

Not published of exam
Linux Evolution Open Applications FOSS Licensing ICT Skills Official Weight 7

Finding Your Way on Linux

Not published of exam
Shell Basics Getting Help Directory Navigation File Operations Official Weight 9

Power of the Command Line

Not published of exam
Archives Compression Text Processing Shell Scripting Official Weight 9

Linux Operating System

Not published of exam
Operating Systems Computer Hardware Data Locations Basic Networking Official Weight 8

Security and File Permissions

Not published of exam
User Types Users and Groups Permissions Ownership Special Files Official Weight 7

Quick Facts

Exam 010-160
Version 1.6
Provider Linux Professional Institute
Questions 40
Time 60 minutes
Prerequisites None
Validity Lifetime
Topic weights 7 9 9 8 7
Test centers Pearson VUE
Online delivery Pearson OnVUE
Pricing Varies by country

Official Objective Weight Map CO

1.1 Linux Evolution Weight 2 Topic 1
1.2 Open Applications Weight 2 Topic 1
1.3 FOSS Licensing Weight 1 Topic 1
1.4 ICT Skills Weight 2 Topic 1
2.1 Shell Basics Weight 3 Topic 2
2.2 Getting Help Weight 2 Topic 2
2.3 Directories Files Weight 2 Topic 2
2.4 File Operations Weight 2 Topic 2
3.1 Archiving Weight 2 Topic 3
3.2 Search Extract Weight 3 Topic 3
3.3 Shell Scripts Weight 4 Topic 3
4.1 Choosing OS Weight 1 Topic 4
4.2 Computer Hardware Weight 2 Topic 4
4.3 Data Storage Weight 3 Topic 4
4.4 Basic Networking Weight 2 Topic 4
5.1 User Security Weight 2 Topic 5
5.2 Users Groups Weight 2 Topic 5
5.3 Permissions Ownership Weight 2 Topic 5
5.4 Special Files Weight 1 Topic 5

Linux and FOSS Landscape CO

Linux Operating system kernel
Distribution Kernel plus packaged software
Debian family Debian Ubuntu Linux Mint
Red Hat family Red Hat CentOS
SUSE family SUSE openSUSE
Raspberry Pi Small single-board computer
Android Linux-kernel mobile platform
Cloud Linux Common virtual server platform
FOSS Free and open source software
Free software Freedom not necessarily price
GPL Copyleft license
BSD license Permissive license
Creative Commons Content licensing family
FSF Promotes free software
OSI Promotes open source
Copyleft Derivatives preserve freedoms
Permissive Few redistribution restrictions

Applications and Packages CO

LibreOffice Office productivity suite
Thunderbird Email client
Firefox Web browser
GIMP Raster image editor
Nextcloud ownCloud File sync platforms
Apache NGINX Web servers
MariaDB MySQL Relational databases
NFS Unix network file sharing
Samba SMB file sharing
dpkg Debian package tool
apt-get Debian repository package tool
rpm RPM package tool
yum RPM repository package tool
Repository Managed package source

Absolute vs Relative Paths NA

Absolute

Begins with slash
Independent of current directory

Relative

No leading slash
Depends on current directory
Leading slash starts at root

Command Picker NA

Need current location → pwd ( Print working directory )
Need hidden files → ls -a ( Includes dot entries )
Need command manual → man ( Search with slash )
Need filename database search → locate ( Database may be stale )
Need matching lines → grep ( Pattern search )
Need ending lines → tail ( Defaults to ten )
Need live processes → top ( Interactive display )
Need memory summary → free ( Shows RAM and swap )
Need network addresses → ip addr show ( Inspect interfaces )
Need user identity → id ( Shows UID and groups )

Shell Syntax and Help NA

Bash Common Linux shell
Command syntax Command options arguments
echo Prints arguments
history Lists prior commands
PATH Command search directories
export Marks variable for children
type Identifies command resolution
Single quotes Preserve literal text
Double quotes Allow variable expansion
Backslash Escapes next character
$NAME Expands variable value
man Displays manual pages
info Displays Info documentation
/usr/share/doc Installed package documentation
locate Searches filename database

Single vs Double Quotes NA

Single quotes

Preserve literal characters
Suppress variable expansion

Double quotes

Preserve spaces
Allow variable expansion
Quote choice controls expansion

Navigation and File Operations NA

pwd Print current directory
ls List directory contents
ls -a Include hidden entries
ls -l Long listing format
cd Change directory
. Current directory
.. Parent directory
~ Current user home
Absolute path Starts from root
Relative path Starts from current directory
Hidden file Name begins with dot
touch Creates or timestamps file
mkdir Creates directory
rmdir Removes empty directory
cp Copies files
mv Moves or renames
rm Removes files
Glob * Matches any character sequence
Glob ? Matches one character
Glob brackets Matches listed character class
Case sensitivity Uppercase and lowercase differ

Stream Numbers CO

Input zero; output one; errors two
stdin 0 stdout 1 stderr 2

Globs vs Regular Expressions CO

Glob

Shell expands filenames
Star matches character sequence

Regex

Tools match text patterns
Star repeats previous expression
Same symbols differ by context

Stream and Redirect Picker CO

Replace output file → > ( Existing data is lost )
Append output file → >> ( Existing data remains )
Read stdin from file → < ( Input redirection )
Capture errors only → 2> ( Redirect stderr )
Chain command output → Pipe ( stdout feeds stdin )
Count matching lines → grep then wc ( Connect with pipe )
Page long output → Pipe to less ( Interactive reading )
Sort file lines → sort ( Writes sorted stdout )

Archives and Compression CO

Archive Bundles multiple files
Compression Reduces stored size
tar -cf Create tar archive
tar -xf Extract tar archive
tar -tf List tar contents
tar -z Use gzip compression
tar -j Use bzip2 compression
tar -J Use xz compression
gzip gunzip Compress decompress gzip
bzip2 bunzip2 Compress decompress bzip2
xz unxz Compress decompress xz
zip unzip Create extract zip

tar Actions CO

Create c; extract x; list t
c create x extract t list f archive file

stdout vs stderr CO

stdout

Normal output stream
File descriptor one

stderr

Error output stream
File descriptor two
Redirect streams independently

Streams and Text Tools CO

stdin Standard input stream 0
stdout Standard output stream 1
stderr Standard error stream 2
> Overwrite stdout destination
>> Append stdout destination
< Redirect file into stdin
2> Redirect stderr
Pipe Connect stdout to stdin
cat Concatenate and print files
less Page through text
head Show beginning lines
tail Show ending lines
grep Print matching lines
sort Order input lines
cut Extract fields or characters
wc Count lines words bytes
Regex dot Matches any single character
Regex star Matches zero-plus previous atom
Regex brackets Match one listed character

Overwrite vs Append CO

>

Truncates destination first
Writes new output

>>

Preserves existing content
Adds output afterward
Count angle brackets carefully

Shell Scripting CO

Shebang Selects script interpreter
#!/bin/bash Select Bash interpreter
Assignment NAME=value uses no spaces
$1 First positional argument
$# Argument count
$@ All positional arguments
$? Previous exit status
Exit zero Command succeeded
Nonzero exit Command reported failure
for loop Repeats over item list
do done Enclose loop body
chmod +x Add executable permission
./script Run script from here
vi nano Command-line text editors

Archive vs Compression CO

Compression

Reduces data size
gzip bzip2 xz compress
tar can combine both

Core Data Paths OP

Etc config; var logs; proc processes
/etc configuration /var/log logs /proc processes /dev devices /sys kernel devices

Program vs Process OP

Program

Stored executable instructions
Passive file

Process

Running program instance
Has process identifier
Execution creates a process

Path Picker OP

Need system configuration → /etc ( Mostly text files )
Need system logs → /var/log ( Variable log data )
Need process details → /proc ( Virtual filesystem )
Need device files → /dev ( Hardware interfaces )
Need kernel device model → /sys ( Virtual filesystem )
Need boot files → /boot ( Kernel bootloader content )
Need user documents → /home ( Regular user homes )
Need temporary workspace → /tmp ( Sticky bit commonly set )

System Hardware and Data OP

GUI Graphical user interface
CLI Command-line interface
Stable release Production-focused software
Beta release Pre-release testing software
LTS Long-term support release
Virtualization Multiple virtual systems
CPU Executes instructions
RAM Volatile working memory
HDD Magnetic persistent storage
SSD Solid-state persistent storage
Partition Logical disk region
/dev/sd* Common disk device names
Driver Controls hardware device
Program Stored executable code
Process Running program instance
ps Process snapshot
top Live process display
free Memory usage summary
dmesg Kernel message buffer
syslog System logging facility

Filesystem Hierarchy OP

/ Filesystem root
/etc System configuration
/var/log System log files
/boot Bootloader and kernel files
/proc Process kernel information
/dev Device files
/sys Kernel device information
/home Regular user homes
/root Root user home
/tmp Temporary files
/var/tmp Longer-lived temporary files
/usr/share/doc Package documentation

Basic Networking OP

IPv4 32-bit network addressing
IPv6 128-bit network addressing
Router Forwards between networks
DNS Maps names and addresses
ip addr show Display interface addresses
ifconfig Legacy interface display
ip route show Display routing table
route Legacy routing display
ss Display network sockets
netstat Legacy network statistics
ping Test IP reachability
host Query DNS records
/etc/resolv.conf DNS resolver configuration
/etc/hosts Static hostname mappings

Permission Values SE

Read four; write two; execute one
Read 4 Write 2 Execute 1 Add each class

sudo vs su SE

sudo

Runs privileged command
Policy controls authorization

su

Switches user identity
Can start new shell
Command elevation differs from switching

Permission Picker SE

Owner needs full access → 7 ( Read write execute )
Need read execute → 5 ( Four plus one )
Need read write → 6 ( Four plus two )
Need read only → 4 ( No write execute )
Change mode bits → chmod ( Symbolic or octal )
Change file owner → chown ( Privilege usually required )
Directory needs traversal → Execute permission ( Not file execution )
Directory needs listing → Read permission ( Names become visible )
Shared directory protects files → Sticky bit ( File/dir owner or root deletes )
Need path-based reference → ln -s ( Create symbolic link )

Users Groups and Security SE

root Administrative superuser
UID zero Root identity
Standard user Limited regular account
System user Service-owned account
/etc/passwd Public account metadata
/etc/shadow Protected password hashes
/etc/group Group membership data
id Show user group identities
who Show logged-in users
w Show users and activity
last Show login history
sudo Run command with privilege
su Switch user identity
useradd Create user account
groupadd Create group
passwd Set account password
/etc/skel New-user template files

Permission Class Order SE

User Group Others
First user Second group Third others

File vs Directory Execute SE

File execute

Allows program execution
Requires valid executable

Directory execute

Allows directory traversal
Access known entry names
Execute meaning depends object

Permissions and Special Files SE

Permission order User group others
Read Numeric value 4
Write Numeric value 2
Execute Numeric value 1
chmod Change permission mode
chown Change owner and group
File read Read file contents
File write Modify file contents
File execute Run file as program
Directory read List entry names
Directory write Change entries with execute
Directory execute Traverse directory
Sticky bit Limits deletion to authorized owners
Symbolic link Path-based reference
ln -s Create symbolic link
ls -d List directory entry itself
chmod 754 rwx r-x r--
chown alice:dev Set owner and group

Common Traps

Objective Weights Are Relative

LPI publishes integer weights ≠ Topic percentages are not published

Pricing Varies by Country

Use LPI country pricing ≠ Avoid universal fee assumptions

Certificate Validity Is Lifetime

Linux Essentials does not expire ≠ Do not apply LPIC cycles

Root Path Is Not Root Home

Slash is filesystem root ≠ /root is superuser home

rm Has No Default Trash

Removal is normally immediate ≠ Review targets before running

Single Quotes Block Expansion

Single quotes stay literal ≠ Double quotes expand variables

Single Redirect Overwrites

One angle bracket truncates ≠ Two angle brackets append

Globs Are Not Regex

Shell expands globs ≠ Text tools interpret regex

Directory Permissions Differ

Read lists names ≠ Execute permits traversal

/etc/passwd Stores No Hashes

/etc/passwd holds metadata ≠ /etc/shadow protects hashes

Last Minute

1. Exam code is 010-160
2. Objectives version is 1.6
3. Forty questions; sixty minutes
4. No prerequisites; lifetime validity
5. Weights 7-9-9-8-7 by topic
6. Absolute paths begin with slash
7. Single quotes block expansion
8. stdout is one; stderr two
9. One redirect overwrites
10. Pipe connects stdout to stdin
11. tar c creates; x extracts
12. Processes are running programs
13. /etc stores configuration
14. /var/log stores logs
15. DNS maps names and addresses
16. Permissions use 4 2 1
17. Directory execute means traverse
18. sudo runs privileged commands
19. Sticky bit limits deletion to owners

LPI Linux Essentials (010-160)

Practice Questions 100 questions Study Guide 26 topics Cheat Sheet 212 facts Flashcards 50 cards Free CE Podcast