DEV Community

Dev Dave
Dev Dave

Posted on

I Survived My First Week of Linux Hell (And Why I'm Asking for More)

#linux #devops #terminal #learning

The Great Terminal Terror of 2025

Last Monday, I confidently told my DevOps bootcamp instructor that I "knew Linux" because I'd installed Ubuntu once.

By Tuesday, I was googling "how to exit vim" for the 47th time and questioning my life choices.

By Friday, I was writing shell scripts at midnight because automating things had become weirdly addictive.

What happened? I actually learned Linux instead of just clicking through it.

The "Oh Shit" Moments That Changed Everything

Moment #1: Everything is a File 

echo "Hello World" > /dev/stdout
cat /proc/version
ls -la /dev/null
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Turns out your keyboard, screen, and even running processes are just... files? Linux is weird and beautiful.

Moment #2: Pipes are Magic 

ps aux | grep python | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

I just killed all Python processes with one line. Felt like Neo learning kung fu.

Moment #3: SSH Keys > Passwords

Setting up passwordless SSH was like discovering fire. More secure AND more convenient? 🤯

Commands That Made Me Feel Like a Wizard

File ninja moves:

find . -name "*.log" -mtime +7 -delete  # Cleanup old logs
grep -r "error" /var/log/ | head -20     # Hunt down errors
tar -czf backup.tar.gz important_stuff/  # Compress like a pro
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

System monitoring magic:

htop          # Real-time process viewer
df -h         # Disk space in human units
netstat -tulp # What's listening on what port
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Text processing sorcery:

cat access.log | grep "404" | wc -l     # Count 404 errors
tail -f app.log | grep -i "fatal"       # Watch for crashes live
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Each command felt like unlocking a new superpower.

Plot Twists I Didn't See Coming

🎭 Vim Stockholm Syndrome is Real
Day 1: "How do I exit this nightmare?"
Day 7: "Why does VS Code feel so slow now?"

🔧 Shell Scripting is Addictive
Started with "Hello World", ended up automating my entire development setup. Send help.

🌐 The Internet Makes Sense Now
Understanding DNS, ports, and routing made web development click in ways I never expected.

🔐 Security Isn't Scary, It's Elegant
File permissions aren't obstacles - they're a beautiful system of trust and access control.

My Favorite "Learning by Breaking" Moments

  • Accidentally rm -rf'd my home directory (thank god for VMs)
  • Spent 2 hours debugging a script that was missing a single space
  • Created a infinite loop that spawned 10,000 processes
  • Successfully SSH'd into my own machine from my own machine (felt genius)

Each disaster taught me more than any tutorial ever could.

The Compound Effect Nobody Talks About

Here's what's wild: Every DevOps tool I was afraid of suddenly makes sense now.

  • Docker? Just Linux processes with fancy isolation
  • Kubernetes? Linux container orchestra conductor
  • CI/CD? Fancy shell scripts with better UIs
  • Infrastructure as Code? Automating the Linux stuff I just learned

Linux isn't just a skill - it's the decoder ring for everything else.

What I Wish Someone Had Told Me

  1. Break things in VMs - Destruction is education
  2. Read error messages - They're trying to help, not mock you
  3. Use man pages - Built-in documentation is actually good
  4. Practice daily - Even 15 minutes beats weekend cramming
  5. Embrace the philosophy - "Do one thing well" applies to learning too

The Honest Truth

Was this week hard? Absolutely.

Did I feel stupid sometimes? Constantly.

Am I already planning advanced Linux projects? You bet.

The secret: Linux rewards curiosity over perfection. Every command you learn makes the next one easier. Every script you write makes automation feel more natural.

What's Next in My DevOps Journey

Next week: Git and version control. But now I'm not intimidated because I understand the foundation everything builds on.

If you're learning Linux for DevOps (or anything else), remember: confusion is temporary, but terminal skills are forever.

Drop a 🐧 if you're on a similar Linux journey! What was your biggest "aha!" moment learning the command line?

P.S. - I can finally exit vim without googling. Life goals achieved.

Follow my DevOps learning adventure as I document the real, messy, exciting process of becoming an infrastructure engineer. Next stop: Git workflows and why version control is basically time travel.

Top comments (0)