What is Linux for Absolute Beginners?

From your first command to a web server you set up, back up and lock down. You will use the Linux command line comfortably and run a small Linux machine. You will manage files and text, control who can do what, install and run a web server, schedule a backup and close the network doors you do not use. You finish with a configured Linux server and a runbook that documents it.

Open the Linux for Absolute Beginners course page

Complete beginners who have never used a Linux command line. It suits people who want to run a small website or project on a Linux machine, and people who need basic Linux for an IT, web or cloud role.

These are the prerequisites the course lists:

• A computer that runs Windows 10 (version 2004 or later), Windows 11, macOS or Linux, and that you may install free software on
• Administrator rights on that computer, so that you can install WSL or a virtual machine program
• A working internet connection
• No Linux or programming experience is needed

These are the tools and materials the course lists:

• A free practice Linux. On Windows, use WSL with Ubuntu. On any computer, use a virtual machine such as VirtualBox running Ubuntu Server. Both are free. Check each tool's current requirements before you start.
• If you use a virtual machine, the free Ubuntu Server installer file from ubuntu.com. Ubuntu lists 1.5 GB of memory and 5 GB of disk as the minimum for Ubuntu Server, and your own computer needs room on top of that.
• A machine that keeps its changes. A live USB stick or a browser-based terminal is fine for Modules 1 to 3, but Modules 4 to 6 need WSL or a virtual machine.
• A notebook or a plain text file for your notes
• Nothing to pay for. A paid cloud server is not needed for any lesson.

Your Configured Linux Server. Assemble everything into one small, working server. A Linux machine that you set up serves the bakery website with nginx, keeps dated backups on a schedule, exposes only the network doors it needs, proves its own health with a script, and comes with a runbook that another person could follow. The project grew one piece at a time through the module projects, so this is assembly and proof, not a new build. The finished deliverables are:

• A practice lab in your home folder that is organized and locked down, with the modes and owners recorded in notes/permissions.txt
• nginx serving the folder /var/www/bakery at http://localhost, with a second page and a notes/web-report.txt summary built from the real access log
• The script bin/backup.sh, scheduled by cron for 02:30 every day, with at least one archive that you restored into another folder and compared with diff -r
• Firewall rules for ports 22 and 80 recorded with sudo ufw show added, and active on a virtual machine, or a written note of the limit if you use WSL
• The script bin/healthcheck.sh that prints three PASS lines and exits with status 0, a saved result file, and evidence that it printed FAIL when you stopped nginx
• The file notes/runbook.md with eight parts: what the server does, where things are, the daily check, how to restart the web server, how to restore from backup, how to change the website, what is exposed to the network, and what you do not yet know

Linux for Absolute Beginners has 24 lessons in 6 modules, a workbook of 9 items and a capstone project. It is planned at about 4 hours in total. The lesson text runs to roughly 16,400 words.

Linux for Absolute Beginners has 6 modules:

• Module 1: Start Here: Get a Linux and Use the Terminal. Choose a free practice Linux, learn the shape of every command, find your way around the folder tree, and build the practice folder you will use for the whole course.
• Module 2: Work with Files: Write, Copy, Move and Delete Safely. Put text into files, copy and move them without losing work, match many files with wildcards, and delete with a safe routine that stops accidents before they happen.
• Module 3: Read, Search and Combine Text. Read long files without flooding the screen, search inside files with grep, chain small tools together with pipes, and find files by name, type and age. You will end by turning a raw web log into a short report.
• Module 4: Who Can Do What: Users, Permissions and Owners. Meet users, groups and sudo, learn to read and change permissions, and hand out ownership so that the right accounts can reach the right files. You end by locking down your lab and preparing the folder that will hold your website.
• Module 5: Run a Server: Software, Processes and a Live Website. Install software with apt, see and stop running programs, control background services with systemctl, and put your bakery page on the web with nginx. You end by reading a real web log with the tools from Module 3.
• Module 6: Keep It Running: Scripts, Schedules, Doors and the Capstone. Turn commands into a backup script, run it on a schedule with cron, close the network doors you do not use, and finish by proving your server works and writing the runbook that lets anyone else run it.

All 24 lesson titles, module by module:

• Module 1: Start Here: Get a Linux and Use the Terminal. 1.1 Pick Your Free Practice Linux; 1.2 Your First Commands; 1.3 Find Your Way and Build Your Practice Folder; 1.4 Get Help and Type Less.
• Module 2: Work with Files: Write, Copy, Move and Delete Safely. 2.1 Put Text into Files: echo, Redirection, printf and nano; 2.2 Copy, Move and Rename Files; 2.3 Wildcards: Match Many Files at Once; 2.4 Delete Safely: rm, rmdir and the Preview Habit.
• Module 3: Read, Search and Combine Text. 3.1 Read Long Files: less, head, tail and wc; 3.2 Search Inside Files with grep; 3.3 Combine Tools with Pipes; 3.4 Find Files with find.
• Module 4: Who Can Do What: Users, Permissions and Owners. 4.1 Users, Groups and sudo; 4.2 Read Permissions with ls -l; 4.3 Change Permissions with chmod; 4.4 Owners and Groups: chown and a Web Folder.
• Module 5: Run a Server: Software, Processes and a Live Website. 5.1 Install Software with apt; 5.2 See and Stop Running Programs; 5.3 Run a Service: nginx and systemctl; 5.4 Serve Your Website and Read Its Log.
• Module 6: Keep It Running: Scripts, Schedules, Doors and the Capstone. 6.1 Write a Backup Script; 6.2 Schedule It with cron; 6.3 Close the Doors You Do Not Use; 6.4 Capstone: Prove It and Write the Runbook.

The course is listed at beginner level and planned at about 4 hours in total. It has 24 lessons, each with objectives you can check yourself against.

Lesson 1 is "Pick Your Free Practice Linux" (Module 1, Start Here: Get a Linux and Use the Terminal). By the end of it the course says you will be able to:

• Say in plain words what Linux, a distribution and a terminal are
• Choose one free practice setup that fits your computer
• Open a Linux terminal and check that it works

Linux for Absolute Beginners defines 23 terms in plain words: Linux, Distribution, terminal, Shell, Path, Redirection, Wildcard, Pipe, Root, sudo, Permission, Owner and group, Process, Service, systemd, Package and repository, Web server, Port, Firewall, Cron, Exit status, Script and Runbook.

LinuxDistributionterminalShellPathRedirectionWildcardPipeRootsudoPermissionOwner and groupProcessServicesystemdPackage and repositoryWeb serverPortFirewallCronExit statusScriptRunbook

Linux for Absolute Beginners lists 28 official sources that were opened and checked while it was written, from 14 websites.

• documentation.ubuntu.com
• ubuntu.com
• learn.microsoft.com
• bellard.org
• webvm.io
• discourse.ubuntu.com
• canonical.com
• sudo.ws
• manpages.ubuntu.com
• packages.ubuntu.com
• salsa.debian.org
• nginx.org
• and 2 more

Linux for Absolute Beginners costs $39 (USD) as The Codex, the full written course with its workbook and templates. Studio (narrated video lessons) and the Full Operator path are not on sale yet.

How much do courses cost?

Linux for Absolute Beginners was prepared by Apex Flow Labs with AI assistance and checked before it was published. Every code sample, formula and command the course includes was run before it went in, the course records 13 verification checks, and it lists 28 official sources it checked. Do not take the label on trust: open the sources and run the examples yourself.

How Apex Flow Academy checks its courses

Yes. The course lists this prerequisite: "No Linux or programming experience is needed." It is listed at beginner level. It also asks for:

• A computer that runs Windows 10 (version 2004 or later), Windows 11, macOS or Linux, and that you may install free software on
• Administrator rights on that computer, so that you can install WSL or a virtual machine program
• A working internet connection

No. Linux for Absolute Beginners teaches and checks a skill, but it cannot promise an outcome. The course's own disclosure reads: "Created by Apex Flow Academy with AI assistance. For education only; not legal, tax, financial or medical advice. Results depend on your effort and circumstances."

Yes. Linux for Absolute Beginners includes a verifiable Certificate of Completion, issued by Apex Flow Academy when you finish every lesson, resolve every quiz question with at least 50% right on the first try, and tick the capstone checklist. It has a unique ID and a public verification page. It is a completion certificate, not a degree, licence, accreditation or exam result. The Full Operator path, with a final exam and capstone review, opens later with its own separate, stronger credential.

Is there a certificate?